by Milly Taiden
Daylight disappeared between the thickness of the evergreens. She squinted into the canopy. This was such a bad idea. She’d have to turn back. Finding whoever owned the land could wait another few days until the weather cleared.
She put her car in reverse and gasped when it shut off. Her heart pounded hard. What the hell? She glanced at the dashboard. Not a single light glowed in the vehicle. It was crazy. She didn’t know what to do.
Cars didn’t just die like that…did they? Dammit. She wasn’t a car expert. All she knew was to take it in for a check-up and make sure the tank was always full. She turned off the ignition then rotated the key forward. Nothing, not even a click. Totally dead.
She glanced at her dead cell phone plugged into the car charger also dead along with the damn car.
She picked up the black and white Google satellite map of the area Peter printed and highlighted for her. The nearest house was two miles away by her estimate. She glanced at the darkening road. No fucking way she was staying here. Her vehicle would turn into a freezer soon. She might as well walk and hope someone could help her.
With her coat, scarf, hat, and gloves on, she left the car after dropping her phone into her handbag and zipping it closed. Maybe she’d find a place to plug in later.
She thanked her common sense for wearing warm clothing and her most comfortable winter walking boots. Furry on the inside, they kept her feet dry and warm.
Carly would laugh her ass off when Kira told her about her car breakdown and the dead phone. In the woods. God, it sounded like the beginning of a horror movie.
She squinted, pushing branches out of the way and watching for uneven steps. Loud rumbling sounded from the sky. She couldn’t tell if it was rain or snow. Hell, at that moment, neither option sounded good.
She walked faster, feeling as if something was watching her. She was letting her imagination get the best of her. It was all Carly’s fault. Telling her she should be careful in that area. A lot of dangerous shifters made their home there.
Shifters. The big, angry, growly creatures that went from animal to human and nobody would know the difference. She’d never encountered a shifter. She wondered if they were nice. They sure as hell couldn’t be worse than Peter. That was a poor excuse for a human.
Anger swelled in her chest. She pushed off scouting the land as long as possible and he’d annoyed her with his incessant nagging, wanting a report as soon as possible. That day, he harassed her to no end, telling her to get her ass on the road and get the information he needed. Jerk.
A loud growl came from the trees. The sound reverberated around her, making her stop to do a full circle. She had no idea how long she’d been walking, but she had a great sense of direction. She stayed on the road and knew in two miles she’d make a left and find the house that would take her closer to whomever owned the property.
There were No Trespassing signs along the road, but she ignored them and kept moving. What was the worst that could happen?
Another snarl broke through her hazy concentration, just as the skies opened and stinging pebbles of rain poured over her skin. Peter had mentioned they were mad about him wanting to cut down a few trees, but perhaps he underestimated their anger level.
“Hurry up,” she said to herself. “All you need is to get eaten by a damn bear in the middle of BFE.” She wouldn’t make a good burrito all wrapped in her coat and gloves.
She stopped and glanced around, her glasses foggy from the cold and rain. The sound of a third growl, much closer than she would have liked, made her whirl in a circle. The hairs on her arms stood. Fuck. She wasn’t stupid. Even if she was in the middle of an empty road while it poured freezing rain and some wild animal was stalking her.
She started walking faster, her breath coming in pants. It took a moment to realize she was running. Running! There was little time to think about the miracle of her stubby little legs moving faster than zero miles per hour. Something was chasing her. She heard the breaking of branches behind her.
Don’t look back. They always said that in horror movies. It would do nothing but scare her; but she did anyway. Why? Because she was horrible at following her own advice. Twin golden spots stared brightly at her between the trees.
A gasp lodged at her throat. She swirled face forward, and found she had veered to the steep shoulder drop-off. She dodged a branch, but caught a rock, twisting her ankle painfully. She screamed. Her body lurched forward, tumbling and hitting the ground hard. There was no stopping. Her glasses went flying and rocks bit into her body. The incline felt never-ending. An intense pain zinged through her head and darkness took over.
