by Lia Davis
“It’s fine. They sense my wolf and know you are my mate.”
She frowned. She wasn’t his mate yet.
No, wait. She wasn’t sure she’d ever be his mate.
They moved closer to the water, and Hayden pulled a blanket out of the basket he carried. He sat and patted the place next to him. Christa glanced from him to the wolves then sat.
“The big gray one is a male. Either he’s her mate or the Alpha. I’m not sure.”
Christa nodded and watched the pups yip at each other and bite one another’s ears as they rolled around on the ground. One of them wandered over to her and sniffed the air as he walked closer. The male growled low, but didn’t move. The pup yipped, making Christa jump. Laughing at herself, she peered over at Hayden.
He handed her a sandwich. She unwrapped it, pinched off a small piece, and laid it down on the blanket in front of the pup. He sniffed it then ate it. The other two saw and came over to investigate.
She broke her sandwich into several pieces and laid them on the blanket. The pups instantly started eating. She smiled as she watched them. When they were done, the pups went back to playing.
Hayden handed her another sandwich. “Don’t feed this one to them.”
When she peered at him, she hid a smile at the amusement in his eyes. It was as though he was pleased by her interaction with the wolves. Frowning, she focused on the sandwich in her hand. For a brief moment she’d put her guard down and actually felt comfortable with Hayden.
And enjoyed it.
“Tell me about Ashwood,” she said without looking at him.
From the corner of her eye, she saw him stretch out on the blanket, and damn, it was hard not to turn to him and drink in every yummy inch.
“It’s complicated.”
That made her look at him. His lips twitched, and his eyes still held amusement. She pursed her lips at the realization that he was playing with her, and enjoying it a little too much. Narrowing her eyes, she forced her gaze away from his lean, muscular frame and peered into the stream. The water flowed by with little sound in this area. It was peaceful, and she wondered if that was the reason Hayden had chosen this spot.
“What’s complicated about it?”
“We are two Packs living as one.”
True. Yet, she wanted to know more about it. She’d spent the last eight years working for Shield and chasing rogues as well as raising two shifters on her own. If there was one thing she knew, it was the difference between a rogue and what she believed to be a normal shifter.
Hayden and Tanner, as far as she could tell, were in the normal category. But could she trust them?
“It’s a healthy Pack, right?”
Hayden let out a sigh before speaking. “Yes. At first, there were issues. I mean how often do wolves and the big cats get along long enough to live together?”
“I guess you would be the first.”
He sat up, shoulder-to-shoulder with her, making her heart kick up several beats per second.
Damn female emotions.
As if sensing her mood shift, and most likely hearing her increased pulse, Hayden chuckled and leaned in to press his shoulder to hers. Heat flooded her system, making her skin tingle all over.
Damn wolf.
“Yes, Ashwood Falls is the first in our history that we know of to become a merged Pack of two different types of predatory shifters. It’s common for leopards and jaguar Packs to bring in strays or offer sanctuary for other felines, but wolves aren’t so open to outsiders.”
He paused for a brief moment, and she wondered if he was trying to figure out how much he should tell her. She didn’t blame him. After all, they were playing on opposite sides—at least they were until she decided to leave Shield.
Before he spoke again, he turned to her, forcing her to do the same. “The wolves love my mother and would have followed her anywhere.”
“And I bet that love has only grown.”
He raised a hand and gently ran his knuckles down her cheek. “Yes.”
She blinked and moved back a few inches to break the contact. His lips twitched, but to her relief, he didn’t push her further. “I know that Vance is different. I’ve known since the first time I met him. I’ve also questioned his motives for going after Ashwood.”
Hayden drew his brows together. “He’ll be looking for you now.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“Because you know too much about him and Shield, and from our attack on Shield, he most likely knows that I have you. Or at least that Ashwood has you.”
