In jeans, faded shirts and cowboy hats, ten of the most skilled hunters hovered near the fence, watching their worried leader. Aiden had gathered them together to track the missing Arianna and bring her home. But just outside the pasture, they’d lost the trail, detecting only the scent of deer piss.
Even skilled Lupine hunters could lose the scent trail of a clever female.
Not Kyle. He’d stayed away, gathering other evidence. And what he’d seen had deeply worried him.
Aiden scowled, running a hand over his well-trimmed beard. “We need to get her mated before Tristan finds her. Or at least get her to finally have sex so she’s not afraid of how males react when she ovulates.”
“Been there, tried that, got the marks to prove it,” Darius said dryly. He studied the other Lupines. “Anyone else care to try? I’ve got a flak jacket somewhere upstairs.”
Ten gazes quickly darted away, except for Kyle, who snorted. Secretly, he’d rejoiced at the male’s failure. The pack beta went through women like a NASCAR driver went through tires.
“Maybe she came to her senses when she realized what an arrogant asshole you can be. Poor Darius, threatened by a female who didn’t fall at his paws,” he said.
“She tried to scratch my eyes out.”
“Only because she couldn’t find your tiny, shrunken balls.”
Darius leapt forward, only to have Aiden pull him back. “Cut the shit. We’re not getting anywhere with this chest-beating.”
Nostrils flaring, Kyle slowed his breathing. He had to calm down, get under control. Each hour Arianna was missing brought her closer to danger.
“And you, oh brilliant hunter, didn’t even bother to join us in the hunt,” Darius pointed out.
The other males agreed, muttering under their breaths.
“I can find her.” Kyle swept the males with a look of contempt. “But I needed to form a plan. I don’t go rushing up the mountain blindly. You couldn’t find her with a GPS and a Seeing Eye dog.”
Low growls rumbled through the males, but Aiden silenced them with a look. “Go on,” the alpha ordered. “What’s your plan?”
“Caught a scent when I went to my cabin to see what supplies Arianna took with her, see if she planned to run or if she searched for the missing young. Did a little checking around the perimeter. Found tracks. They belong to this.”
Fishing out his cell, he clicked on the website he’d bookmarked and handed the phone to Aiden.
The pack alpha looked up, white lines bracketing his mouth. “Hellfire, a Satyr?”
Mutters and looks of real alarm spread through the males. Darius swore softly.
“Male, about six feet, maybe 190 pounds. Still in his prime and dangerous as hell. Only one reason he’d be sniffing around my cabin.” Every muscle in his body tensed to stone. “Arianna.”
“So now she not only has Ogres on the mountain chasing her, but a goddamn full-blooded Satyr?” Blood drained from Darius’ face.
A muscle jumped in Aiden’s cheek. “One Satyr in full sexual thrall makes Ogres look harmless as puppies. There hasn’t been a mature male spotted in this region in more than a century, which is the reason I bought this ranch.”
“Something drew him here. Not Ari, something much more powerful. But now that he’s here, he’ll scent her during the full moon.”
Chest tight, Kyle pocketed his cell phone. “And when he finds her...”
Dust clouds rose on the horizon. He shaded his gaze, watching as Beth galloped up on her gelding, Dale snug in the saddle behind her. He jumped off and held out a gallant hand to help her dismount.
Her pretty face distraught, Beth joined them. “I can’t find her anywhere. I’ve looked all the places she likes. Nothing.”
Remaining silent, Kyle glanced at the mountain. He didn’t want Beth worried about her best friend. “She’s strong and resourceful. We’ll find her.”
Resolve flared in Beth’s gaze. “Don’t bullshit me, Kyle. I know what’s going on. I heard you talking about the Silver Wizard. He’s going to kill her, isn’t he?”
Kyle kept his expression neutral. “Not if I can help it.”
“Then do something! You’re her guardian. You can’t let her die. Can’t you stave off Tristan?”
Aiden exchanged glances with Dale, who nodded. The alpha gave his beloved niece a reassuring smile. “Beth, honey, why don’t you and Dale search the northern pasture, in case Arianna rode out there? We have to make certain every inch of our territory is covered.”
