Several minutes later, he stopped and dragged in a deep breath. The scent drifting on the breeze eased the last of his anxiety. Lena.
His beautiful female scrambled down the hill, Kade right at her side, a hand out and ready to catch her if she slipped. The edges of her jacket flapped open as she ran. Brown eyes met his then slid to Molly. Her expression fell. Devin picked up the pace but Molly ran. She scooted through his front legs and sprinted into Lena’s arms. She hugged her close and stood, a look of defeat slackening her lovely features.
She forced a smile that never reached her eyes. “Thank you, Devin.”
He shifted, grabbed the pair of sweats Kade tossed him and yanked them on. There was so much he wanted to say but all he managed was a single nod, the sense of failure too deep to offer more.
Vader jogged toward them, fangs and claws bared, the scent of his rage sweeping out ahead of him. Devin’s cats reacted to the threat even though fear and frustration etched lines in the wolf’s brow. Devin gave each animal’s leash a sharp tug reminding them to behave, the human side of him recognizing the other male’s pain.
Vader turned toward Lena, arm stretched out. “Where’s Gw—”
Before he could finish, Molly turned her head and bared her fangs. A baby growl accompanied the vicious display and she jumped from Lena’s embrace at the approaching male. Lena cried out and Vader let out an ‘oomph’ as the cub connected with his chest. Devin rushed toward Lena while Kade moved around her and pulled a snarling Molly off Vader.
Devin choked back a curse. “Oh, baby. Let me see.”
He gently lifted her arm and used a sharpened nail to cut the sleeve of her jacket off at the elbow. She grimaced as he tugged the material away. One deep slash ran down her forearm, despite the material covering it.
“Great another scar.” Her tight voice betrayed her pain, the only outward sign. She looked past him to where Molly’s lion form huddled in Kade’s arms. The cub lifted her head and locked her blue eyes on Lena.
He glanced between the two, the remorse and guilt written on their expressions strong, and shook his head. “No, you won’t scar.” He licked the wounds, laving the worst over and over until it stopped bleeding. Her sigh assured him the numbing agent in his saliva blocked the sting. “Better?”
She nodded and he lifted her shirt, exposing the long scratch crossing over the white scars left on her belly.
“They have Gwen, don’t they?”
With the tip of his tongue to her skin, he lifted his gaze to hers. The distress reflected there was the kind that left its mark. He licked the small cut closed and inclined his head slightly. “Do not blame yourself.”
Fire flashed in the chocolate depths of her eyes. “And who should I blame. I wasted hours.” She grabbed his biceps. “We could’ve gotten here in time to prevent this but we didn’t because I was too busy acting like a selfish brat!”
He carefully pulled her hands off his arms and held them between his. They trembled and he hated the sign of her agitation. “The past cannot be changed. You made a decision and acted on it. There’s no sense beating yourself up about it.”
She scoffed. “So, I should shrug it off as a bad choice and move on? Is that what you’re telling me?”
Molly whimpered and both he and Lena whipped their heads in her direction. The small cub cowered in Kade’s hold, only a pair of eyes peeking over his arm.
“Oh, sweetie, I’m sorry.” Lena rushed toward her and reached out a hand.
Devin grasped her wrist before she made contact. She turned confused eyes to him. “You need to be careful. She hurt you once already.”
“It was an accident.” She tugged her hand free. “Molly won’t do it again. She just got startled. Look.” She pointed toward where Vader stood next to Molly, petting her. “Everything’s fine.”
He maneuvered his body between Lena and Molly. “Yes but I don’t want to take a chance it’ll happen again.” He crossed his arms, leveling a firm look on her. “What if she nicks an artery next time?”
She dropped fisted hands to her sides. Her lips thinned to match the anger souring her scent. “I forgot. I’m in limbo. Can’t risk me getting hurt.”
Kade cleared his throat. “You two can fight later. It’s upsetting the cub.” He stroked Molly’s head. “Did Xander go after Gwen?”
