by Lia Davis
The male smirked. “The name is Van. I hold his leash,” he indicated the mutant next to him, “and those of others like him. I’m also the new Marshal of Onyx.”
Keegan ground his molars and breathed in through his nose slowly. The half-ass meditating routine didn’t help soothe his already pissed-off mood. “That tells me nothing.”
The male shrugged. Arrogance rolled off him, thick and oily. His dark hair was cut short to the scalp, and his midnight-blue eyes held a darkness Keegan had seen before. Felix possessed the same evil within him.
Van locked gazes with Keegan then grinned to show the tips of his fangs. “I know you know about your daughter and your plan to steal her away from her pack. Soon Felix will too.”
Fear burned inside Keegan’s gut. There was no telling what Felix would do to Ana just to send a message to Keegan.
Not happening. Keegan had to trust that Kieran would keep her safe until they came up with a solid plan to get her out.
Van laughed. The evil sound sent a cold shiver up Keegan’s spine. “She is very pretty and strong. I bet she’d give some male lots of sons.”
Fury boiled in Keegan’s veins, and he charged forward, aiming straight at Van’s throat, only to be knocked to the ground right before his teeth made contact. He slid along the ground and slammed into a tree. Pain raced up his spine, as the breath was knocked out of him.
Shaking off the pain, Keegan rushed the mutant, nailing him in the gut and taking him to the ground. Keegan struck out with his clawed hand and scratched the beast down the side of its long snout. Blood oozed from the wounds, and the mutant yelled out in fury and pain.
Keegan hit him again, harder. Much too fast, the mutant’s hand came up and gripped Keegan’s throat, cutting off his airway. The mutant rolled them over so he straddled Keegan and raised his clawed fist over Keegan’s heart.
Keegan braced for impact, knowing good and well that in this position he was done for. Mutants’ brains were too jumbled, their thought patterns too wild. That was one of the reason the Onyx Pack used them to fight against Ashwood Falls.
Keegan reached in with his telepathy to distract the creature long enough to break free.
In the next moment, the mutant froze in place. Confusion followed by pain crossed his face before he looked down at the point of a blade sticking out of his chest. His body jerked, and then he fell to the ground. In his place stood a woman with long raven hair.
His heart stopped for a few moments before it jolted back to life, hammering against his ribcage.
Cate.
It was the only thought he had as he peered into the gray eyes—Cate’s eyes. They were the same color as Blaine’s.
By the way she stood over him frozen in place she was as shocked as he was. Then her eyebrows drew together, and she pulled another dagger from a sheath strapped to her thigh and raised it at him. “Who are you?”
Keegan laid his head on the ground and looked at the darkening sky. “Keegan Andrews, Elder of Ashwood Falls.”
She pursed her lips and said, “I thought there weren’t any more Elders.”
“I’m a new breed,” he said dryly as he rolled to a sitting position.
Ana tensed and shook the dagger toward him. “Stay where you are.”
He met her eyes. She stared back with the strength of a dominant female facing a challenge. A challenge she’d be glad to take on, he bet. Keegan smirked. His daughter held the strength of an alpha.
He eased to a stand, forcing Ana to shift uneasily from foot to foot. Facing her, he held up his hands because he didn’t want to spook her and end up with that dagger buried in chest. “Thank you for saving my life.”
Her gaze flicked to the dead mutant beside them, and then back to him. “I hate the mutants. Vile beasts.”
He grinned, turned his back to her, and walked off. His grin turned into a chuckle as he heard her curse and start to follow him. “I said stay put.”
He twisted around and came nose to nose with her. With quick efficiency, he disarmed her of the dagger and threw the thing into a large oak about ten feet away.
“Hey!” She glared at him as if ordering him to retrieve her knife.
Not happening.
Without realizing what he was doing, he reached out to touch her face. She recoiled and stepped back. He pushed away the ache in his chest from the rejection. She didn’t know him, didn’t know he was her father.
Leaning into her, he whispered, “I owe you a debt for my life, but I can’t pay it today.”
She stilled. “What kind of debt?”
He stepped back because it was too tempting to grab her and take her to the den, lock her up until she knew the truth and accepted it. No, he couldn’t do that. That was what Felix had done, except the bastard had stolen her and built her a life on lies.
“You saved my life. So anything you need just ask.” He turned again to head toward the cave.
He got about twenty feet away when she asked, “How will I find you?”
Without looking at her, he said, “Ask Kieran.” Then he darted off into the woods faster than he knew she’d be able to follow. Not many could track him. His son-in-law and the Pack Tracker, Travis, had difficulties following his trail.
No, there was only one who wasn’t bound to him that could track him.
That male currently lived inside the Onyx den, and his scent was all over Ana.
Keegan hoped Ana trusted Kieran enough to tell him about the meeting and that she’d soon come to collect on the debt Keegan owed her.
****
The only thing Addyson didn’t like about her new temporary home was the lack of windows. So she’d come outside to sit in the grass next to the door. The wolf Marshal, Hayden, growled at her when she tried to wander beyond a few feet from the cave. She growled back, which made his lips twitch, but the rest of his face held on to the scowl.