“Okay,” she whispered. “But you tell me if there’s any word.”
“Of course.”
They watched as Beth and Dale mounted the gelding and rode off.
“I didn’t want her knowing what’s out there,” Aiden said. “Dale needs to keep her close to home. What’s your take? You have a fix on where Arianna headed?”
Kyle turned toward the mountain. “Headed after those young.”
“At a time like this when a Silver Wizard wants to turn her into ash?” Darius shook his head.
“It’s what she’d do,” Kyle murmured, stricken with admiration and fear for his charge. “If she thinks Tristan is going to kill her, she’d want to make her last moments count. I’ll find her, bring her back.”
“Time’s running out.” Darius craned his neck and studied the clear blue sky. “Less than three days until the full moon. Someone has to mate with Arianna.”
A few Lupines shuffled their boots in the dirt.
Darius’ expression shifted subtly. “Kyle?”
Oh, shit. Kyle blew out a breath as all eyes turned to him. Shifting his weight on the fence railing, he fisted his hands.
“You’re the only one she trusts,” the beta said almost gently. “You must do it, before the moon fully ripens.”
His feral Satyr blood surged thick and hot, indicating the change was coming upon him. Mating Ari in this condition? Acid churned in his stomach as he envisioned her terror, and afterward, her laughter dimmed, the light forever gone from her beautiful blue eyes.
“You want me to mate with her to save her life? Ari’s terrified of sex.” He turned to Aiden. “I’ll track her, and then bring her back, but I’m not sleeping with her. When I return, I’m gone. Was going to leave after today, before the next full moon. Time for me to push on.”
The other males looked upset, as if they’d truly miss him. Kyle’s chest tightened. He’d grown too comfortable here. And Ari, sweet Ari...
“We need you. You’re a damned good ranch hand and friend. Arianna needs you as her mate.”
“No.”
“You won’t change your mind?” Aiden asked.
Pushing his black Stetson low on his brow, Kyle shook his head.
“Darius and Kyle, stay.” The pack alpha glanced at the assembled males. “The rest of you go search the outlying pastures again.”
When the males drifted out of sight, Aiden turned toward Kyle, his expression resolved. “Soon as we find Arianna, she’ll be mated.”
“Right. By who?” he demanded.
“Me. I’m alpha and have the right. She’s a virgin, and fills the requirements for an alpha’s mate.”
Breath fled Kyle’s throat as he stared at the Lupine.
“She is quite pretty, great figure for bearing young with those wide hips and big breasts... very nice. Plus her very plush ass. I need to mate, and she’ll suit my needs. May have to force her, but once I get her broken, she’ll be fine.”
“Tying her up is an option,” Darius suggested. “Velvet ropes are easy on the skin.”
“I don’t like ropes. I’ll just hold her down. Easy enough. Like breaking in a horse. If she screams, she screams. She’ll eventually learn to enjoy my touch.” Aiden cracked his knuckles, his expression cruel.
Rage built inside Kyle. How dare he? Sweet, gentle and spirited Arianna, debased like that? Blood dripped from his clenched fists as his claws emerged. He barely felt the pain.
“You’ll have to fuck her before the entire
pack, of course, according to custom for alphas claiming their mates. The pack will understand if she cries,” Darius said.
Understand? Aiden would have his throat torn out for this. Violence simmered in Kyle’s blood. Arianna became a pulse in his system, the beating of his heart, the surge of male need that thickened his blood. He could barely hear for the chanting in his mind of her name.
Arianna. Arianna. Arianna.
“And as a little added insurance of performance, there’s always this.” Darius looked thoughtful as he removed a small glass bottle from his pocket, uncapped it and squirted it.
Carried on the breeze, the intoxicating scent triggered wild and dangerous lust. A low growl rumbled deep in Kyle’s throat.
Nostrils flaring, Aiden inhaled the air. His mouth tugged upward in a cold smile. “Good. Kyle, stop wasting time. Go find my mate now. Soon as you return, we’ll hold the ceremony in the main hall. I’ll claim her with the mating mark, hold the ceremony and fuck her hard and fast.”