He nodded. “She’s been hurt.” Lena gasped and he quickly added, “She walked away so that suggests it wasn’t anything life threatening. Her injury will slow the hyena down and give Xander the chance to catch up to them.”
She swallowed hard and straightened her spine. He could almost see her locking down her emotions. “Good. Then, they’ll be back soon.”
“Hopefully but we’re not waiting here. It’s late and it’s starting to rain.” He held up a hand. “No arguments. We need to get Molly out of the elements and see if we can’t convince her to shift back. Vader can stay here until they get back.”
“Dante arrived a little while ago. He already took off after Xander.” Kade tilted his head in Vader’s direction. The male, who’d been staring at Lena with a guarded expression, glowered and stormed off toward the parked car. “I am not putting those two together.”
Lena glanced from Kade to Vader’s retreating back. “What’s their problem?”
Devin took Lena’s hand and followed Kade out of the woods. “Bad blood.”
Questions sparked in her eyes but that’s the only explanation she’d get. He’d brought up enough unsettling memories for one night. Besides, no matter where the fault lie, his loyalty would always remain with his younger brother.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Lena watched the first rays of the sun brighten the sky. Streaks of red and orange blended with the bluish-gray and caused a splash of color to greet the world. She loved sunrises, often woke for the sole purpose of enjoying the living palate that painted itself over the landscape. Today she barely acknowledged the wonder of another day. All she could think about was how many hours had passed since the Jeep carrying her family had crashed and what hell Gwen had endured over the span of time.
They’d arrived almost an hour ago. In that time, she’d stood on the sidelines and listened to Devin and Kade try to convince Molly to shift to no avail. Then they’d moved on to discussing the medical facility where Molly had been kept. As soon as Kade started relaying the horrors of what had occurred there, Lena’d been ushered out. She hadn’t argued either. Although she’d heard the stories firsthand from Molly, she didn’t need a repeat.
Shifters weren’t the only inhabitants of those atrocious places. With Gwen missing, she couldn’t help inserting her sweet sister’s image in place of those victims. Thinking of Molly there was bad enough. It gave her nightmares, the kind that made her curl into a ball, clutching her stuffed jaguar and yanking the covers over her head. God, she wanted those so-called scientists caught. Then she’d slice pieces of their skin off to see how quickly it regrew.
At least her youngest sister was safe. Well, alive. Safe implied not being in danger, but she was, more so now than when she’d first been rescued from the medical facility. Then her happy, bubbly personality had helped her win a reprieve, or at least her ability to fake it, had. Either way she’d escaped a death sentence. Unfortunately no amount of cuteness would help if the Council elders learned of her early shift.
According to everything she’d learned or heard, Molly—the child—was gone. Yet Devin wasn’t convinced she was lost. He claimed he’d felt a flicker of her soul. His word had been enough to secure Kade’s vow that they’d protect her and keep her early shift a secret. Devin assured her they wouldn’t give up on her. For all her misgivings concerning him, she didn’t doubt his word, not when it came to Molly. The truth of his conviction had been stamped on his face.
The door clicked closed and Devin’s scent reached out to her, cocooning her in a blanket of evergreen and moss. The rapid beat of her heart slowed and the anxiety that had grown the second she’d left him in the kitchen
with Kade eased. Twenty minutes, that was all they’d been separated—it could’ve been years. He’d only been a few rooms away, yet she couldn’t stop wondering if he was still close by. If he was alive. Stubbornness rooted her to the spot by the window when all she wanted to do was go back to him.
He stepped up behind her. She didn’t hear his approach. The man moved as silently as his cats could, but she knew he was there. It was almost as if her body was attuned to his. Warmth radiated along her back first, then his breath stirred the tendrils of her hair. Thick arms wrapped around her waist. He nuzzled her cheek, the only way she could describe the gentle, nudging, circular caress. It wasn’t something a human would do. But Devin wasn’t human. That undeniable fact made their relationship challenging to say the least. Freaking complicated was more like it and a fact she didn’t want to deal with right now. Too bad life wouldn’t stop so she could wallow in self-pity or worry.
