Not anymore.
Lorne glared at his cousin. How many times had they played in the pond on the Bennett property? How many sleepovers with the entire pack of boys piled on top of each other? They’d been so close, then. Loyal. No one ever said a bad word about the others, much to the annoyance of their parents. It’d finally come down to punishments for them as a group. Even with the noses to sniff out who lied, no one would go against their brothers or cousins.
Family, his father used to say with a shrug. That was what counted. Blood over everything else.
Those were the words repeated when they were swatted for covering for each other. The same words were repeated as warning against any involvement with humans. No good came from those people. Couldn’t he see that? Hadn’t the clan suffered enough for the causes of humans?
Nods of agreement and grunts of suppressed emotion always answered the question. Having a furry side in the ranks of soldiers didn’t mean discharge. No, it meant an even bigger helping of shit in an already traumatic and deadly war. The Bennett boys were raised on tales of jungle ambushes and traps laid to maim and dismember, but not to kill. Those that survived came back ready to keep on fighting the ones that sent them to into violence.
Humans weren’t to be trusted. They were to be avoided, until the time came for them to be killed.
Lorne sucked down a ragged breath. Then came the years of school and sweethearts and growing up. They still had each other’s backs.
Until they didn’t.
Lorne always thought of senior prom as the moment his world went wrong, but cracks had appeared in the months leading up to that night.
He’d asked, Lilah accepted. None of Bennett boys were supposed to be there. He thought he’d be safe.
He was wrong.
Ian showed, with two of their cousins. Lorne didn’t spot them until the end of the dances, just after he’d kissed Lilah in the middle of the damn room. Surrounded by humans.
They’d found her easily the following day. A kind word and offer to drive her out to meet him had been her undoing. Lorne showed up at her house shortly after for their date, but he’d been too late.
He knew exactly where they’d taken her. Where else would they have gone to send a message? Of course it was to their old clubhouse. A tree house on the ground, built from bits of junk and pieces of wood. It’d been their palace, and it became Lilah’s terror.
Lorne’s fingers tightened around his bottle as he remembered the screams of panic. They tormented her with what they were and what he was. Shifting from human to bear and back again, laughing when she showed shock and tried to run. That’d been a game in itself, seeing how far the little human could get before the bears rode down on her and smacked her feet out from under her.
His only solace was that the games never went any further. Maybe they had plans for it, he didn’t know.
He could still remember Lilah’s voice breaking when she said his name from the doorway. Blood covered his snout, and more marked his fur from the injuries they gave him. The body of his own damn brother at his feet should have ripped his heart apart, but the fear and pain in Lilah’s voice always hit him harder in the gut.
He killed, but he destroyed her.
Lorne pushed to his feet and crossed through the restaurant, settling his Stetson on his head as he went. No more. He’d left that life behind long before he fought to save a human. He wouldn’t be intimidated by a ghost from his past.
“You need to get out of town.”
Ian slid him a glance, then went back to watching the game. “Why? Your girlfriend ain’t going to do shit.”
“Maybe, maybe not.” He let his bear push forward enough to enter his eyes. “But it’s me you have to worry about.”
An infuriating smile curled up Ian’s lips. “You and me, we have unfinished business.”
“No. That business ended years ago. I moved on. You should, too.”
Ian grabbed the collar of his shirt and yanked him close. “We’re blood, Lorne. There’s no undoing that.”
Lorne curled his own fingers around Ian’s fist and pressed hard on the soft parts of his wrist. His bear roared for more, demanding blood and death for the trouble Ian raised. “And yet, you’re the only one here. Where are the others, Ian? Why aren’t they backing you up right now?”
Something uncertain flickered in his cousin’s eyes. Ian was alone. By his own doing or some other reason or even just temporarily, Lorne didn’t care. Hell, he’d probably have felt sorry for the man if he hadn’t started off with threats at their first words in years. He ruined any hope of a peaceful reunion with talk of the unfinished business between them.