FIVE
Luke heard a scream. He had just slipped into his clothes after his run when the sound reached him. He ran toward the female voice. His keen hearing gave him the location: Gill Cut ridge, the only vehicle route on this side of the forest.
His gut told him to hurry. No-one in his pack was unusually dangerous; there were a few who hated strangers wandering the property. To the extent that they wouldn’t hesitate scaring the trespasser into doing something stupid, like running and falling down the cliff incline.
Reaching the base of the ridge a mile from his cabin, he glanced around the wet grass trying to find a body through the sheets of rain. Thunder crackled, shaking the ground. Lightning flittered through the sky, lighting the growing darkness.
Fuck! He inhaled deeply, bypassing the scents of wet earth and nature to search for something, anything, unfamiliar.
It hit him with the force of a freight train. He rushed to the limp body hidden by a massive tree. She was soaked and covered in layers of clothing. A giant cut covered her cheek. Her eyes were closed, but he heard her breathing.
With as much care as he possessed, he lifted and carried her to his home. There, he laid her on his bed and stripped her of the frozen, wet clothes.
He ignored the lion inside, roaring over her injuries. He got her down to underwear and covered her in a heated blanket he kept for Luna when she stayed over.
She groaned in pain and lifted a hand to the side of her head before passing out again. There was a large bump covering her left temple. He sensed no immediate danger, but knew she ached from the fall. He had no idea what she was doing on his land. Other than getting lost, there was no acceptable explanation. She snuggled into the warm blanket, no longer shaking with every breath.
He picked up her wet clothing and took it to his laundry room for washing. They were full of dirt and mud. The purse, still hooked around her arm when he found her, had all its contents zipped inside. He never would’ve found everything spread out down the hill in this weather.
Luke pulled out the wallet for a peek at her driver’s license, then shoved it back in. He saw her phone. He could call the last person she talked to, to tell them she was injured, but the cell wouldn’t turn on. Must be a dead battery. He didn’t see a charger in the purse and his charger had a different end than her phone’s input port. It now sat on his shelf waiting for her to wake.
Her name was Kira Ardan. That’s as far as he knew. He refused to go through her stuff. That was a breach of privacy and as a private person himself, he wouldn’t do to her what he hated done to him.
He picked up his phone and debated on calling Luna. As he stared at the screen, it rang. It was her. She did this to him all the time. Reading his mind from far away. He would never get used to it.
“Mom. What’s wrong?”
She took an audible breath. “Son, someone’s been hurt near you. Can you see if you can find her?”
He frowned. His mother had a gift he didn’t question. “If I find this person, what do you want me to do with her?”
He glanced at the curvy female on his bed. The sight of her curled up in his blankets filled his lion with a possessive drive. It was clear. His lion wanted her. Her scent tugged at his most basic of instincts. The need to mate. To take. To own. He tamped down the urge to free his animal demanding they mark the woman as theirs. She drove his
already heightened arousal through the roof.
“She’s injured so take care of her. I can sense her head and foot are in pain. The foot is the worst. I think she hurt her ankle pretty bad.”
He marched to the bed and pulled the blanket from under the woman’s feet. Sure enough, a massive purple and blue bruise ringed her ankle along with a lot of swelling.
“Okay.”
“And, son?” she said before hanging up.
“Yes?” he asked softly, to not waken the female.
“Don’t scare her by being all growly.”
“I’ll talk to you later, Mom.” He hung up and went about wrapping warm bandages on her leg. Every sound of pain she made tore at his heart. He wanted to stop hurting her, but knew this was the only way to ensure the swelling went down.
He didn’t know who Kira was as a person, nor did he care. It was enough he felt the instant connection to her so deeply in his chest, he’d destroy anyone who threatened her. It was simple, really. Kira was his.