This thing with Devin wasn’t going to go away. Being with him had become a necessity. She had to figure out a way to deal with it.
She covered Devin’s hands and drew them tighter around her, wishing his affection was genuine too. Maybe it was. He was attracted to her but sex wasn’t the same thing as love. She’d learned that lesson the hard way. All the men in her life had used her. She’d known it and accepted it.
Really, why would she expect more?
She wasn’t someone men fought over. Before she’d realized men would overlook her less than womanly figure if as she offered them a means of release, she’d lived life in the shadows. Ignored. She’d been the female who looked like a young girl…or a feminine boy as one ex-lover described her, and certainly not worth any man’s love. So when Rick had asked to move in, she’d jumped at the chance.
At twenty, she’d been naïve. He’d taken free room and board along with the unlimited access to her body then walked when he didn’t get his damn promotion. Then Vader stepped in his shoes and broke her heart a second time. Now at twenty-six and facing her third serious relationship, she was jaded.
What did they say, ‘third time’s a charm’ or ‘the final draw’? Either way, this was it. She’d never survive walking away from Devin. She knew it, felt it deep in her soul. Like the damn hole she felt there would suck everything in, take the light and her life and leave her alone in the dark.
“Why?”
Devin released the lock of hair he’d been toying with. “Why, what?”
“Why do you have to act as if you care?”
He rested his chin on her shoulder. She didn’t know how he could pull off such a thing—the man was over a foot taller than she was, but the purr rumbling his chest told her he liked where he was.
“Because I do care. I already told you Molly is like my daughter. Caring for her is important to me. And Gwen is your sister so she’s mine now too. I don’t abandon my family. Hell, I regret not acting faster. I blame myself for their suffering.”
It wasn’t the question she wanted answered. Yet she pondered his words. The man was loyal—fiercely protective of what he considered his. Cats often couldn’t be bothered with anything or anyone except for when someone tried to take away what they considered theirs—their territory, food…humans?
She turned in his embrace, ran her hands over the expanse of his chest and glanced up to study his expressive eyes. “If you had seen me in a crowd, would you have noticed me?”
Devin blinked once then again. “Of course.”
She ground her teeth. “Don’t lie to me.”
He rolled his shoulder. If he hadn’t been holding her waist, he’d be rubbing at his neck too. She’d watched the sign of his nerves too often over the past few days not to know it for what it was.
“You want honesty.”
“That’d be nice.”
More of the shoulder rolling preceded a long, weary sigh. “No, I wouldn’t have noticed you.”
She clenched her teeth to hold back the sob. His words cut her heart but she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. She reached for her cloak. The anger flitted through her fingers. She hurt too damn much to grab on to it. “That’s what I thought.”
“Looks don’t mean much to me.”
Was that supposed to make her feel better? Because it didn’t. A panicked expression spread over his features as he obviously read the annoyance on her face. He tightened his grip on her hips and his eyes widened as they focused on hers.
“What I mean is, shifters often notice scents first and you, baby, smell like heaven.”
He grinned at her. She huffed. As if that would make me feel better?
“And cats enjoy smelling their pee on the things they own too.”
He chuckled and the vibration whipped through her body, stealing her breath along with her sanity.
“Scent-marking what’s ours is important.” He caressed her cheek. “And you, Lena, smell of me. You’re never getting rid of me.”
“And if you smelled me in a crowd, just me without your essence oozing from my pores, would you have wanted to make me your mate? Or would I have been another picture to add to your photo album, a reminder of a good lay?”
He flinched and her heart sank more.
“This conversation is ridiculous.” He released her, paced across the room and pivoted on his foot to face her. “The past can’t be changed, Lena. I bit you. You’re mine. And you will be my mate. There is nothing else to discuss.”
She wasn’t so sure but her soul ached too much to continue the discussion. It was as if he’d reached inside her and ripped it out. Instead of holding it close, he’d just stomped on it. She nodded, turned back to the window and kept watch for her sister.
