The Secret
Page 1
Table of Contents
~ Acclaim for Loribelle Hunt ~
~ Look for these titles from Loribelle Hunt ~
Copyright Warning
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
~ About the Author ~
~ Coming Soon ~
~ Also by Loribelle Hunt ~
More Paranormal Romance from Etopia Press
~ Acclaim for Loribelle Hunt ~
Under Cover of the Moon
“The author has created likable and believable characters in a vivid setting. The story is entertaining and moves quickly, leaving the reader wanting more.”
The Romance Studio
“Hunt’s tale is a fresh take on a familiar theme.”
RT Book Reviews
Bad Moon Rising
“If you’re looking for some scrumptious erotic romance then Bad Moon Rising is the one book with just the right seasoning of romance, hot intense heat, a bit of danger and intrigue, along with a hot werewolf all in one remarkable read.”
The Romance Studio
“I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen sparks fly like the ones between Tara and Trey. From the very first touch, their chemistry exploded into such raw sensuality that I had to stop reading a couple times just to check my pulse!”
Two Lips Reviews
Chasing the Moon
“The third book in the Lunar Mates series is well written, with a fast-paced storyline and engaging characters. The intense passion and growing love between the protagonists is enthralling, as is the mystery subplot. Hunt delivers a sensual, action-packed romance that is sure to satisfy.”
RT Book Reviews
“I just can’t get enough of this series.”
The Romance Studio
“The chemistry between Jackson and Summer is strong from the very beginning… [R]eaders will get a wonderfully blended couple."
Fallen Angel Reviews
~ Look for these titles from Loribelle Hunt ~
Now Available
Lunar Mates
Lunar Mates 1: Under Cover of the Moon
Lunar Mates 2: Bad Moon Rising
Lunar Mates 3: Chasing the Moon
Lunar Mates 4: Call of the Moon
Lunar Mates 5: Christmas Moon
Lunar Mates 6: Captured Moon
Lunar Mates 7: Claiming the Moon
Lunar Mates 8: Hunter’s Moon
Coming Soon
The Return
Pride Law Book 2
In Print
Lunar Mates Volume One
Lunar Mates Volume Two
Lunar Mates Volume Three
The Secret
Pride Law Book 1
Loribelle Hunt
Copyright Warning
EBooks are not transferable. They cannot be sold, shared, or given away. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is a crime punishable by law. No part of this book may be scanned, uploaded to or downloaded from file sharing sites, or distributed in any other way via the Internet or any other means, electronic or print, without the publisher’s permission. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000 (http://www.fbi.gov/ipr/).
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are fictitious or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real in any way. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Published By
Etopia Press
1643 Warwick Ave., #124
Warwick, RI 02889
http://www.etopia-press.net
The Secret
Copyright © 2012 by Loribelle Hunt
ISBN: 978-1-939194-32-9
Edited by Nancy Cassidy
Cover by Valerie Tibbs
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First Etopia Press electronic publication: December 2012
Chapter One
Carlos Rivera studied the woman in silence, certain she was unaware of his scrutiny. She’d been introduced to him two months ago as Sunny. No last name, and it’d taken weeks before she’d confessed it was Nolan. He could have just asked Julian, her boss and head of the group of human hunters currently working with the werewolves to take out rogue shifters. Julian’s group had only recently made themselves known, and many of them still seemed to be deciding if they trusted the wolves and lions, including Sunny. He couldn’t blame any of them, but he wanted her to open up to him. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he knew her.
Her name was the only information she’d willingly given up, but even with that, his background check on her had come up completely empty. It was like she didn’t exist. She was a mystery, and his lion side had never been able to resist a puzzle.
He called her the Ice Queen in his head, not entirely comfortable with his rising obsession. But after just a few weeks in her silent company, he realized his first assessment was wrong and abandoned the nickname. It wasn’t that she was cold. She was just very reserved, especially with shifters.
That shouldn’t have surprised him. She was a tracker in an unnamed secretive human group that hunted feral werefelines and rogue werewolves, and probably any other were species that got out of line. They felt humans were inferior and preyed on them, killing indiscriminately. Worse, if left to their own devices they’d expose the rest of the shifter species to humanity. It was obvious most of the human hunters were a part of the organization because they’d experienced tragedy at the hands of one species or the other. His lion wanted to demand she tell him her story, but he was pretty damned sure it was too soon to get it out of her.
A sign indicating restaurants at the next exit flashed by, and he slowed to enter the off-ramp.
“Why are we stopping?”
The first words she’d spoken since they’d left North Carolina were soft, almost drowsy, and they hit him hard, intensifying the arousal he already felt into painful need. He glanced down, shifting a little in his seat, and hoped she didn’t notice his cock had grown hard in his jeans.
“We need to refuel.”