He sat next to the bed and touched her hand. She was warm, soft. Being this close to her soothed some of the anxiety his lion felt. She grabbed his hand in her sleep. Her fingers tightened around his and didn’t let go.
He felt her pain deep in his bones. She wasn’t even awake and a connection between them flourished like a double rainbow after a hurricane. Completely unexpected.
SIX
Kira woke with the worst headache she’d ever had. She lifted a hand to the side of her head and winced at how tender it felt. Her long, unruly curls had been loosened from its ponytail.
She blinked repeatedly, trying to put her surroundings into focus, but had a hard time. She settled for squinting to see clearer. Soft light filled the bedroom she was in. A quick glance down and her eyes widened with shock. She wore no top. Just how naked was she? Her blood froze like ice in her veins. What in the world happened?
Tugging the blanket back, she realized she was in underwear and bra. Anger swiftly grew inside her. Someone had taken her damn clothes off. She glanced around, but heard no noise. She tested her feet. No sense in going to smack the living daylights out of someone if she couldn’t stand on her own, right? With her legs in working order, she got out of the bed and glanced around. Her foot hurt and she knew, thanks to the binding, she’d twisted her ankle. She didn’t see her clothes, her bag, or her phone.
She could have freaked out, but anger got the best of her. Someone had saved her life, yes, but also gotten her naked. Some freak got her naked and she didn’t see why that had been necessary. Clearly, the room belonged to a male. He had boots lined up neatly at the bottom of his open closet. Jeans and long sleeve sweaters and shirts filled the upper part of the closet.
The photo of a couple sat on the dresser and that was it. No other personal touches filled his space. She limped around the room, ensuring she kept the weight off the aching ankle. She grabbed the first shirt she saw tossed on top of a chair and slipped it on. It smelled clean and fresh, like it had just been washed. She was surprised at how big the shirt was.
As a woman with bigger than usual curves, not much fit her baggy. His shirt landed mid-thigh, loose like a dress. No worries. Not like she’d stress over the fact some giant stripped her and left her in his bed. She already wanted a few words with him.
She buttoned the shirt and glanced at herself in the mirror. There was a cut from her temple to her cheek, clean and red. Most of the time, due to her darker complexion, she couldn’t see bruises, but she saw purple circles on her legs and arms. She’d seen them on her hips and belly too.
That had been a hard fall. If not for the growls, she wouldn’t have been so distracted. The rain made it harder for her to see, too.
She poked and prodded, searching drawers, trying to figure out where the hell she was. All she wanted was her clothes and phone.
She limped her way out of the bedroom quietly. The living area wasn’t huge by any means, but laid out with comfortable sofas in a suede material in front of a massive fireplace.
Walking barefoot on the warm wood floor, she made her way to the kitchen. There were no sounds. She peeked out the floor-to-ceiling windows opposite the kitchen and gasped. She was shocked to see at least two feet of snow covered the ground.
Holy shit! How long had she been out? Snow coated every tree in the area. And more continued to fall. She hadn’t seen a phone during her walk from the bedroom to the kitchen. Fuck. She hadn’t seen people either.
At the kitchen door, she fogged up the glass with her breathing. After wiping her hand on it, she noticed movement between the trees. Her heart beat faster. Something bad was coming. She sensed it in her bones.
Whirling around, she searched for a weapon. The only things she saw were a frying pan and butcher knives. They would have to do. She limped to the other side of the big kitchen island and grabbed both just as the back door slid open.
A tall brunette walked in. She inhaled and glanced sharply at Kira.
“Who are you?”
Kira held the frying pan and knife in a death grip. “Who are you?”
The brunette walked farther into the house. Kira kept the four-stool kitchen island between them. The woman’s eyes glowed a bright gold.
“My name is Melissa. Why are you wearing my man’s shirt?”
Ah, fuck. So the giant with the loose hands belonged to this bitchy chick? “It was either wear the shirt or go naked.”
