Midnight Wolf

by Jennifer Ashley

  But no way was Angus letting Dylan past him to find Tamsin. She wasn’t a flash drive of information to be passed from hand to hand. She was a living, breathing woman, and Angus was now her protector.

  He kept punching. Dylan dodged his blows and got in damaging ones himself—to the shoulder, rib cage, jaw. Ciaran’s shouts turned to howls as he shifted to his black wolf cub, his distress shrilling through the room.

  Sean grabbed his father by the arms and dragged him back. “Dad! Stop! You’ll have the cops on us in a trice. Ciaran, lad, shut it!”

  Dylan let Sean pull him from Angus. His face was bloody, his breath labored, and Angus tasted blood on his own lips.

  Angus caught the squirming Ciaran in his arms. The furry black cub cut off his howls, but he continued to whimper, his gray eyes wide with terror.

  Dylan drew ragged breaths. “This is your answer, then.”

  He stepped away from Sean, wiping blood from his face with the back of his hand. Dylan was a stickler for Shifter law, an ancient code that went back centuries, before humans put forth their restrictions. He wasn’t happy with Angus, but he’d abide by his decision.

  His laconic words acknowledged the mate-claim. Though Angus and Tamsin weren’t officially mated by the claim—and Tamsin, if Angus ever found her, would probably tell him to take his claim and stuff it—Angus now protected her. Every other male on the planet—father, brother, son, uncle, clan leader, Shiftertown leader, Dylan—would face Angus’s wrath if they went anywhere near her.

  Sean looked pained. “Goddess, the pair of ye. Angus, get after her and keep her safe. I can’t answer for Dad, but I’ll try to keep him hosed down. That lass obviously needs you.”

  Dylan retreated to the bathroom during this speech and returned with two towels, one of which he handed Angus. “It’s important you find her,” he said, mopping his face. “I hope you understand how important. I won’t hurt her. But please, bring her to me.”

  Ciaran started howling again. Angus scrubbed the blood from his mouth with the towel and kissed the top of Ciaran’s head. “It’s all right, son. We’ll find her. We’ll keep her safe.”

  Ciaran settled into the crook of Angus’s arm. Sean had to help gather up both Tamsin’s clothes and Ciaran’s, Sean’s look sympathetic as he opened the motel room’s door.

  “Go find her,” Sean said quietly to Angus. “Make her your mate in truth. Trust me, lad. It’s the best thing.”

  * * *

  • • •

  Tamsin paused at the edge of the farmer’s field and gazed back at the motel. Lights glinting between cracks in curtains told of people settling in for the night, watching television, catching some sleep before continuing their journeys tomorrow.

  She sat on her haunches, cool wind ruffling her fur. They’d left the rain behind, and the night sky stretched above her, thick with stars.

  So why was she loitering in the breeze and the night instead of hightailing it out of there? Angus had known exactly what she’d do as soon as Sean mentioned the window in the bathroom, but he’d done nothing, said nothing. Even his body language, which Shifters were good at reading, had remained neutral, not betraying a thing.

  Tamsin had, in fact, become stuck halfway through the window, cursing herself for eating every bite of that po’ boy and following it up with cheesecake.

  A frantic wriggling and her sleek fur had popped her through, and then she’d had to dig her claws in hard to the concrete wall to keep from falling twenty feet and landing on her face.

  A few seconds later, she’d been on the ground, leaping across the asphalt and over the wall to the fields beyond, Sean’s shouts fading behind her.

  Now she sat thirty yards from the parking lot in the shadow of a stand of trees fed by a trickling creek. Rabbits in the field behind her were cowering, silent, waiting for the predator to go.

  Go she should. Tamsin needed to run far and fast before Dylan came out of that motel. He’d turn into whatever badass Feline he was and track her without a problem. His son would be right behind him, and Angus too.

  She told herself she was waiting to see whether she could slip inside and retrieve her clothes and money as soon as they bolted out to hunt for her, but she knew that was bullshit.