Vance’s subtle threat streamed through her mind. There was no doubt in her mind that he knew about the twins and Christa’s past. How much, she didn’t know. “I don’t know as much as I should. I mean I’ve studied the behavior of shifters and questioned my sister and her mate, trying to learn as much as I can. That’s why I ran my unit with the knowledge that not all shifters are a threat. That was until Vance came in and changed everything.”
Hayden was silent for several moments. Christa welcomed it, embraced it. The sound of the wind blowing through the treetops was soothing. She closed her eyes and took in the scent of earth, mountain air, and the oddly arousing scent of rosemary and cedar that was Hayden.
Ignoring the way her skin heated and her heart raced just being this close to him, she focused on the forest around them until she felt a little nudge on her leg. Peering down, she saw one of the wolf pups—the smallest one of the three—curl up against her.
Slowly she glanced to the mother as she ran a hand over the pup’s head and down his back. The mother watched, but didn’t make a move toward her.
“That’s a sign of trust,” Hayden whispered into her ear, making her jump. His warm breath over her too-sensitive skin made her shiver.
She hated the reaction.
She didn’t know this man or the wolf that lived within his soul. Yet, somewhere deep inside her, she wanted to know him, and the more she was around him, the more she wanted.
When she didn’t reply to him, he spoke again. “My wolf says you can be trusted. We’ve watched you with the twins and how accepting you are to their nature and the way you don’t hold them back. You do have a pure heart, Christa.”
Her eyes stung, and her nose tingled, but she blinked away the tears before they could make her appear like the emotional wreck she felt she was. Thirty-nine was too old to continue with the blind vengeance she’d held on to for too long.
She was tired. Tired of hiding the twins from Shield. Tired of fighting for something she didn’t believe anymore.
Brenna and Bryce had opened her eyes to the true nature of shifters. And as much as she wanted to run far away from Hayden, she knew he was the only one who could help her now. He could help the twins.
Yes, she was making her decision for the twins and not because of the hormonal imbalance he caused. “I want to help bring Vance down. I also want you to promise that Brenna and Bryce will be safe.”
He lifted her hand and brought it to his lips. “I already told you that they’d be accepted into Ashwood. You, on the other hand, will have to gain their trust.”
She nodded and tugged her hand from his. He let out a soft chuckle as if this was a game to him. Maybe it was. From what she knew, shifters loved to play just as much as they loved to hunt. “I don’t like Vance or the changes he brought to Shield. They aren’t the same people I’ve worked with for the last few years.”
“I’m not sure, but my theory is Vance is using the mutant serum to slowly change the humans and manipulate them in to believing everything he says. It’s the only thing that makes sense to me.” He gently gripped her chin and forced her to look at him. “You will have to take a blood oath with both Alphas to be allowed into the den.”
She jerked her head to the side, loosening his hold. Even though he spoke the words soft, she could hear the rough, almost growl undertone of a demand in his voice. The idea of leaving him, Ashwood, Onyx, and anything to do with the shifter
world was still nipping at the back of her mind. Yet, the twins needed a safe place to stay, a Pack that could provide them a life she couldn’t.
So she had to stay and work with Hayden to stop the evil, because the thought of not being in the twins’ lives broke her heart.
Taking a deep breath, she dropped her shoulders and absently ran her hand over the fur of the wolf pup snuggled up to her leg. She could do this. She had to do this.
Her gut told her Hayden could be trusted and might be her only hope to secure Brenna’s and Bryce’s future. A future with a Pack that could aid them in building their strengths.
Something Christa couldn’t offer on her own.
“Okay, I’ll do it. Whatever it takes to protect the twins.”
When she met Hayden’s gaze again, she saw the wolf peering back at her, proud and arrogant.
God, she hoped she was doing the right thing.
Chapter Eight
Hayden smelled Cameron and Ana before he and Christa broke through the trees. He suppressed a groan. He was not ready to face any of his Pack. Not yet.