Melissa narrowed her eyes. The lines of her face tightened. She pressed her lips in a straight angry line. “You were naked?”
“Yes. I’d really like to talk to your man about taking a woman’s clothes off without her permission,” Kira griped.
“You…” Melissa came closer, almost at the edge of the island. “Piece of trash.”
“Hey! Whoa!” Kira snapped. “Did you miss the part where I said it was without permission?”
“Do I look like a fool, stupid human?” Melissa screeched. “No woman in her right mind would deny Luke. He is the prime for a reason. The epitome of sexy.”
Did she just call her a stupid human? Kira glared at the other woman, finally realizing she was dealing with a shifter. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
“If you point me in the direction of this Luke person, I’d love to beat some manners into him.” She took a step to the right, watching the other woman approach from her left.
The back door crashed open and two men entered the cabin. Two huge men. The first guy was blond with a grim expression. The other guy had dark hair and wore glasses and glanced back and forth between the women. She might have gotten better details if she hadn’t had to squint so hard. Dammit, she really needed her glasses.
SEVEN
“Melissa, what are you doing here?” asked the blond guy.
Melissa’s shoulders dropped and she lowered her head slightly. “I came to see you.”
Ah, so this was Luke. Shit. She couldn’t very well make out his features without her glasses. No way to verify if what Melissa said about him being the epitome of sexy was true. He’d have to be really close to her face for her to see that.
“I told you there was nothing else to discuss. We’re done.”
Ouch. Melissa apparently had a hard time letting go. Meanwhile, Kira hadn’t found a man she wanted to hold on to.
Melissa threw Kira a deadly glare. “We’re done? You leave me for this? A human?”
Kira’s brows flew up. How in the world did she get involved in this?
“What the--”
“This isn’t about her. Have you forgotten what the word no means?” Luke argued, cutting Kira off. She squinted, trying to see him clearly. What she saw was the way he pinned her with his icy blue eyes.
“Maybe if I kill her, then you’ll stop rejecting me,” Melissa said. She turned to Kira, her features changing into something animalistic.
No. She really didn’t think killing Kira would make anyone want the bitch more. Kira lifted the frying pan and knife closer to her chest. She was stuck in a f
ucking corner in the kitchen with no way out. The big guy with glasses threw himself at Melissa while Luke hopped over the island, landing in front of Kira. Had she glanced away for even a second, she would have missed it.
“Bastien, take her out of here,” Luke snarled.
“You have a way with women.” Bastien laughed. The sound was rough and light at the same time. “I’ll get her home.” He glanced at Kira. “Nice to meet you. Hopefully we’ll get a chance to talk when someone isn’t trying to kill you.”
Apparently these shifter women took their ownership of a man seriously.
“I’m coming back,” Melissa promised, reaching wildly for Kira. “And I’m going to kill you,” she screamed. “I’m going to watch the life drain from you as I claw holes into your chest.”
Damn that bitch was crazy with a capital C and descriptive with her threats. Bastien dragged her out kicking and screaming, literally. It was a few moments before things quieted enough for Kira to think straight.
She moved around him, stepping to his side so she could see his face. He met her gaze with his.
“Are all your exes psychotic?” She raised her brows, folding her arms on her chest. “Was she crazy before or after you got with her?” She leaned back on the island getting a better view of his face. Lord, the man was fucking gorgeous. Not in the clean cut sort of way. He had the whole fuck rough, dirty, and make you sweat thing going. A deep scar was etched down his cheek into his day’s old beard growth. She licked her lips and glanced down his massive frame. “Sex can make women insane.”
Luke raked his gaze down her body with an amount of possession she’d never seen in any man’s eyes. “You found clothes.”
She glanced down at herself. Fuck. She was naked under the thin shirt. Her nipples decided to make themselves known by hardening into small points. Good thing she had her arms crossed.
She jerked her gaze up to his face. She wouldn’t be swayed by dark and sexy looks. No way. She was pissed. “You stripped me?”