  Tamsin had abandoned clothes and money several times in her past and managed to survive. She’d learned the fine art of resourcefulness and never had to resort to theft. People could be persuaded to part with clothes they didn’t want, or they’d pay her to go away if she was enough of a nuisance. She’d do an honest job for wages as well, walking away with a cheerful wave as soon as she got paid. If she could find a nearby poker game, all the better.

  Tamsin never cheated at cards. She didn’t need to. Humans had subtle changes in scent when they were bluffing. Easy to know when she had the best hand on the table.

  Nothing explained why she sat here instead of fleeing. She wasn’t certain what had made her turn back, except the pang in her heart when she realized she might never see Angus again.

  What did it matter? She could arrange to meet with him—someday, when Shifter Bureau agents and über-dominant Shifters weren’t chasing her. They might be twenty years older by then, but hey, what could they do?

  Angus would have found another mate by that time. He was fine-looking, kindhearted, and strong, even if he was grumpy. He deserved a mate who loved him.

  Tamsin’s chest tightened until she couldn’t breathe. No wonder she wasn’t running—the escape must have exhausted her more than she’d thought.

  She tensed when three men emerged from the motel, their height and bulk telling her they were Shifters, one unmistakably Angus. No glimmer of sword hilt marked the one who must be Sean, but he’d probably left the sword locked in the room so he didn’t frighten the natives.

  They all walked to the black semitruck cab, Angus, carrying a small, squirming wolf cub. Dylan and Sean didn’t stop Angus from climbing up into the truck—in fact, Sean opened the passenger door and set a bundle of something on the seat.

  Then the two Morrissey men backed off. They didn’t wave or say any farewells, only watched as Angus started the truck, turned on its lights, and drove out of the parking lot.

  Shit.

  Tamsin waited another moment to see which direction Angus headed. Dylan and Sean remained in the lot, watching him go, lights glinting on their dark hair.

  In the next second, Tamsin was gone. She dove beneath the trees and leapt the creek, dashing through scrub on the other side. She crouched low and then leapt straight over a barbed-wire fence, scraping her belly along the way, but barely feeling it. Then she was running, running, skimming over the ground on an intercept course to the highway Angus had taken.

  Tamsin had never been good at geometry in school, but she could figure the exact angle she had to run to meet the truck, which Angus drove at a steady speed.

  Her legs pumped, the furrows of plowed earth dragging at her abdomen, the stubble of cut crops stinging her. She ran straight through a patch of slick mud, slipping sideways before she could regain her footing. The mud slowed her, and the truck was passing.

  Damn it. Tamsin changed her angle to compensate, forgetting about breathing as she zoomed across the field, her paws scrabbling to reach the asphalt as the black truck sped past her.

  Tamsin hit the highway’s shoulder and kept running, desperately chasing the truck she had no hope of catching. Like an optimistic dog, she thought. I sure hope no one’s watching, laughing at me . . .

  Her lungs demanded oxygen. Tamsin’s body made her stop before she wanted to, despair exploding through her as air filled her lungs.

  The truck’s tires squealed on the pavement and the cab skidded sideways. The red glow of brake lights bathed Tamsin, and the truck halted.

  The driver’s door opened. Angus leapt straight to the ground, the engine purring behind him, and ran for Tamsin.r />
  As Tamsin gasped for breath, Angus reached her, scooped her up as though she weighed nothing, and hugged her against him.

  “It’s all right. I’ve got you.”

  The simple words made Tamsin collapse. She went limp against Angus’s chest as he carried her to the truck, lifted her onto the seat, and sprang in swiftly behind her.

  Tamsin lay still, panting, legs splayed, her fur matted with mud.

  Angus guided the truck back onto the road, speeding up as he went. There was no traffic, no one to slow for as he drove on.

  “Ciaran, give her that blanket.”

  Ciaran leaned from the back seat, a woolen blanket in his small hands. He draped it carefully over Tamsin, his touch steady, his face creased in concern.

  Ciaran made sure Tamsin’s head poked out—her mud-coated head with its open, drooling mouth. She must look like shit warmed over.

  Tamsin lay as a heap of helpless wet fur, shivering and unable to stop. Ciaran petted the top of her head, making soothing noises. His touch, small but caring, started to calm her.