She turned to look at him, right as he looked up, and he swore he saw a flash of amusement in her eyes.
“You did that an hour ago.”
“I meant food,” he said, turning into a fast-food place.
“Oh.”
She exited the vehicle, a sleek hybrid SUV, without another word and waited on the sidewalk outside until Asa and Declan, who were following in their own vehicle, joined them. The two werewolves were Hunters. Carlos had been working with them to track down Arthur Roberts, a werewolf they expected to lead them straight to Tim Burns, ruler of the rogue Society.
The three entered as a group with Carlos bringing up the rear. She relaxed as she ordered, took the wolves’ gentle teasing in stride and didn’t argue—too much—when they insisted on paying for her meal.
The genial atmosphere continued at the table. Between the three of them, at least. Carlos was finding it increasingly hard to control his cat, the wild side of him clawing to break free. Each time she smiled at one of the wolves, each time she laughed at a joke, it grew worse. And it wasn’t just her smiles or her laughter winding him up. Carlos enjoyed men just as much as women.
Ther
e was something about the wolf, Declan, that called to him too. A call he was finding harder and harder to resist. He wanted a taste of the man, and then some. His lion considered the other male, Asa, an interloper, and it wasn’t pleased Sunny and Declan gave him so much attention. Carlos struggled to contain a low snarl and knew he hadn’t succeeded when Sunny turned to watch him with somber eyes.
What the fuck was wrong with him? Jealousy? Possessiveness? He couldn’t remember the last time he’d gone territorial over a woman, much less a man. He just wasn’t built that way. What was it about Sunny that made him want to roll her in bubble wrap and hide her away? What was it about Declan that made him want to roar his dominance?
“If you’re done, we should get a move on,” he snapped.
Of course, she didn’t reply. It was almost like she figured if she didn’t respond to him, he was no threat. She was wrong about that. She’d tempted the cat and was now its prey whether she liked it or not. Once she’d thrown out her trash, she stalked to the SUV, the three of them following. Declan stopped him before he could get into the driver’s seat.
“Careful, cat,” he said with an expectant grin. “That one scratches back.”
As far as warnings went, it was a lousy one. He craved this mysterious warrior woman, not a domesticated kitten. He could get plenty of that at home.
“And so do I,” Declan murmured, and there was no mistaking the heat in the werewolf’s eyes.
Carlos’s nostrils flared to take in the growing scent of his arousal. Fucking ambrosia. Oh yeah. His interest was reciprocated. It was only a matter of time before he had the wolf exactly where he wanted him. Declan flicked his gaze to Sunny, who watched with apparent interest from inside the vehicle. He gave her a tight smile before getting in the other SUV.
Carlos continued south, turning seduction scenes over in his mind as he drove. His lion insisted he take her first. Declan wanted her too, but the lion would never accept less than supreme dominance. It wasn’t until they crossed the Georgia state line into Florida that Sunny spoke, startling him from his thoughts.
“Do you think we’ll find him this time?”
He glanced over and let his gaze sweep over her regal profile, moving down her lean torso and the sweater covering her generous breasts, before forcing his gaze back to the road.
“I don’t know.”
This was their third trip to south Florida looking for Arthur Roberts. The werewolf was excellent at hiding when he wanted to. Carlos was pretty sure if they found Arthur, and the man had succeeded in his mission, he’d take his own life before he let himself get captured by the Hunters. That was why Declan was along. Arthur was his older brother, and he was determined to see him safe. But Carlos knew that wasn’t likely to happen. Arthur’s mate had been murdered by a rogue werewolf years ago, and the only thing he lived for now was revenge. To make matters even more difficult, on each trip south, Carlos had the nagging feeling that Sunny was there for another mission entirely.
The car fell into silence again, and for once in his life, he wasn’t comfortable in it. Eventually she twisted her body so she could face him, pulling one leg up to rest her knee against the center console. The urge to touch her, to set his hand on the inside of her knee and slide it down to somewhere far more intimate, was so intense he gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles went white. Even if he could talk her into pulling off the side of the road and stripping for him, they weren’t alone. He was glad when she spoke again, but less than pleased with the topic.
“At the Halloween party, you implied”—he braced himself during her brief hesitation—“you’d lost someone once. Your mate?”
He should have kept his trap shut. The party had been thrown by Julian for his hunters and their new werewolf allies. It was the night he met Sunny, the night he met all of them. He’d spoken to Gia, a human hunter recently mated to Anthony, the leader of the werewolf Hunters, and tried to tell her that once mated, a were couldn’t live alone without his other half, but he’d really wanted Sunny to understand that.
“My parents.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
This time he didn’t resist the urge to touch her. Setting his hand on her knee, he squeezed it slightly when she tried to pull away.