* * * * *
Devin left Lena secure inside the library with Maggie, the human who owned the cozy lodge. He needed space to work through the mess of emotions—his and his cats—before he screwed things up with Lena more than he suspected he already had. But he couldn’t go too far away. He needed her lingering scent to keep him calm. So he paced the hall.
Dammit! She’d said she wanted honesty. She didn’t, not really. She wanted a confirmation that she was special, that he would’ve sought her out as a mate without his mistake throwing them together. He wished he could’ve given her the answer she needed but he couldn’t lie, not to Lena.
He did not mingle with humans unless he had a reason. In his life, that consisted of either workings with Shifter Affairs or needing sex. Honestly, he didn’t know if he would’ve approached her. He’d like to think he would have, especially if he’d scented her. He also knew himself too well. She wasn’t his typical lay, but Lena wasn’t just a bed partner. She was his one. That made all the difference in the world. Of course, if he’d never interacted with her, he wouldn’t have known that. And the chances of that having happened were slim to none.
He wished he could’ve lied, but it wouldn’t make a difference. No matter what, Lena was his. This overanalyzing bullshit and the damn what-ifs were a waste of time. However, lying to his mate wasn’t an option. She’d know the truth when his cats tied their souls together. No. The truth was a must. But he’d hurt her with his words and her pain became his. It left him edgy, not knowing how to deal with her sadness, only knowing he had to do something to make it better. But what?
Devin stopped mid-step, lifted one corner of his mouth and snarled. Vader ambled toward him, completely ignoring the threatening growls or the danger to his life. He leaned against the opposite wall and stared at him. Devin breathed deeply, hoping to bank his temper before it took over. With the mood he was in, it wouldn’t take much for him to rip the bastard’s head off.
“The last human guest is gone,” Vader announced.
Devin nodded, waited for the male to leave. Vader didn’t. “I am not in the mood, dog. What else do you want?”
Vader placed a hand over his chest and offered an award-winning, shocked gasp. “To give my fellow shifter an update on the situation. What else?”
“You’ve given it. Now tell me the re
al reason you’re here or I’ll be forced to hurt you.”
Vader shrugged. “To talk about Lena, of course.”
Devin was in his face a moment later. “Lena is not your concern.” The calmness on the male’s face infuriated him more. He snarled, fangs filling his mouth and a low growl rumbling his chest. “I mean it. Stay the fuck away from my female.”
“I’m a royal too. Just because my animals aren’t as big as yours doesn’t mean they are any less vicious. I’m not afraid of you.”
“You should be.” Devin panted and tightened his grip on his cats. They wanted to feel Vader’s heart take its last beat against their tongue as they tore his throat out. He was a threat to them. They reacted to anything that might hurt them or theirs only one way—with violence. If their opposition stopped breathing, they didn’t feel pain or shame.
“You won’t kill me. Attack me?” Vader shrugged. “There’s a high probability of that happening but you won’t take it too far.”
“You sure about that?” Because he wasn’t.
Vader inclined his head slightly. “I’m betting my life on it. Lena considers me…a friend.” The male choked on the last word. “In the back of your mind, you’ll remember that. Killing me would hurt her and you won’t do that.”
“You know my cats aren’t stable, Vader,” he sneered. “I can’t always control them.”
“Like when you attacked a human male? Or maybe when you nearly killed,” Vader grinned, “your one?”
Devin balled his clawed hand. He hated being reminded of his sins. The incident that happened a few months ago was one of his lowest points, but what he did to Lena topped it. Worst damn mistake of his life.
“Damn you, dog.”
Vader, apparently not even fazed by his outburst, asked, “Why did you do it?”
Devin groaned. He’d already explained about Lena, knew that wasn’t what the wolf was asking about. Losing control during a fight was one thing. What he did with Josh was another. Nobody should’ve known about his attack on Megan’s guardian beyond his pride. Kade had ordered everyone, Josh included, not to broadcast his lapse.
Beautiful Mistake: 2 (Royal Pride) Page 28