  Finally, Tamsin summoned the strength to shift. Ciaran lifted his hand away as Tamsin slid into her human body and drew the blanket close over her naked limbs.

  “Hey, sweetie,” she said in a hoarse whisper to Angus. “Going my way?”

  * * *

  • • •

  Angus kept driving, hands on the wheel. He didn’t have a clear idea where he was going, which bothered him—he only knew they couldn’t stop.

  Tamsin crawled into the back and onto the bed, pulling the curtains that hung around the bunk closed. She emerged a few minutes later dressed again.

  “Why do you think Dimitri hung up curtains?” Tamsin said to Angus as she slid into the front seat with startling ease. “I think it was so he and Jaycee could sneak inside and close out the world. When the truck is a-rockin’, don’t go a-knockin’.”

  Angus ignored this. “You all right?”

  “Would love a shower and my hair is a wreck.” Her voice was weak. “Running like hell across a mowed field in the middle of the night is harder than it looks. Otherwise, fine. How did you leave things with Dylan? Did he say, Oh well, I give up. See ya later?”

  “Dad punched him.” Ciaran’s voice was tired but full of pride. “Fought him off. Sean had to break them up.”

  Angus felt the weight of Tamsin’s gaze. “Then I should be asking if you’re all right,” she said. “I’ve never met a Shifter like Dylan. He’s got a lot of power.”

  “We came to an understanding,” Angus said quietly.

  “Huh.” Tamsin pulled her feet onto the seat, wrapping her arms around her legs. “Must have been a hell of an understanding.”

  “Dad claimed you as mate,” Ciaran told her. “He made the mate-claim, under the light of the moon, and Sean, Dylan, and me were witnesses. You’ll say yes, won’t you, Tamsin? You’ll be my dad’s mate? And stay with us forever?”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Angus braced himself for Tamsin’s snarl of outrage, for angry questions, even snarky comments, but she remained oddly silent.

  He glanced at her. Tamsin was staring straight ahead, watching the road unroll under the glare of the headlights, her face pale behind the dirt streaking her cheeks.

  “It was the only way to get Dylan off your back,” Angus said quickly. He who didn’t like to talk now spilled out words. “You’re fair game, by Shifter terms. Unprotected, no mate, no father, no clan leader. If I mate-claim you, then no one messes with you. Not Dylan, not my clan leader, not Shiftertown leaders, no one. Even Shifter Bureau has to clear things with me.”

  Her lips parted as she listened, Tamsin’s tawny eyes focusing on him. Those eyes were quiet, the teasing, carefree manner she hid behind gone.

  “I wasn’t there,” she said softly. “How can you mate-claim a female who isn’t in the room?”

  “It wasn’t a completed claim. But it was good enough. I claimed you before witnesses and in sight of the Goddess. It counted in Dylan’s eyes, which was why he let me go and didn’t give chase.”

  “So far,” Tamsin said. “He hasn’t given chase so far. But he will.”

  “I know,” Angus said. “But now that I’ve made a mate-claim, his trackers will back off, because they’ll have to fight me to get to you. They know me, and know I won’t simply stand aside. Some of them have become friends, and they might refuse to obey Dylan on this.”

  Ciaran leaned over the seat to her. “All you have to do is say yes, Tamsin.”

  His voice held hope. April had taken Ciaran away when he was only two, and had died the next year, months after Angus had found her and wrested Ciaran back from her. Ciaran didn’t remember much about April, but he felt the loss. He’d never had a proper mum, and he knew it.

  Tamsin sent him a glance, then fixed her gaze on Angus again. “I’ve been mate-claimed before. Twice. I turned both claims down.”

  “Why?” Angus demanded. “Were the Shifters who made them assholes?”

  A ghost of Tamsin’s grin touched her mouth. “Well, yes.”

  “I did it to protect you, to add the layer of my fists between you and the world,” Angus went on. “You do so many crazy things, you need someone to fight for you.”

  Again Angus waited for her derision, her laughter at him for doing something so stupid.

  “You don’t have to put yourself in danger for me,” she said, her voice quiet. “I’m always running from bad people—I must be a bad-people magnet. But some of them turn out to be dangerous, like Haider. Seriously. Don’t officially be their enemy too.”