“You have every right to ask,” he said, softly enough he knew her less sensitive human ears wouldn’t hear the words. Hell, he wasn’t ready to acknowledge that himself, but it was getting harder to deny that the pull he felt to her was about a lot more than lust. He wanted her long-term. But was he ready for a mate? When she didn’t ask anything else, didn’t push for answers, he forced himself to tell the story instead of wondering about his feelings.
“My mother was beautiful. Talented. Frail.” He took a deep shuddering breath, the pain just as sharp now as it had been when he was a child. “She had cancer. Fought it a long time, but she died when I was ten.”
Her slim, cool fingers closed over his hand. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked,” she whispered.
He shrugged. “You would have found out soon enough.”
“That’s not all, is it?”
“No.” He wasn’t sure of the best way to continue, so he just spit it out. “My dad gave up on life after that. He died a couple months later.”
“Oh God. That had to suck for a ten-year-old.”
He lifted her hand to his lips for a soft kiss, then scraped her knuckles with his teeth. She trembled, and he shifted his grip so he could brush his thumb over the pulse point on her wrist. It was fast and erratic, and when he lifted her wrist to his mouth to taste the delicate spot, her arousal was a heady perfume on her skin.
And she wasn’t happy about it. She tugged on her hand, but he only released her after licking her wrist. Her pulse jumped under the stroke of his tongue, and her inviting scent grew stronger.
Once again safe on her side of the car, she snapped at him. “Don’t do that again.”
Fine. That left plenty of other places to taste, and he was definitely going back for seconds.
“Why?”
“Did it occur to you I might not be available?”
He gripped the steering wheel hard and struggled to control the lion side of his nature. He could only describe what he was feeling as possessive rage, which made absolutely no sense. He’d often shared women. Werelions were sensual with high sex drives, and he was no different. Even among mated pairs, there were third and fourth parties active in the relationship. Sometimes they were temporary; usually they were long-term or permanent. It was pride law. So why did he object so strongly to sharing this woman? Well, he’d share her with Declan, but that was probably because he had every intention of keeping him too.
“You’re not wearing a ring.”
She laughed, but it held more anger than joy. “That doesn’t mean I’m not involved with someone.”
He growled. Couldn’t help himself. “Get rid of him.”
“Yeah. Sure. Just as soon as hell freezes over.”
Her voice vibrated with anger, and he bit back a smile. Yeah. He’d been wrong about Sunny Nolan. Her reserve hid a passionate temper, not a lack of emotion. As soon as the opportunity presented itself, he’d test that passion. And even as he struggled with jealousy, he wondered if her lover was someone he’d want to bring into their circle.
“Well, get ready, baby, because hell just froze over.”
She twisted in her seat to face him, her anger simmering in the air between them, but she didn’t speak for several minutes.
“Are you just incapable of not hitting on women? Is that a cat thing?”
Her words were a shock, angry and disdainful. The hurt he felt was even more stunning. He couldn’t believe she thought so little of him.
“There are plenty of women I don’t hit on.” He was bewildered by her accusation. His cat was stung by the derision in her voice. He liked women, but he sure as hell didn’t take every one that caught his eye to bed. Even lions were more discriminating than t
hat.
“You flirted with every female at Julian’s party. Including Gia, who was obviously taken.”
“None of that was serious flirting. It was more along the lines of being friendly.”
“Yeah, right. You aren’t being very friendly when you order me to quit seeing someone,” she pointed out. “How many women does that work on?”
Was it possible she was jealous? He shrugged, attempting to hide how much he liked the thought. “No idea. I’ve never tried it before.”
She snorted. “And, yet, you’re trying now.”
His reaction was immediate and instinctive. Because you’re mine. Fuck. He couldn’t deny it any longer. The urge to claim her was overwhelming. She was his mate. He refused to turn and look at her. As soon as he’d crossed that line in his mind, his cock swelled to painful, demanding fullness. He was afraid if he faced her now, he wouldn’t be able to fight the need to pull off to the side of the road, take her into the woods, and make his claim a physical reality.
They had too much company for that. Both wolves wanted her; that was an undeniable fact, and later he intended to invite Declan to join in. But she would be his, first and last. Always. Fuck. Convincing her wouldn’t be easy, but he was confident she would come around.
He had an even bigger problem. According to pride law, once he took a mate he had to bring at least one more male into the group. There was no denying he wanted that male to be Declan. But traditionally, he should also take a third, another lion shifter. Since Declan was a wolf, he wouldn’t really have an option not to. The fourth didn’t have to be his lover, however. In fact, fourths were usually younger brothers. His just happened to be single and close to their destination. Thank God he wouldn’t have to share her with anyone who might tempt his new possessive streak. It wasn’t the best solution, but it would be enough to prevent any challenges. And just in time for Christmas.