by Kiera West
She laughed. “Yeah.”
“But, that does ground you. Part of the problem with modern society is that everyone gets so far away from what is important. Since we are part of nature, part of the natural cycle, we can respect it.”
His fervent words struck a chord in her. She had always felt like a fish out of water. From the time she was born, she never fit in. Not with her parents, not with her classmates or colleagues. Sadly, she was an outcast even in her own family.
“Don’t look so sad.”
She glanced up at Ethan. “No, not sad. I was just realizing how much I fit here. I never really felt at home before. But here in Passion, I feel like I belong.”
“Of course, we wanted you to feel that way.”
She shook her head, realizing she wasn’t truly getting her point across. “No. It’s more than that. It’s as if my interest in wolves brought me here. All my life, I have been fascinated with them, their habits, their lives. Now that I am here, I can’t imagine what I’m going to do once my grant money runs out.”
Now something close to panic moved over his face, but he quickly changed his expression and smiled. “I think we can worry about that later. I can smell Rand’s venison stew. How about we grab a couple bowls and take a break?”
She wanted to ask more, wanted to know what had scared him so much, but she knew from his look he would not discuss it. And truthfully, she didn’t want to worry about it right now. For the first time ever she was living in the moment. If she had a niggling worry that something was wrong, she could ignore it.
She just hoped she didn’t regret it in the end.
* * * *
The smell of death sunk into his soul. It was his partner, his lover, his one and only thing he lived for. He had started this at the request of his mother, had understood it was a fool’s errand. But now, he relished it. Something about killing called to him. He held the wolf as it died, enjoyed the way his body spasmed as life slipped out of him.
With a toss of his wrist, he flung the wolf aside and looked around. Blood stained the snow, his clothes, and he smiled. Something close to ecstasy filled his body. The need to hunt, the need to kill, the need to watch the death filled him with power.
He couldn’t wait until he could kill again.
Chapter Three
Shane fought against the need to run. They only ran in packs now for protection, but the need was there, boiling under his skin. He had forgone it last night to be with Eve, but he knew that had been a mistake now. It was part of their DNA, the need to run free, to escape the structures of their human forms and take part in a ritual as old as Denali.
“Feeling cooped up?”
He turned and found his mother smiling at him.
“I didn’t know you were coming over today.”
She rolled her eyes. “I wanted to stay home, but your father insisted. He’s going in with your uncle to Anchorage for supplies. I wanted to go over to Cherise’s, but he told me no.”
He knew that tone. His mother did not like losing an argument and he could just imagine his father had pulled something out of his hat to get her to stay.
“What?” he asked.
“Your father thought you would need to talk to me.”
He shook his head. “No. Why would he think that?”
Because she had been the mother he had always dreamed of, he couldn’t look her in the eye when he lied to her.
“You’re not having problems with Eve are you?”
He shook his head, trying to fight the smile but failing. She rolled her eyes again. “I’m not talking about sex.”
He sighed. “I know with our genetics sex is normal and not looked down upon, but I really don’t like talking to you about it. There is something wrong about it.”
She chuckled. “All of you boys are the same. You don’t mind strutting around and letting everyone know you have a mate, but when it comes to talking about intimacy, you freak out.”
Shane shook his head even though it was partly true. “You’re my mom. It’s not right.”
Her gaze softened as it always did when he called her mom. Worse, her eyes shimmered with tears. While it made him uncomfortable, it warmed his heart. She might not have been his mother by birth, but she would be his choice until the day he died.
She leaned up and brushed her lips over his cheek. “All of you think you don’t need your mamas. Fine, but when you do, come find me, Shane. You’ll never be so old that I can’t help you.”
She turned away and headed back into the house. Rand was waiting at the door. She paused, saying something to him that made him laugh, and he jogged down to greet Shane.
“She’s becoming more meddlesome by the day.”
Rand shook his head. “No, she just backed off the last few years while we were waiting to find Eve.”
That was true. Both Cherise and their mother were wonderful women, but they did like to meddle, until a few years ago. There was a growing feeling that their mate was nearing and everyone had waited. But, Shane had a feeling they might not have much longer to worry about that. Soon, there would be talk of babies.
“She hasn’t been talking to Eve about the future, has she?”
Rand shook his head and looked out over the horizon. “I think they’re waiting. Why?”
“Cherise read Noah the riot act about leaving her in the dark. She thinks Eve needs to know her true position with the family.”
Rand shrugged. “Not that she has much of a choice. Just being associated with us has changed her a bit.”
He glanced at his brother. “What do you mean?”
“Her senses are heightened. I expected it, and so did Ethan.”
He had felt that. “That would make sense, but I didn’t think it would be that fast.”
“It is. Her hearing is increasing as is her sense of smell. I noticed it today when we were out.”
“You were out? What the hell were you all thinking?”
“We took her up in the plane. She thought it was a good idea to go out looking for more wolves, but it would be easier to see the inaccessible parts of the preserve from the air. Noah was already planning on doing it, so we brought her along.”