  “I didn’t do it to be a hero.” Angus swerved around a slow-moving car. “I did it to save your ass from Dylan. He was going to call down all his trackers on you, including Tiger. Tiger’s a big, messed-up Shifter bred in a lab in Area 51. He’s not like normal Shifters. If Dylan sets him on your trail, you’ll never get away, no matter how far you run or where you hide. But Tiger’s a good guy at heart—he’s got a mate and a cub, and he’ll respect that I’ve made a mate-claim. Doesn’t mean he won’t find you; but he’ll understand that I’m your protector, and he won’t simply take you. He’s a tracker for Dylan and his son Liam, but Tiger doesn’t mindlessly obey anyone. He makes his own decisions.”

  Tamsin didn’t answer for a moment, and when she did, her tone was thoughtful. “You know, I’ve never had a male try to scare me into a mate-claim by threatening me with a super-tracking Shifter from Area 51.” She looked out the front window again. “I’m going to have to think about this.”

  “Are you not accepting because he has a cub already?” Ciaran asked, worried. “I’m usually good. I even clean my room sometimes before my dad remembers to tell me to do it.”

  Tamsin turned around and clasped Ciaran’s hands, kissing each one. “Oh, sweetie. If I could have you as my cub, I’d love it. It’s not you I’m worried about—it’s your dad. I’d have to live with him.”

  “No,” Angus said abruptly. “You do what you want. But no one touches you if I’m your mate.”

  Tamsin squeezed Ciaran’s hands again and released him. “This is the weirdest mate-claim I’ve ever heard, I have to say. Are you sure you’re not just overly tired, Angus? You need some shut-eye. You’ll wake up horrified you ever thought of such a thing, and you’ll want us to forget all about it.”

  “Nope.” He shook his head. “Situation will be the same whether it’s the middle of the night or the light of day. A mate-claim is binding. All other males will back off. The only way it ends is if you say no.”

  Angus clamped his mouth shut, willing himself to stop talking. He expected the next words out of Tamsin’s mouth to be All right, then. No. But she said nothing.

  They went on, Angus cutting south of Austin, skirting San Marcos, and north into darkness again. Ciaran dozed behind them, worn out from the excitement and his worry th
at they’d lose Tamsin. It had been Ciaran who’d caught sight of her leaping from the field and yelled at Angus to stop.

  “We need to pull off somewhere so you can sleep,” Tamsin said sometime after Austin’s lights had faded behind them. “Ciaran too. I’ll keep watch.”

  Angus gave her a quick look. “You really think I’d do that? First, no way am I letting you decide to run off while I’m asleep. Two, there’s nowhere to stop. Kendrick’s place is out—Dylan will simply corner us there. Every Shifter in Kendrick’s group and the Austin Shiftertown will know by now that Dimitri lent me this truck, so they’ll be looking for it. We need to find different transportation and only then a safe place to rest—far, far from here.”

  “Wherever here is,” Tamsin said, peering out into the dark. “Too bad—I like this truck. I hate to give it up. It’s cozy.”

  “It’s conspicuous. Shifter Bureau might not know about it, but every Shifter in Texas will soon.”

  “Out of the frying pan, into the fire. That’s the saying, right? Where are we, do you think?”

  “River country west of Austin. At least that’s what the signs all say. There’s a map in the dash.”

  Tamsin pulled out a thick, folded-up paper map. “Oh, I love maps. The paper ones are much more visceral than ones on a phone screen, right?” The map rustled as she unfolded it, then she flipped on an overhead light to study it, while Ciaran, who’d awakened, looked over her shoulder. “Let’s see. Here’s Austin. There’s the lake. The river goes that way to—Llano?”

  “Passed it. We’re on the 71.” A sign flashed by to confirm that.

  “Next town is called Brady.” Tamsin’s finger touched it. “Not much out here. Very small towns. I like small towns, but I kind of stand out in them.”

  “No kidding.” With Tamsin’s brilliant red hair and laughter, bouncing in and out of people’s lives, she must make herself memorable. “We’ll head for San Angelo,” Angus said. “It’s a big enough town to let us be somewhat anonymous, and we can find another ride there.”