Lorne struck at that weakness. “You see all those people I’m with? Every last one of them would help drag your body somewhere it won’t be found.”
“They aren’t the only ones who know how to make someone disappear,” Ian growled.
The threat was clear, and one neither Lorne nor his bear could abide.
A snarl rattled in his chest as he locked eyes with his cousin. Blood and gore were heavy in the sendings pushed at him from the beast. Lorne clung to control by a fingernail.
They used to be so close, and Lorne wouldn’t shed a tear if he had to kill the man to keep Sloan safe.
Ian met him glare for glare. A sneer spread over his expression.
Lorne clamped down harder. “We share blood, cousin. We were raised on the same lessons. If you don’t leave this town, I won’t make it fast like Frank. I will have you begging for that final release. This is your warning. Leave.”
Then he walked away.
His bear snarled for blood, for a fight, for anything other than making his way back to his clan and taking a seat at the very edge of the table. He drummed his fingers against the surface to keep from jamming sharpened claws into the wood.
Ian had his warning. More than he deserved, but Lorne didn’t want to sink back into the sickness of the Bennett clan. He had his own people now. He had reasons to be better.
But he wouldn’t shy from the fight if Ian wanted blood.
He tracked his cousin from his seat and out the door. Not a single ounce of relief touched him. He glowered in Hunter’s direction. Something was supposed to change.
He felt exactly the same.
Lorne swallowed the last of his beer, then waved down the waitress for another while the sounds of happy couples and friends pressed on him hard enough to make his ears pop.
Back at the bar, Sloan stepped up to the pickup area for to-go orders.
Human in a shifter town, working a thankless job. One he hadn’t respected when it came between him and running off his no-good relative. Her shoulders stayed stiff as if she expected there to be whispers about her and didn’t want to show any weakness.
Her appearance was too big a stroke of luck. Fate was hell on a man. He wanted to get his life in order and clear any obstructions from the path before attempting to bring anyone on it with him. Ian was still spouting off his veiled threats. The time wasn’t right.
Except when he glanced down the table, Hunter waggled his eyebrows up and down like he was trying to communicate in freaking Morse code.
Then Joss jammed an elbow to Hunter’s side. “I saw it first.”
“You? No way! I’m like a bloodhound for the potential for true love,” Hunter sniped back.
“The only thing you have a nose for is the worst possible decisions,” Joss yelled in a whisper.
Hunter leaned in quick and pecked her on the lips. “I know. You’re the worst.”
Lorne shook his head and stood before they started pushing plates and glasses out of the way to make the entire table witness to an inappropriate amount of affection. Even the glances his way were enough notice. He didn’t need an audience for his next steps.
Which were...?
He scrubbed his hands against his jeans and blew out a harsh breath. His bear still rode him harshly for the denial of Ian’s blood. The strawberries and cream of Sloan
’s scent calmed him, barely, and filled him with a mess of other desires.
Mate.
He wanted her. He just didn’t know how to have her.
She’d be better off without him. He was a murderer by most standards, an outlaw by some. Too rough for a woman with a strong sense of right and wrong.
But the thought of her moving on or making a life with anyone else made his stomach roil and his bear roar.
Mine.
Lorne sidled up next to her and leaned against the bar. “Agent.”
She started, then straightened, eyes shuttering her true expression. Wariness still clouded her scent. “Lorne,” she said primly.
“Couldn’t get enough the other day?” he asked in a light voice.
She arched a single eyebrow at him and said nothing.
He took off his Stetson and settled it on the bar. He ran a hand through his hair and winced. “I don’t know how to do this.”
“What? Pick up your order? You wait in line and pay, preferably without bothering anyone else,” she snapped.
“No,” he said softly. “Apologize.”
She blinked at him like she hadn’t even considered the scenario. And maybe she hadn’t. Tough girls were forged in fire, not happy, easy lives.