Like a good submissive, she sat in the middle of a patch of wildflowers and watched the sun fade into night.
“Addyson, you should go inside now,” Hayden said softly as he came to a stop next to her.
She didn’t want to, not until Keegan came back safe. She didn’t know why, but she’d had a bad feeling since he left earlier that evening. Her nerves were like tiny live wires under her skin, sending pulses of unease and fear to every part of her body.
“In a little while,” she said without looking away from the tree line.
“Ten minutes,” Hayden barked and walked off.
She felt her lips form a small smile. She liked Hayden. Underneath that hard-ass, iced shell of his, there was a heart warm and loyal. She’d seen him with the youth of den. It was true that all Pack members looked after and protected the younger and more vulnerable members, but she’d seen Hayden give a little more, spend more time, and comfort in a way she hadn’t expected from the large, dangerous wolf Marshal.
A familiar scent drifted on the wind moments before Keegan emerged from the forest. She stood and waited. His gaze locked with hers, and damn if her body didn’t heat up as her stomach did flips. He stalked toward her and stopped mere inches from her.
She cupped his face with both her hands then frowned. “You’re bleeding.”
Keegan pulled out of her grasp and said, “It’s nothing.”
“No, it’s not nothing. Come on, let me look at it.”
****
He let out a soft growl but followed her inside. The truth was that her stern words and the fire and spirit she’d shown pleased him. Hell, it was a damn turn-on, just like the sight of her slightly curvy hips as they swayed with each step she took into the living room.
She turned to face him when they reached the sofa and narrowed her eyes at him, as if knowing where his thoughts had gone. How was it that this woman could soothe the pain within him? S
he knew how to get inside him and ease the hurt he’d buried from losing his mate.
“Sit,” she commanded as Will entered the room. He had his nose buried in the tablet in his hands.
Keegan peered over at the boy, making him look up. They locked gazes for a brief moment before the teen smirked and sat in the over-sized armchair across from them.
Shaking his head, Keegan sat on the sofa and watched Addyson as she left the room, only to return a moment later with the first aid kit. He was about to point out that he was an alpha leopard shifter and didn’t run the risk of infection like humans did, but he refrained. There was no need to inflame her little temper by pointing out something she already knew. The temper she only showed around him, he mused.
Plus he liked the idea of her caring for him.
Her eyebrows drew together as she dabbed a cotton ball with a salve from an amber-colored jar. “What are you thinking?” she asked while focusing on her task.
He barely contained his flinch when she touched the cool cream to his wound. “How beautiful you are.”
Will snickered from behind his tablet, but Keegan ignored him and continued to watch the way Addyson’s cheeks colored. Although she tried to hide the way his words affected her, he saw it.
“Stop trying to get out of trouble.” She fell silent, and her scent changed, indicating she was worried. He didn’t push. She’d ask her questions when she was ready.
She placed a small bandage over the cut on his forehead then closed up the first aid kit. Without meeting his gaze, she said, “You fought with a mutant.”
His heart stilled for a spit second, and he placed a finger under her chin, lifting it so her violet eyes stared into his. “I did.”
It was his turn to look away, but he didn’t remove his hand from her chin. He needed the connection. Addyson had always grounded him on a level he’d never known. “I have a daughter.”
Will stood and stretched while yawning loudly. The teen came over and kissed Addyson on the cheek. “Good night.” When he straightened, he gave a short nod to Keegan and went to his room.
Keegan studied Addyson as she watched the kid walk off. “You’ve become attached to him,” he said.
She peered at him, a flash of panic crossing her face before her expression became blank. “He’s a good kid.”
“I know. I’ve known since I first met him.” She cocked her head in question, and he spoke before she could ask. “He needs to be challenged and questioned. It’d make him the strong Scribe I know he’ll be some day.”
She nodded and scanned his face. Silence surrounded them again, making him twitch with the need to do something, anything.
“I have a daughter,” he said again.
She blinked. “Yes, I know Shay.”
He shook his head. “No. I have another daughter. Felix stole her from me and Cate.”
Addyson dropped shoulders and her eyes filled with unshed tears. “That’s a terrible thing to do.”
Keegan nodded and took her hand in his. “I believed all this time she was dead. The baby Cate birthed died right after birth. We buried our daughter… at least we thought we had.”
Cool fingers touched his cheek, making him look into Addyson’s face. “Felix is a bastard to the core.” As soon as the words left her mouth, her eye widened. “Oh, God. No wonder Cate’s image looked so familiar.”
Keegan tightened his fingers around hers. “You’ve met Ana?”
Addyson shook her head. “Felix made sure I never made any kind of contact with her, but I saw her in passing during my captivity.”
Anger bubbled up inside him. He knew from Kieran that Ana had been raised as one of two of the Onyx’s princesses. That information gave Keegan hope that Ana had a somewhat happy life, if that was at all possible living inside a Pack that’s main mission was to destroy others’ lives.
“I met her.”
