Marcus made a grab for the sword as Hunter turned to walk away.
“Touch the sword and die,” Hunter warned with an evil glare before disappearing.
“Please, bro, at least let me give him a beating and then a few stabs. I won’t hit vitals. He’ll live… probably,” Marcus pleaded to Garrett as he too walked away.
“How about I just kill you both and make my life a lot easier and quiet?” Garrett called after him, then rubbed his hand down his face.
Roslyn and Dell shared a look, both trying to hide their grins. “Well, let’s do this,” Dell finally said, then pulled Roslyn to the side. “You and I are going to walk in the back of the group, so once we get all the kids together, meet me there.”
Nodding, Roslyn turned to do just that, but he stopped her and tugged her to him. With a swiftness that took her by surprise, he hauled her close and kissed her hard. “Remember, you are mine.”
He then left her standing there, touching her mouth. How in the hell could she forget when he kissed her like that? Feeling a confidence that she had never felt before about how her life was going, Roslyn sighed and prayed that it would last.
Chapter 15
Leda ran around looking for kids and gathering them up. She loved Halloween, always had. It also meant cool weather, hoodies and jumping naked under warm blankets in a cold room were two of her other favorite things to do in cold months.
Seeing a few stragglers, she headed that way and rounded the corner. What she saw broke her heart, a heart she didn’t fully understand was invested until this very moment.
Darla McClain, a beautiful blonde and total opposite of Leda in every way, was being kissed by Taz. At least that’s what her brain registered. Just as she fully understood what she was seeing, he pushed her away. Darla turned and saw her. Leda understood the word “bitch” fully. The satisfied look radiating from Darla’s face had nothing to do with the kiss. No. It had everything to do with hurting her, as if saying loud and clear, you have nothing to offer him. And Darla would be right. He was a man, while she was just realizing she was a woman.
Hearing giggles, she glanced to see Carol Ann and her brother Toby peeking into their candy bags. With one last glance at Taz, who had not stopped staring at her, she turned quickly to get the kids for the haunted trail.
“Leda.” Taz’s voice drifted toward her, but she ignored it, and him. She refused to let Darla or Taz see the hurt that surely showed on her face.
“Do not put that in your mouth,” Leda warned Toby as he was about to take a huge bite out of a candy bar. “That needs to be checked before you eat it.”
Toby looked at the candy bar closely, then up at Leda. “Looks good to me.”
Even though laughing was the last thing she wanted to do, Leda couldn’t help it. Toby was so cute, and Leda knew without a doubt he would be a comedian someday. “Yeah, well how about letting one of us check it out first? Now put it away and come on, or are you too chicken to walk the haunted trail?”
Toby snorted. “I’ll walk through there like a boss and won’t even flinch.” His nine-year-old voice deepened. “I’ll even bet this unchecked candy bar on it.”
Carol Ann, Toby’s year younger sister, closed her bag. “He sleeps with a night light.”
“Do not!” Toby tossed a Tootsie Roll at her.
“Do to!” She reached down and picked it up, putting it in her bag.
“Okay, enough.” Leda sighed. “Let’s go before they come looking for us.”
Toby and Carol Ann ran past her still arguing about the night light. Leda turned to follow, only to find Taz standing in the shadows, arms crossed as he leaned against a building staring at her. Her eyes shot to the kids, making sure they reached the crowd gathering in the street. Deciding right then and there not to be a coward, she started that way, which would send her directly past Taz. Okay, maybe she was a little bit of a coward because she made sure she walked past him, but far enough away she could dodge him if needed.
It was of no use. He was in front of her before she could sidestep to avoid him. “Taz, move,” she said in a normal voice, but her eyes only stared at his chest.
The roughness of his skin felt nice against her chin as he cupped it with his hand and raised her eyes to his. “It’s not what it looked like.”
God, she wanted to believe him, but didn’t. Relationships sucked and didn’t work. She saw that with her parents, actually all adults she had ever looked up to, and her first real experience with Steve proved that also.