“Anything?”
“No. But, I think there is. I just think we haven’t found it yet.”
“Redfoot didn’t come back, did he?”
Rand chuckled. “No, but there have been some complaints about Gabe. That bear has the personality of a…bear.”
He chuckled himself, feeling lighter for a moment. “I really can’t believe the crazy bastard came down off his hill. It has to have been about five years since I’ve seen him.”
“Yeah, and I am glad to see him. There was some speculation that it was him.”
Anger shifted through him. Shane knew the killer had some connection to him, but he had no doubt about Gabe. “Who the hell said that?”
“Some of the locals. You know, he’s kind of a legend. Sort of like Bigfoot.”
Shane shook his head even as he recognized a familiar scent of their mate. From Rand’s look, he did, too. “Shit, don’t let him hear you call him that.”
“Call who what?” Eve said from behind them. He turned to her and smiled. He couldn’t help it. Whenever he saw her, his heart just turned over and fell at her feet.
“Gabe Redfoot. He’s a bit of a recluse. He really hates being called Bigfoot, though.”
“Redfoot?” Her brow crinkled as she thought, and he couldn’t help the little jolt of arousal that slipped through him at the look. Jesus, there was definitely something wrong with him if he was getting hot because of the way Eve looked when she was thinking.
“Oh, oh, yes, one of the Redfoots, so a bear?”
He nodded. “Unlike the rest of his cousins, he’s always been a loner.”
“I thought they were social animals.”
He cocked his head to one side. “Do you see us all that way?”
For a second she didn’t say anything. Then she flu
shed red. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean it. My background…” She trailed off and her face turned even brighter.
God, she was cute when she was embarrassed. “You see us as animals, to be studied.”
She shook her head, and her face turned an even brighter shade of red. “No. I mean, yes. I mean, okay, see, I see everyone as animals. It has nothing to do with your DNA. It has to do with that I am as much of an animal as you or the bears.”
“Or the Choctaw Pride.”
“Pride?”
“Snow leopards. You haven’t met any of them yet,” Shane said.
“When can I meet them?” she asked.
“Not sure.” Never if he had anything to say about it.
She gave him a smile. “That didn’t sound very promising.”
Jesus, the woman was too perceptive for her own good.
“They’re sneaky. I don’t trust them.”
It was her turn to cock her head and watch him as he had done to her.
“So, what, you think they’re going to be overcome with lust for me.” She rolled her eyes. “I think they’ll be able to control themselves.”
“I’m not so sure about that.”
She laughed. “Come on in. Lunch is ready.”
* * * *
Three nights later, Shane put his plan into action. She needed romance, and if no one else was going to do it, he would be the man who did it.
“You need to get ready.”
She stopped what she was doing, concern immediately darkening her eyes. “Did anything happen?”
He should have thought of that. Damn, he hated that the first thing she would think of was something horrible happening.
“No. I thought maybe we could go out tonight.”
She frowned. “Out?”
He nodded. “I thought we could head over to Gentry’s, get a bite to eat. They have a band tonight, do some dancing.”
She flushed. “That’s okay.”
Her reaction confused him. “You don’t want to be seen out with me?”
She snorted. “Yeah, right.”
“Then what?”
“Well, I just thought we could stay in tonight.”
She busied herself with closing down the computer. Her shoulders had gone rigid, her expression tight. What the hell was up with that?
“I want to take you out. Alone.”
She glanced over her shoulder at him.
“I said you don’t have to do that.”
Irritation and disbelief filled him. Why were women such a trial? “But I want to, damn it.”
She sighed. Her shoulders slumped, and she stood up to face him. “I can’t dance.”
Whatever he was expecting, he wasn’t expecting that.
“What?”
“I can’t dance, okay. I’ve never had much rhythm or coordination, and dancing is hard for me to do.”
She brushed past him and walked into the house. He needed to keep her from doing that. If she ran into one of them, they would come up with something else to do. Granted, Shane usually didn’t mind doing that, but in this case, he knew what she needed and he wanted to be the one to give it to her. He grabbed her hand and gently tugged her back to him. He leaned against one of the counters and pulled her closer to him. Her face was so bright he was amazed she didn’t go up in flames.
“You think you can’t dance?”
She shrugged and kept looking at his chest.
“Didn’t you ever…”
Of course she didn’t. The woman had never been to high school, never had the normal upbringing most kids did. She didn’t get to go to school dances or proms.
He sighed. “You can’t tell me you don’t know how to dance with the way you move in bed.”
“All you wolves think of nothing else but sex, but that isn’t the indicator for everything.”
He chuckled. “Of course it’s all we think of. It’s part of our DNA.”
“Well, either way, I am not going dancing.”
She said it with so much conviction, he might have believed her. But, he also heard something else, something that told him they had been bad about ignoring a part of something with her. Romance.