Adrenalin and testosterone flooded Kyle’s body. He could not hold back any longer. Arianna’s face stamped in his mind, he snarled, feeling his body shift and change into his beast. Like a snapping twig, his control fractured. Fangs erupted in his mouth as his body transformed. With the swiftness of his beast, he sped to the fence, wrapped a hand around the alpha’s throat and lifted him. Aiden’s eyes bulged, and he gasped for air, his legs kicking.
“You. Don’t. Hurt her. Or touch her.” He squeezed harder. “She’s mine. Understand. Mine. Lay a hand on her, and I’ll snap your spine in half.”
Wheezing, Aiden struggled to free himself, blood dripping down his neck from where Kyle’s claws dug into his skin.
Dimly Kyle heard Darius shout. A red haze filled his vision. He only saw Arianna’s pale beauty, the terror in her eyes. Never again. No one would hurt her ever again. She was his to claim and hold, his to mate with, his forever.
“Yo, hunter. Let go. Let him go. Snap out of it. I don’t want to hurt you.”
Darius raked a claw down Kyle’s throat, drawing beads of blood.
He ignored the beta, who cursed and raked another claw down Kyle’s throat. But the pounding in Kyle’s blood and the heavy fury in his head crazed him. Aiden would die for wanting to hurt her... wanting to mate with Arianna.
He shook the muscled, powerful alpha like a stuffed toy. “Not yours, bastard. Mine. Mine.”
“Never,” Aiden gasped. “Never... hurt her. Love... like daughter. Arianna... yours.”
With every ounce of strength, Kyle forced back the frenzied thoughts, forced himself to remember this was Aiden. Friend. Leader. Respected. No threat.
Lowering the male, Kyle relaxed his grip. Aiden dropped to the ground, rubbing his bruised throat and wheezing for air.
Slowly the red haze of fury dimmed, and Kyle could see straight. But Arianna’s lovely face still dominated his thoughts, her name remaining a thick chant in his blood.
He shrugged off Darius, still facing him with his claws extended. The fever gradually faded, his heartbeat resuming a normal rhythm, though his blood still surged, the primal male violence barely below the surface. Gradually his body returned to its normal Skin form.
Kyle tensed, waiting for Aiden to give Darius the kill order. He was beyond caring. All that mattered was Ari, and keeping her away from Aiden or anyone else who dared to abuse her.
And then he realized both of them remained still. The cool, calm and logical side of him kicked in, edging away the primitive Satyr.
What the fuck had Aiden done?
The alpha shook his head and rubbed his bruised windpipe. “Good plan, Darius, except you didn’t tell me he’d go for my throat.”
“My bad,” Darius said in a shaky voice. “Didn’t realize he could move so fast.”
Stunned, Kyle stared. “You set me up. You knew this would happen. It’s why you sent the other males away.”
“Because you’re half Satyr, a little secret you shared only with myself and Darius here,” Aiden wheezed. “And we didn’t want them knowing exactly what you are and how you’d react.”
Kyle stared at his fingers, still tipped with sharp claws.
“Satyrs share a deep connection to all things in nature and are highly sensual. Obsessed with physical pleasure, they are usually mild-mannered, but will be extremely sexually aggressive if another male stakes a mating claim on a female the Satyr secretly covets, especially if she’s a virgin,” Darius recited.
The pack beta tossed him a small glass vial, which Kyle caught with one hand. “Helps to have an aphrodisiac handy as well, to trigger male Lupine instincts. Beth created this in the lab to use as a decoy for Arianna’s scent. Keep it. May come in handy.”
Emotions in a lather, he forced himself to calm.
Aiden’s expression tightened. “You didn’t save Arianna all those years ago just to watch her die. You’re the only one who can help her.”
“Do you know what you’ve done? You’ve awakened the beast, the beast I’ve struggled to control around Ari for the past year. The beast I’ve kept leashed because I called all of you friend.” Kyle struggled to speak past his rage and grief. “And now there’s no stopping me. If any other male even tries to touch her, this is what I’ll do to him.” Allowing his claws to lengthen further, he gouged the fence post.