He hoped somewhere far from the Bennett clan, Lilah spewed her own fire and snappy comebacks.
“I’m not sorry for putting myself between you and him, or trying to get him to leave town. That clan is poison, Sloan. They won’t think twice about hurting a human. They’d probably welcome it.” Truth speaker, he said to himself. He knew exactly how much they’d enjoy it. “We do things differently. That’s what I’m sorry for—”
“You’re sorry because we are different?” she interrupted.
“Yes. No. Not like that.” He scowled. “I’m sorry because I didn’t put stock in your way. I’m sorry I—”
“Utterly and totally dismissed my career?” Sloan rubbed a thumb over her fingernails, watching him from under her eyelashes.
The hint of mischief in her scent gave him pause. Lorne turned from her, but still watched her from the corner of his eye. “You’re enjoying this.”
“Always did love a good grovel.”
She might be human, but she was as tough as any shifter he’d met.
He jerked his chin to the rowdy table in the corner. As he watched, Tansey blew a straw wrapped at Joss. Hunter fished out an ice cube from Joss’s glass of water and aimed for Tansey, but hit Jesse instead. Ethan turned to growl an order and received a fry to the eye from his own mate, who widened her eyes with a look of innocence that could only mean intense guilt and zero remorse.
Disaster. They really shouldn’t be allowed in public.
“I’d probably be out of a job,” Sloan teased.
Lorne jerked. He lived in his head so much that he hadn’t even realized saying the words aloud. Warmth spread through his chest at the approval in her eyes, though. “You want to join us? Can’t guarantee they’ll behave themselves.”
She eyed the bag waiting for her, then the table of misfits. The hint of wariness entered her scent again, souring the sweetness of the fruit and cream.
Lorne held his breath. They were his people. If she would have anything to do with him, they were part of the deal.
She canted her head to the side and met his eyes. “I’d like that. Misbehavior and all.”
Chapter 13
Sloan leaned against the wall of the bar with a satisfied sigh. After polishing off enough barbecue to feed a small army, the Black Claw clan made their way across the street for after-dinner entertainment. They flipped a coin for darts or pool and then jostled to be the first to lay hands on a pool cue.
“You’ll never make the shot,” Alex griped as Lorne slowly strode around the pool table. The man grunted in answer and continued his serious study of ball placements.
“Ten bucks and a week of zero complaints about the breakfast menu says he can,” Tansey challenged from her perch against the wall.
Alex slapped a hand over his heart. “I’m wounded that you would take his side over mine.”
“I side with those who don’t growl when they miss out on the bacon.” Tansey swept her hair over her shoulder and leaned forward. “Joss tells me you’re coming to the next movie and mani night.”
Sloan wiped her smile off her face. Joss had been the one to approach her, but she put good money on the idea being sanctioned by the alpha’s mate. “I said I’d think about it.”
“Well, time’s up. We’re getting together next Monday. We have a lull in overnight guests and Joss owes me a hand massage.”
“I do not!” Joss hiccupped next to her. Green eyes brightened unnaturally. “You’re trying to take advantage of my weakened state.”
“Damn right I am.” Tansey laid her head against Joss’s shoulder. “Will you please be amazing and pamper me? I’ll pamper you back.”
“Only if you’re extra sweet to me and don’t try to fight Hunter next time he tracks mud into the kitchen.”
“There’s a mat right outside the door. With a helpful reminder to wipe your damn paws. Alas, my hands will be gnarled monstrosities.”
Joss chuckled and jerked her shoulder to throw Tansey off balance.
The micro-interactions were another reminder of where Sloan stood. Alone.
No lasting friendships. No one to go home to at night. The clan bickered and pushed each other’s buttons like they were made for squabbling, but there was always a grin and a laugh to go with the jabs. They tried to include her, but she was still an outsider. She didn’t know their inside jokes or when someone was pushed too far.