“Who you… whatever with… is not my business, Taz,” Leda said, keeping all emotion out of her voice. Then something inside her made her add, “Just like it’s none of your business who I do… whatever… with.”
His eyes turned hard and cold. His mouth became a hard slash across his face. Only moments ago it had been soft, which she knew for a fact ’cause her eyes had kept going there. She was pissed off that Darla had tasted them first… dammit. His fingers tightened on her chin, but not painfully as he moved his face so close to hers she could feel his breath against her skin. “And know I will kill any man you do whatever with.”
Taz’s promised whisper shocked her. “But…,” she said confused, and couldn’t figure out how to say what she needed to say. “Darla.” Well, that pretty much said everything.
“Means nothing to me.” He sounded sincere, yet something about his answer bothered her.
Slapping his hand away, she took a step back. “Isn’t that convenient,” Leda snapped, not really sure what she meant by that. Well, she did know, but she wasn’t sure that was the right way to put it. She was so confused, and if she were honest, she had been confused about Taz ever since he came on the scene.
He was at least a few years older than her, but he was different from any other guy she had ever associated with. Growing up the way she did, Leda was also different. She didn’t do the giggling and whispering other girls had always done. She loved clothes but didn’t mind wearing an old pair of ripped blue jeans with a cut-off T-shirt. Makeup wasn’t something she bothered with too much. She had worn makeup a few times, but once when she shifted, then shifted back to human form, it was all over her face, so what was the point?
Yeah, she was as far from Darla and her friends as one could be, and she was fine with that. Or thought she was until tonight. Her stomach clinched painfully as did her heart thinking Darla was what Taz wanted. Having been lied to so many times in her life by people she had trusted, how could she believe a guy she really didn’t know that well? She and Taz worked together, ate together sometimes, stood in a crowd together, but never really had a one-on-one conversation, other than a few words here or there. Yeah, confusing wasn’t even the word to describe what she was feeling.
“We’re waiting for you guys!” Marcus yelled down the street toward them. “Garrett and Dell are ready to go.”
Leda turned her head to see everyone standing around. Glancing back at Taz, who was still staring at her, she sighed. She really had no right to be upset, yet she was, but she was going to have to swallow her emotions as she had done many times before. She was good at it.
“You and Darla make a nice couple.” Leda gave him a nod and her best fake smile. “As I said, it’s none of my business, and I’m sorry I interrupted.” The first part of her little speech was a total lie. He could do much better than Darla. The second part was the truth. It wasn’t her business, and she was damn sorry for what she saw, because she finally knew for sure her feelings for Taz.
He didn’t say a word, but his eyes were so intense she turned away and headed back toward where everyone waited. Darla was standing back waiting for Taz. The look she was giving Leda was full of hate and impatience.
“He’s all yours.” Leda thumbed behind her. “I can pick up the slack if you want to carry on,” she called back to Taz, proud of her performance because that’s exactly what that was. She wanted to yank out Darla’s blonde hair and shove it up her ass, but refrained. She was a human and Leda couldn�
��t chance being thrown out of the pack. Even though Garrett was more or less her guardian, it made no difference, and she knew that from experience.
Leda heard Darla calling for Taz but didn’t turn around. She wanted to, oh did she want to, but she refused. Instead, she headed toward Roslyn who was at the back of the group, standing alone. She wasn’t in the mood to be around anyone, but Roslyn was so easy to be with she ventured toward her, knowing being alone was not a good idea at the moment.
“You okay?” Roslyn frowned, searching her face closely.
“I will be,” Leda replied, and was relieved when Roslyn just nodded and dropped it, other than telling her she was there if Leda needed her. At least that made her feel less alone.
As they started to move toward the entrance of the haunted trail, Leda refused to look toward Darla and Taz. From her peripheral vision, she could see Darla yelling, but couldn’t hear what was being said. Taz looked bored, his eyes on her. Leda could feel his eyes burning into her, but she ignored it; at least, it appeared so on the outside. On the inside, she was a jumbled mess of emotions.