He especially wasn’t ready to talk with Cameron, who could sense his mood thanks to the mating bond to Blaine. Being the mate of the Alpha, she’d know he’d started the mating dance with Christa.
As soon as he and Christa stepped into the open space that used to be Hunter Ridge, Cam turned toward them and narrowed her eyes at Christa. Hayden instinctually took Christa by the arm and tugged her into him.
Christa tried to pull away from him, but he was quicker. He fought a smile at her irritation, which he picked up on her scent and by the low human-like growl she let out. He could imagine her doing that with the twins when they were in trouble, like a mother with her pups. The image of Christa round with his pup came to mind, and he quickly banished it.
No. Way.
Not now.
His wolf perked up at the thought and moved to rub against him where Christa’s skin touched his. The damn beast liked the idea of Christa carrying his pups. The wolf never understood patience. No, the animal within took what he wanted, all be damned.
It was a curse left behind by his father. The Raines bloodline was too pure, their connections to their wolves too strong. From what Hayden knew, all the males in his father’s line either went completely wolf, or rogue.
He’d recently discovered that there was only one Raines male left, besides he and his brothers of course. Hayden and his mom were currently working with Jared to search for that male. What they would find, Hayden wasn’t sure. A part of him hoped his uncle, Rafe Raines, was still sane because it would kill Luna to watch her mate’s twin die. It would be like watching Royce die all over again.
Cam cleared her throat, bringing Hayden back to the present. He stared into her gold eyes and held her gaze until she shifted it to Christa tucked behind him. “She can’t come to the den.”
Hayden set his jaw and bared his fangs. “She’s agreed to a blood oath. It is now up to the Alphas.”
Cam watched Christa for several moments before she returned her gaze back to him. There was something different about Cameron, but he couldn’t place it. He scented the air, drew in the smells of forest, Pack. The female’s scent was different.
He tilted his head and studied her. Then took a step closer. Instantly, Cam held a hand up to stop him. “Don’t.”
The one word command held both a warning and a hint of fear. He shook his head and brushed by her, making sure his shoulder knocked into hers as he tugged Christa to the house.
Christa finally managed to jerk out of his grasp and fell into step with him. “Who was that? Are you always rude around others? And here I thought it was just me…”
Hayden spun around, gripped her by the biceps, and drew her into his body. She gasped, placed both hands on his chest, and met his gaze with a fire that only made him want her all the more. With a growl, he leaned in so their lips were inches apart and said, “That is one of the leopard Alpha’s mates. You are to show her respect.”
She narrowed her eyes and lifted her chin. “I only give respect to those who show it to me. Now let me go.”
Hayden felt his lips twitch. His female held a strength he’d never seen in a human. And she dared to challenge him. “What if I don’t?”
She smiled, and before he knew it, she’d wrapped a leg around his and jerked, throwing him off balance. He flung his hand out and gripped her arm, pulling her to the ground with him. He landed on his back then flipped them over so he pinned Christa.
“Not the outcome you were hoping for, was it?”
She pounded on his chest and wiggled under him, hitting just the right spot. He wedged a thigh between her legs and pressed into her. Her eyes grew round in shock as her desire filled the little bit of space between them. Deciding to punish her for her defiance, he moved against her. A soft groan escaped her, but she didn’t look away from him.
Cameron’s black boots came into his view, and one rose and fell in an impatient tap, tap against the ground. “Are you done?”
He shook his head. “No. I thought you were here to drop off supplies.”
When Cam didn’t answer, he peered up at her, and his heart stopped. Something was wrong. He jumped up and offered Christa his hand. She didn’t take it. Instead, she stood on her own and took several steps away from him.
Hayden let Christa be and reached out to touch Cam’s shoulder. “What is it?”
“Is she safe?” Cameron looked at him then at Christa.
Hayden growled, drawing Cam’s full attention. “She’s my mate.”
Cameron pursed her lips. “Maybe you should ask Jared about his mate.”