The need was a keening cry, the blood of his Satyr ancestors surging, pushing aside the level-headed man, the steady Lupine. These Lupine, who’d called him friend for the past ten years, who’d hunted with him, dined with him, these Lupine who claimed his loyalty... They were nothing now, except a threat.
“And now, you’ve pushed me into a ruthless quest to mate. The only female I ever cared about, the only one I guarded from being hurt by anyone, including me, faces the full sexual thrall of my beast. Goddamnit, you give me no choice.”
With a low howl of anguish, he ripped the fence post out of the ground and smashed it. Wood splinters flew apart as the wood shattered. Darius and Aiden bravely stood their ground.
Kyle’s heart shattered as he stared at Aiden. “This is what you’ve done to me.”
Pain and resolve flickered in the alpha’s gaze. “If there were any other way, I wouldn’t have done it. But I also know how deeply you care for her. You’re the best chance she has at life. Now go find her before the Ogres or that other Satyr does.”
“You promise to stay away now, Aiden, and warn everyone else as well. Because I can’t promise I won’t hurt anyone getting between Ari and me until I make her mine.”
Aiden growled deep in his throat. Alphas were protective of their females.
An even deeper growl rumbled from Kyle’s throat.
Finally Aiden gave a rough nod. “Damnit. All right, I promise.”
“We’ll hold off Tristan. Maybe I can find a bunch of horny Skins willing to screw him. Wizard deserves to get fucked over,” Darius added.
Kyle snorted. “Not as much as you do, Darius. Maybe the two of you can fuck each other.”
Not waiting for a retort, Kyle vaulted over the fence, heading to his cabin to gather supplies. He knew Aiden would be counting the hours, wondering if he’d unleash the beast when he found Arianna.
CHAPTER 5
Arianna found the climb tougher as the atmosphere thinned. The pewter sky darkened, and fat raindrops splattered the thick tree limbs. She pulled up her coat’s waterproof hood as cold fear slid down her spine.
What was worse, her ruthless guardian hunting her or a nasty-tempered wizard frying her into oblivion?
I choose what’s behind Door Number Three. How about life in a convent? Is there such a thing as a werewolf nun?
The trail was cut with a number of switchbacks. Determination filled her as she pushed upward. Wind billowed through the trees, accompanied by the steady drip of rain. Smells assaulted her senses, but as Kyle taught her, she sorted through them like a Skin sorting through laundry.
Someone had deliberately placed a scent trail on this path as a d
istraction. The three young hadn’t hiked up this trail, but whoever took them wanted her to believe they had. Clever. And dangerous. The Skins who’d taken the young knew exactly what they were and who would be searching for them.
Her guardian could tell from a footprint how heavy a person was, what they were carrying and what kind of threat they posed. He’d taught her the same.
Use all your senses, not just this, little pint, he’d told her, tapping her nose. Your wolf can track scent, but in Skin form, your other senses are much keener. Patterns. Look for patterns. Most two-legged have a style of walking, and their shoes leave prints, not just in dirt, but leaves, logs, everything in the environment.
Patterns, she thought, running a hand over the rough bark of a pine tree.
Arianna jogged a half-mile back on the trail. Then she headed east, studying the silent sweep of trees, searching the trunks for anything...
A fallen log blocked her way. Hunkering down, she saw a faint shoe pattern against the gray bark. A child’s shoe. She grinned and looked around.
“You bastards can’t fool me. I’ve been taught by the best,” she whispered.
Wind rustled through the trees, sighing in agreement.
The oldest, a male, had left small, but readable, signs. Digging his toes into the ground. Snapping branches in half with his footsteps. Breaking through spider webs, now shredded and swaying in the breeze.
She followed the tracks until she reached the end of pack territory. Both Aiden and Darius had laid down strong scent markers to warn other shifters away and No Trespassing signs were posted for Skins. Arianna hesitated.
Rumors abounded of dark, mysterious creatures lurking here. Aiden encouraged the gossip to discourage intruders. But even Lupines knew strange things happened in the forest beyond their boundaries. The same forest Arianna had run away from, crying and screaming...
Stepping into these woods meant stepping into a past she did not want to remember. But there were little ones who needed her. Gathering all her courage, she pushed forward.
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