Someone in a mask jumped out at her and Roslyn, making them scream before they ran off to scare other unsuspecting visitors. “Holy crap, that scared me.” Leda slammed her hand on her chest with a laugh.
The screams from the front of the group let Leda and Roslyn know something was about to happen, but you were never able to prepare yourself for a good scare. A figure, who they saw even though they were bringing up the back, swung past from a tree as they hung on a wire. The guy almost hit Dell, who dodged quickly as he made his way back to them.
The sound of a chainsaw roared to life, and Leda turned to see a huge man with an ugly mask step from behind a tree holding the chainsaw in the air.
“Oh, crap!” Leda cringed, putting her hands over her ears. She’d seen the movie The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and hated it. There was nothing scarier to her than someone chasing her with a chainsaw. Back peddling away from him, she realized that just drew attention to herself. The one who showed the most fear was the one they were going to mess with. Her feet stepped on her long wedding dress, and she knew she was going down. “Crap!” She felt herself falling backward with chainsaw man looming over her.
Strong hands grabbed her, lifting her off her feet, then gently twisted her in the air and set her down. Taz stared down at her before turning to let the man know that was enough. The man continued to stand there with the chainsaw flaying about, but as soon as Taz took a step toward him, he spun and hurried toward a laughing Roslyn, which made the man continue to find another soul he could scare. The scream coming back toward them let Leda know she wasn’t the only one afraid.
“Guess I shouldn’t have watched The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” Leda snorted, straightening her dress. Then she noticed Taz staring at her. She guessed she should thank him, which kind of put a damper on her being mad. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” His response was quick and as always to the point.
His chocolate-colored eyes surrounded by the longest lashes she had ever seen stared into hers so intently she was glad an earsplitting scream caught their attention. Leda looked to see the chainsaw man was terrorizing Darla and her friends. Darla was screaming and looking their way.
“Your girlfriend needs your assistance.” Leda glanced back at Taz, who was still staring at her.
His eyes hardened at her comment. His silence was just as mesmerizing as his stare. She was about to repeat her statement when he quickly caught her to him and kissed her. His hand tangled in her hair as his mouth mashed against hers. His tongue found its way in when she gasped. It was a kiss with meaning. A kiss that made her lose every thought in her head. A kiss that she would never forget. A kiss that sealed her fate.
Leda found herself, despite the warnings from her head and heart, kissing him back. It felt so right, as if she belonged here in this moment, and she didn’t want the moment to stop. The flash of memory from just a few minutes ago of Darla in Taz’s arms was like a cruel wake-up call. What the hell was she doing? What was he doing?
Fighting her way out of his arms, the kiss was broken, and she felt the loss deep in her gut. She had to shake her head to get the vision of him and Darla out of her mind. Anger and hurt sent her hand flying toward his face. The sound of the slap echoed around them.
“Did you seriously just kiss me after kissing her?” Leda pointed toward where Darla had been. When Taz just stood there without saying a word, Leda had to really stop herself from slapping him again. “I’m not like her, and I don’t play games, Taz. I will never play second to Darla McClain.”
She watched the red handprint brighten and almost apologized, which pissed her off. No way was she going to apologize.
“That will never happen again.” Okay, those words were hard to spit out because did she really mean them? The kiss they’d shared was like nothing she had ever experienced, and she already craved more. She turned to leave, but he stopped her.
She was back in his arms, his lips on hers and this time the kiss was slow and with purpose. His large hand cupped her cheek and dammit, she was kissing him back. Again. This time it was Taz who pulled away.
“You can slap me all you want, but this will happen again… and again.” The promise in his voice and intense gaze made her shiver. “Tell me you don’t want me. Then and only then will I walk away.”