Fuck. Jared’s mate was the daughter of Onyx Pack’s Alpha. Sable Darwin had made her choice to stand by her father until she had broken from the Onyx Pack to join a shifter rebel group a few months ago.
Like the human groups, the shifters had started to form rebel groups to try to fight back against the rogues and to keep the humans at bay.
Still, he wasn’t Jared, and Christa wasn’t Sable.
Hayden took a step closer to Cameron, only to have Ana place a hand on his chest to stop him. He peered into the female’s gray eyes and held her hard stare for several moments before he took Ana’s hand and moved it over his heart. With his hand still covering hers, he said, “Cam and I may have our differences at time, but we are Pack. You must trust in that, Ana.”
Ana drew her brows together and slipped her hand from under his, and then she turned and walked off.
“She’s still fighting the Pack bond a little. I’m sure growing up in Onyx wasn’t easy,” Cam said softly.
Hayden muttered a curse again, and from beside him, Christa spoke up. “She’s part of the rogue Pack?”
Hayden sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Used to be. It’s a long story.” He met Cam’s gaze. “Christa comes with me when I return to the den in the morning.”
Cam let out a soft warning growl. “Be sure you bring her by the house. I’ll let Luna know. Hell, we’ll make it a breakfast party.”
Hayden felt his lips lift in a smile. “That’s my Cam.” When he moved to grab her in a hug like he’d done since she was a teen, she darted away from him. “Cam?”
“I have to go catch up with Ana,” she rushed out and ran off into the woods where her sister-in-law had gone.
“Does she always act like that?” Christa asked.
Hayden peered into the forest, worried about the sudden don’t-touch reaction he’d gotten from Cam. “No. Casual touch between pack mates is a part of who we are. Considering she’s a feline, she’s more inclined to it than us wolves.”
He started walking toward the house to keep her from asking any more questions. Something was bothering Cam, and he was going to find out what it was. After all, she was mated to one of his best friends.
****
Blaine was still getting used to being the Alpha. That meant sitting in on strategy meetings with Luna, the two resident Elders—
his dad, Keegan, and Kieran, his mentor and the Pack spy who had spent the last ten years in the Onyx Pack—Alex, Dane, and Torin, the wolf senior enforcer who was filling in for Hayden while he was gone.
Yeah, so he could say his living room was a little full.
Thank God Graham had taken the kids to the nursery for a few hours; although, right then, Blaine needed the distraction of little Max. This meeting was pissing him the fuck off. They still didn’t know where Felix was hiding, the cowardly bastard. It was like the fucker had vanished after setting his own den up to blow when Kieran, Hayden, and several enforcers went in to bring Felix in to face his punishment.
Blaine’s phone buzzed on the coffee table. He picked it up and answered after checking the screen to see it was Hayden. “Yo.”
Hayden chuckled. “What’s up?”
“I’m in a meeting.”
“Ah, then you welcome the interruption.”
His best friend knew him too well. “Always. Is this business?”
“Nope. I just wanted to see what was up with Cam.”
Blaine ground his molars together and stepped out of the living room to walk down the hall for a little more privacy. He’d noticed in the last few weeks that Cam had been acting distant. Although he felt her love and commitment to he and Graham through the mating bond, he could also sense something else. It was almost like fear or anxiety. Every time he tried to bring it up to her, she was busy.
Another thing that worried the hell out of him. She’d been keeping herself way too busy lately.
“You noticed it too, huh?” Blaine asked, irritation creeping into his tone.
“Yeah, she wasn’t as playful as normal, and her scent is off.”
Blaine let out a growl. “Watch yourself…”
“Chill the fuck out. I meant it’s slight sweeter than normal.”
Sagging against the wall, he let his headrest against it. “She’s pregnant. Graham and I picked up on it about a week ago. She’s been avoiding us, not wanting to talk about it. We plan to separate her from everyone at dinner and confront her about it.”