Addyson let out a small gasp. “Did she…?”
He shook his head. “She doesn’t know who I am.”
He went on to tell her about the mutant and Ana killing it and his vow that he owed her a debt. By the time he finished speaking, they were both relaxed on the couch with Addyson snuggled into his side, her head resting on his chest.
Her scent tempted him like nothing else, made him crave things he hadn’t in a very long time. He couldn’t fight it any longer. The more time he spent with her, the more he wanted, no, needed.
His leopard refused to back down and became edgier with each denial. Both the man and cat were growing inpatient. Addyson Lewis belonged to him, and he was going to have her.
Soon.
Chapter Nine
Addyson sat at the kitchen table and watched the steam rise from her coffee. She couldn’t sleep. The prior day’s events kept replaying in her mind. Her heart ached for Keegan. He still held on to the pain of his loss, or was it the so-called betrayal?
Something just didn’t settle right with her. Keegan’s mate couldn’t have turned her back on him and the Pack. Addyson refused to believe it to be the case.
The sound of shuffling feet drew her out of her thoughts. She turned her head as Will sat down next to her. “Morning. Did I wake you?”
He shook his head. “No, ma’am.”
“Are you hungry? I made muffins.”
His eyes brightened, and the corners of his mouth lifted. “Blueberry?”
Addyson laughed softly and ruffled his hair as she stood to go get the tray of muffins and pour him a glass of milk.
“Where are you from?”
She stilled briefly, surprised by the question. “What do you mean?”
“Where did you grow up?”
Addyson closed the milk carton and put it back in the fridge. “I don’t remember my childhood.”
Will drew his eyebrows together. “Not at all?”
Addyson shook her head. “Nope. Nevan, the Pack Empath and psychiatrist, said that my mind may have locked up my personal memories to preserve my own sense of reality.”
A tic formed in his temple, and he took a breath before asking, “How long were you there?”
She shrugged. “About a hundred years.” He fell silent, making Addyson peer over at him after taking her seat next to him. He picked at his muffin, and she could tell he was deep in thought. Covering his forearm with her hand, she said, “Now do you understand why my mind is broken?”
His gaze snapped up to hers. “You are not broken. You’re just scared and need time to heal.”
She meant to argue but stopped as she caught Keegan’s oak-and-spice scent wrapping around her. A moment later she felt his hands press gently on her shoulders. Leaning down so his lips were inches from her ear, he whispered, “You’re a very strong female, Addy.”
Her heart fluttered rapidly behind her ribs, and for a second, she almost forgot how to breathe.
Keegan’s weight lifted from her, and when he moved to walk around the table, she let out a breath she didn’t remember holding. Sitting down across from her, he took a muffin from the plate and met her gaze with brown eyes so dark they looked black.
“Why don’t you have Jared see if he can help you remember?” Keegan said casually.
Jared was the Pack Justice and possessed the ability to read people’s memories through touch. Although it was possible that Jared could unlock her memories, there was the little issue she had with skin-to-skin contact.
Addyson shook her head. “I don’t know if I want to remember.”
Keegan narrowed his eyes at her. The stare was so intense she had to look away, her cat too much of a submissive to hold the connection.
She linked her fingers together on the table and focused on them as she told the two of them what she did know about her den. “Once, a few years before I escaped the Onyx den, I found a small c
lay bowl. It looked familiar, but somehow I knew it didn’t belong to anyone in Onyx. So I touched it briefly with the tip of my index finger. I saw a younger version of myself holding the bowl while I sat propped against a large snow leopard. My father.”
Tears burned her eyes as her vision grew blurry. She’d held onto that small happy memory, cherished it. It was the only piece of her past she had and the only hint of who her parents were before Onyx slaughtered them all.
Keegan placed his warm hand over hers, forcing her to lift her gaze to his. This time she held it. He didn’t speak, just rubbed circles over her wrist with his thumb. It soothed her on a level that should have scared the life out of her.
Will set his empty glass on the table hard enough to snap Addyson out of whatever had just happened between her and Keegan. She peered over at the teen as he asked Keegan, “Can I go for a run? It’s been awhile since I shifted.”
Her leopard whimpered inside her head. She dropped her shoulders and glanced back at Keegan. He let out a sigh, stood, and held out his hand to her. “Come on. Let’s go let our beasts out to play.”
****
The relief mixed with excitement that passed over Addyson’s face made Keegan want to pull her into his arms and claim every inch of her. It also pissed him the hell off that she hadn’t been taking care of her leopard’s needs.
When she placed her hand in his, he tugged her close so their bodies touched. “Why haven’t you been taking care of this?”
It came out as a growl, and he sensed her cat wanting to submit to his. Damn it. With his free hand, he traced a finger down her cheek to her chin, where he lifted it gently to peer into her eyes.
Eyes that wouldn’t meet his.
He pressed his forehead against hers and whispered, “Addy.”
She relaxed slightly against him. “I’d shift at home, but only while within the den’s protective wards. I was taken while on a hunt, caught in a net. So, I don’t like to go out alone.”