Leda opened her mouth to tell him just that, but the words wouldn’t come. As hard as she tried, they stuck in her throat. She needed to walk away before words did force their way out, too afraid her heart would be the one speaking. Leda wasn’t ready for that. Taz was heartbreak just waiting to happen.
Taking a step backward, she simply stared at him until finally, she turned and hurried away. Even the chainsaw man heading her way didn’t faze her. She was afraid nothing in the world could ever faze her again, other than the lips of the man she knew she loved.
Chapter 16
Dell’s eyes scanned the area as they made their way through the haunted trail. He was alert and ready for anything. He and the others seemed to be the target to try to scare, but Dell found it more annoying than anything. He had to really focus on not punching the assholes who were just trying to do their job in scaring the crowd.
The one thing he was enjoying was watching Roslyn enjoying herself. She laughed, jumped a few times, and actually grabbed his arm when she was taken by surprise.
“You don’t scare easy, do you?” Dell grinned down at her before going back to scan the area.
It was a minute before she responded. “I’ve been more scared in my past, so this is nothing.”
Her words shot anger through his body to the point he actually growled. Glancing back at her, he wished he hadn’t said anything. She seemed to have closed herself off a little since he asked the question.
“So you guys do this every year?” She broke the uneasy quiet.
“Since I’ve been here, yes. The kids seem to enjoy it,” Dell responded, glad she seemed to forget her past for the moment.
“But you don’t?” She reached out, grabbing his hand. Just her simple touch had his wolf growling in satisfaction and the man feeling as if he could defeat the world.
He chuckled, squeezing her hand gently. “It takes a lot of focus on my part not to punch out at anything that jumps at me.” Just then, someone ran up from behind them screaming. Roslyn actually jumped, then laughed. Dell didn’t even flinch, but he did glance down at her with a cocked eyebrow. “A lot of focus.”
“Guess that’s hard when you’re trained to take out possible threats.” Roslyn chuckled again when a group of kids squealed and laughed when the same person ran up behind them.
He nodded, but then grinned. “I am enjoying watching you.”
“Well, I think it’s wonderful what you guys do for the families and kids in your pack.” Roslyn sighed with a small smile. “They’re very lucky to have you as well as Garrett, Marcus, and Hunter. I’ve never belonged to a
pack like this, and it’s amazing.”
“Well, you do now.” Dell said proudly, letting go of her hand and pulling her to him as they walked side by side.
He didn’t like that she didn’t agree with his statement, but he let it go, for now. She did belong, and soon she would realize that because he was determined to chase all the bad memories out of her mind. As her mate, it was his job, among many, but her happiness was his number one goal.
He saw the end of the trail ahead and was relieved that nothing other than a few good scares happened. So far, the night was turning out to be a success.
“Hey, you okay?” he called out as Leda rushed past them.
“Dandy,” she said, without looking their way, but she did raise her hand in a halfhearted wave.
Dell turned to see Taz coming up behind them, then passing them. “Problem?”
“None.” Taz grunted the answer, also not looking their way.
“He’s a man of many words.” Roslyn chuckled when Taz was out of earshot.
Dell nodded in agreement. “He’s a big asset to the pack, but—”
They slowed as everyone in front of them had stopped just outside of the end of the trail. “But what?”
“He won’t be around long if he breaks Leda’s heart,” Dell said, then let go of her hand. “I need to get up front. Can you hang here for a minute to make sure no one makes a run for it so they can go back through?”
“He won’t break her heart. He’s in love with her,” Roslyn replied as she pushed him toward the front. “I’ll be fine. Go and do your leader thing.”
She laughed at the look he gave her.
“So now you’ve turned bossy?” Dell grabbed her around the waist, pulling her close. His dick was hard thinking of fucking her in the woods as they made their way through the trail. Yeah, fucking his mate out in the open was something that was going to definitely happen, and soon.
Roslyn rubbed her hip against his hardness with a grin. “So, you busy after all the fun?” She flirted.
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