Outsider. That was her lot in life.
And then there was Lorne himself.
His eyes caught hers as he took his shot. That he wanted to watch her instead of the game he played woke something in her. She’d been watched by men before, of course, enticed and seduced by them, but none filled her with desire at the end of a single glance. Her skin tingled with warmth as if he’d passed a hand over her instead of just his gaze.
The connection broke when Ethan stepped between her and the pool table. Sloan swallowed hard. The loaded look still had her firmly by the back of the neck.
Ethan handed out the drinks in his arms while Hunter passed others to the men around the table. “One girly beer for Joss, one stout for Tansey, and a water for the human.”
Sloan raised her glass in a salute. She’d had a couple drinks at the barbecue joint, but she wanted to keep her wits about her. The shifters had metabolism on their side. “Thank you.”
Lorne made his way to her side. He took a big swallow of the drink he’d told her to guard, then leaned closer. “They bothering you?”
She could almost feel his breath rustling her hair. Regardless, goose bumps lifted up and down her arms with a sudden awareness of him. Every single cell in her body seemed to sit up and pay attention to the man.
“They’re harmless,” she said. She tucked her hair behind her ears to give her something to do besides choke on the overwhelming sense of Lorne standing so close.
“Here’s a question I’ve had and hasn’t been answered. You talk about fated mates like it’s some otherworldly, amazing thing. Is it just another word for a couple?” She’d tried to keep her voice low, but the improved hearing around her caught the words anyways.
Ethan and Tansey and Hunter and Joss turned to look at each other. Sparks danced in their eyes. Sloan wasn’t convinced they weren’t laughing at her.
Alex, though, definitely snorted. Jesse outright grinned.
“This is the best the feds can do?” Lorne teased.
Sloan pointed at herself. Let them laugh. She was trying, dammit! “Human, remember? I wasn’t exactly raised on this stuff. They gave us terms and definitions but in my experience, fate is just a fancy word for coincidence.”
Tansey held out her arm. Two circles covered over each other to make a nasty scar. “Previously human, also not raised on this stuff
.” She traced the more jagged and shinier of the two. “Bitten by the animal form changes you.”
“I know that much.” They were trained to avoid letting a shifter, well, shift. Silver bullets and tranquilizers were standard issue, right along with silver handcuffs. Strong men and women were less of a danger than a rampaging beast that could put a human out of commission while she fought to control her new inner animal.
Ethan brushed his fingers over the other scar. Tansey fluttered her eyes shut and a pleased groan passed her lips. “Bitten in human form bonds you as mates.”
Joss shook her head. “It’s more than just some words. There’s this whole other person outside of yourself, that matters more than anyone in the entire world. That you’d do anything for. It’s like the world is one way, then suddenly it’s different.”
“And your animal knows. Just sits up and say that’s the one, that’s who I want for the rest of my life,” Hunter added, lopsided grin growing as he stared at Joss. “There’s no one way for it to happen. Growing up and slowly realizing—”
“Or having a gun drawn on you and being impressed at the sheer stupidity,” Ethan interjected. Tansey flashed golden eyes at him, but her frown disappeared the moment he pressed his lips to her bite mark.
“Get a room,” Alex muttered darkly. He leaned over the pool table and lined up his shot. The quick pull and release of the stick sent balls flying and crashing into each other, but none rolled into pockets.
“You deserved that.” Ethan chuckled when Alex focused a glare at him.
“A mate is something many hope to find and most never do,” Lorne added quietly. “Settling down happens, but it’s not the lightning strike of fate.”
Many hope. Sloan suddenly wanted to know if he was among that number. “That still just sounds like words to me. So you’re saying no one ever cheats or fights or runs off on their mate?”
“Well, no—”
“So then there’s no difference. It’s exactly like any other couple in the world. Good can happen the same as bad.”
Breaking Fate: Book Three: Black Claw Ranch Page 10