“Too bad.” She opened her mouth, and he shook his head. “No. We don’t have to dance, but we are going to eat.”
“Just you and me?”
He nodded.
“Is there a reason for this?” she asked suspiciously. It struck him then that he had been right about this. Something told him to take her out on a date. They hadn’t really had to do much to capture her attention because of the situation. But now, he realized the mistake they’d made.
“Yes, just me. I thought we could go on over and get a good juicy steak.”
Her eyes did light up then. “That sounds good. Odd, but I had never been a really big red meat eater until the last few months.”
He tried not to be irritated that she seemed more excited by the prospect of eating a steak rather than dancing with him. It was a normal reaction that she didn’t understand yet. All of her senses were increasing as was her change over to their way of life. She would need more red meat to carry their children.
Just thinking about it brought the image of her round with their child to his mind. It struck him so hard in the chest that he had to rub it with his hand. Damn, he had never thought that much about having children, but now he was thinking of it constantly. He wanted that with her.
“Shane?”
He looked down at her. “Sorry. I was off in my own world.”
She nodded. “Give me a few minutes to get ready. Just you and me, right?”
It seemed important to her, and it had been his plan anyway. She needed some fun, to let loose, and he was just the man to do it in the family.
He kissed her nose. “Yep.”
The smile she gave him made his head spin and his body respond, but he ignored it. He needed to take her out and give her a little romance.
“I’ll be ready in about ten minutes.”
She rushed off, and he chuckled. He would make sure one way or another she would have the time of her life.
* * * *
Eve was slipping on her boots when Ethan came in Noah’s room. “What’s up?”
She glanced up at him. His hair had a bit of snow in it, and his shirt was open, his jeans on but not buttoned up. He had just been out for a run. She smiled at him.
“I’m going out with Shane.”
He frowned. “Going out?”
“Yeah.”
“Why would you be doing that?”
She shrugged. “It was Shane’s idea. Going into Gentry’s for a steak and some dancing. Well, I’m not dancing, but there’s a band tonight. Or Shane says.”
He nodded and watched her as she pulled on a sweater over her thermal top. She laughed.
“Sort of takes the romance out of the thing when you have to put on so many clothes.”
“It won’t be long and you can go out without five layers.”
“Well, and then I’ll be leaving.”
She tried not to think about it. Didn’t. Ethan gave her strange look and shook his head. They all did that when she talked of leaving. Eve knew they were keeping something from her, but she wasn’t sure what it was.
She walked past him, and he followed her down the hall. “So, just you and Shane. Did he clear this with Noah?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t know we had to get permission slips.”
Ethan chuckled. “Noah might have something to say about that.”
She stepped into the family room as soon as he said it and found Noah talking with Shane. “What do I have something to talk about?”
She couldn’t speak. All of the men were gorgeous, but tonight, Shane stood out. He had dressed for the occasion. He was wearing a black sweater, with a red shirt beneath it. His jeans were black and definitely a better pair than the normal raggedy jeans she usually saw him wear. Her mouth was dry, her body hot, and every bleeding thought had disappeared from h
er mind. Then, the next thought was, what the hell did I do to catch a man like that?
Hell, men, if she included all the Dillon cousins. How she kept them all interested was beyond her.
“I told Shane it was a good idea.”
She sensed Ethan’s nod behind her as Shane continued to stare at her. There was something in his gaze that had her fighting off a squirming fit.
He was looking at her so seriously she didn’t know what to make of it. Shane usually had a smile, a joke, something. But he just stood there staring at her. Then, he shook himself, and a small smile curved his lips.
“Ready?”
Again, her brain went blank, but this time, she had the sense to pull herself back to the real world before she embarrassed herself again.
“You bet.”
He held his hand out to her, and she walked the short distance and took it.
“Be careful,” Noah said.
“Of course, cuz. I’m always careful.”
With that, he led her out through the mudroom to the SUV. He led her to the passenger door and then unplugged the battery before joining her in the vehicle. He started the engine and turned to her with one of those wicked smiles he always gave her.
“I hope you’re ready for some fun, Eve.”
His flirting was infectious as always, and she smiled back him. “I just hope you can keep up.”
He laughed and then put the car in drive and headed off into the night.
* * * *
“You sure that was a good idea?”
Noah looked at his brother, knowing there was no jealousy involved. He also didn’t doubt their cousin’s ability. The last few months had kept them all on edge.
“Yeah. He asked to take her, and there was something in the way he talked that told me he’s been thinking about this for a long time.”
Ethan frowned. “Really? I didn’t think Shane planned that far ahead.”
Noah chuckled as he headed into the kitchen.
“That’s why I thought it might be important.”
Ethan followed him as he expected. “What do you mean? That Eve’s important? She’s been important to every one of us since we met her.”
Noah nodded after pouring himself a cup of coffee. He had the watch tonight, and he wanted to make sure to get in some time to check out Gentry’s area.
