“Then why not stay?”
“Well, this is our first date. It looks bad if I sleep over.”
Capac chuckled. “Who says? If you’re worried about what my roommates will think, don’t. They won’t mind.”
“All right. What if I like it too much?”
“I don’t understand.”
She took a deep breath. “What if I want to sleep more than this night in your bed? I could easily get used to it and find myself not able to get a lot of rest in my own because you aren’t there.”
Capac slipped off the mattress and walked toward Riya. He appeared not to care that he was completely naked. Once he reached her, he cupped her face in his hands. “There is nothing wrong with that. I want it.”
Riya met his gaze. “Are you saying you want to see me more than casually? You want to have a relationship with me?”
He smiled, doing delicious things to her body with a simple show of expression. “If you’re asking if I want to be your boyfriend, the answer is yes. I never intended to only see you this one time when I asked you over.”
Her heart skipped a beat at Capac’s words, but she still had to find out one last thing before she let herself believe she could actually call him hers. “What about all the ‘accidents’ I’ve had where you ended up being in the line of fire? I can’t promise that will be the end of them. I’m what you would call klutzy.”
Capac chuckled. “I’m a fast healer, so don’t worry about it. You can do a lot of damage to me and I’ll recover easily.”
“I’ll try not to unman you again.”
“My balls will thank you, but if it does happen, it does. Now stop worrying and get back into bed. We can still sleep for a few more hours before we should get up.”
Riya allowed Capac to strip off her clothes, then lead her to the bed. They both climbed under the covers and cuddled up. With his arms wrapped around her and the sound of his heart beating under her ear, it didn’t take too long before she fell into a deep sleep.
* * * * *
Capac walked Riya to the front door, then pulled her into his arms for a long, passionate kiss. Once he lifted his head he saw her eyes were closed and her lips swollen from his kisses. Having spent the entire night with her, learning more about her, he was more than pleased she had turned out to be his mate. He couldn’t have asked for a better woman. Her personality matched his, and the way she responded to his touch made him long for the time he could take her to bed and make love to her fully.
He reluctantly let her go. “So you’ll come back here once you’ve showered and changed your clothes?”
Riya blinked open her eyes, which were still a little dazed-looking. “Yes, I promise. Then we can decide what you want to do for the rest of the day, but it can’t be a late night. I have to work the next morning.”
Once Capac claimed Riya as his mate she wouldn’t be able to work. The mating bond wouldn’t allow them to be apart for that long without suffering separation anxiety. And it wasn’t necessary, anyway. He had enough money for them to live very comfortably, thanks to their first shaman, who had given each sentinel precious and semiprecious stones and gold nuggets before putting them to sleep in the ice cave.
“All right, no late night,” he said. “When you come back we can go have lunch somewhere since you didn’t want any breakfast.”
“I never was much of a breakfast eater so I eventually gave it up. Lunch sounds good, though.”
Capac dropped his arms to allow Riya to back closer to the front door. “That’s okay. I guess I’ll see you soon.”
Riya nodded, then walked outside. Capac stood in the open doorway and watched her walk toward her car. It was then he saw Brice’s parked next to Riya’s. The local pack leader got out and said a few words to Riya before he headed for the house. Capac waited for him, giving a last wave to his mate as she drove away.
“Hey, Brice,” Capac said as the other werewolf reached him. “We weren’t expecting you today.”
Brice didn’t take time for any pleasantries before he asked, “Was that your mate? I could smell your scent all over her.”
“Yes. Her name is Riya. I found her yesterday.”
“Go after her. Claim her and turn her—now.”
Capac stiffened at Brice’s serious tone and the haggard expression he wore. “Did something happen?”
Brice nodded. “If I were you, I wouldn’t take the chance of leaving my mortal mate unprotected. Not after what happened earlier this morning.”
“Come in. I’ll get the others and you can tell us.”
Capac stepped aside to allow the other man to walk inside. He then called for everyone to come to the living room, the area where they usually all gathered. Werewolf hearing such as it was, the other occupants of the house had had no problem hearing him and soon made an appearance. Ryder must have already been with Edensaw because he followed closely behind their alpha.
Once everyone was seated in the other room, Brice took control of the meeting. “I haven’t had a very good morning, and I have a feeling the rest of the day isn’t going to be much better. There was an incident that took place within my pack that involved the dark wolves, specifically with Tanner. He along with Greg, one of my pack members who has now gone to the dark side, stole Greg’s brother’s mate. They beat Tad up really good in the process. Tad and Greg haven’t been on the best of terms, and it had to do with Tad’s mate Lora, who Greg had clearly wanted for his own since he took her. That’s disturbing enough, but it’s the message Tanner gave Tad to pass along to you guys that is worse.”
Edensaw gave Brice a grim look. “What did he say?”
“It took us a while to get it out of Tad because he’s going through separation anxiety, but it’s not good. Tanner said he was now the leader of the dark wolves, and that he’d killed Andre to achieve his new status. He also said he was stronger than his former maker and isn’t afraid to use what he’d acquired.”
Ryder spoke before anyone else did. “That’s what I sensed, the change in who leads the dark wolves. And Tanner is a bigger threat than Andre ever was. With the shift in power, I felt the darkness was stronger in the one who came out on top.” He looked at Edensaw. “I’m going to have to speed things up to embrace my powers fully.”
Their alpha gazed at their shaman with concern showing clearly on his face. “Is that wise? You haven’t told us what all it involves, but you said you wanted to ease your way into it.”
“I no longer have that luxury. If I were to do that Tanner could make a move that will be the downfall of the sentinels and it will have been for nothing.”
“I’ll be blunt,” Brice said. “Do whatever is necessary to give us the advantage. I came here to tell you what happened but also to ask for your help. We need to get Lora back. The only problem is the dark wolves are stronger and faster than us regular werewolves. You sentinels are stronger and faster than the dark wolves. And there is no telling how many members are in Tanner’s pack.”
Edensaw nodded. “Of course we’ll help. Do you have any clues as to where Tanner and Greg took Lora?”
Brice sighed. “No, not really, but I have most of my pack out scouring the city and in some of the remote areas outside it. Tanner has to be around here locally. And once we locate him we’ll move in to get Lora out.”
“Maybe I can help with finding him,” Ryder said. “I need a little time, but I might be able to work a spell to pinpoint an area.” The shaman rose and left the room. Capac heard Ryder’s bedroom door shut upstairs.
“Let me know if Ryder comes up with anything,” Brice said as he stood. “I need to get back and look in on Tad. He’s not in great shape right now.” The sound of a cell phone ringing filled the air. Brice pulled his out and answered it. His few curt words said it wasn’t good news. “Fuck. Tanner has been busy. Before he went to Tad’s place he paid a visit to his mother and brothers. He forcibly turned his brothers into dark wolves and threatened to kill his mom if she tried to interfere.”
“And you�
��re just hearing about this now?” Edensaw asked.
“I guess Tanner’s mother was too afraid to call until she made sure Tanner wasn’t coming back.”
“Go and take care of your pack members. I’ll call if Ryder is able to work that locator spell.” Brice gave a nod and walked out of the room. Edensaw looked at Eryn. “Call Carson and tell him we have need of him.”
Wachei’s mate held up her cell phone. “Already on it.”
Capac looked at his alpha. “Brice saw Riya as she was leaving. He told me to claim and turn her now. Do you agree that I should?”
Edensaw put his hand on top of Capac’s shoulder. “I think it would be wise to do it as soon as possible but not today. Riya will be too new to our world, and with what has happened in Brice’s pack, you don’t need to drag your mate into something she’ll have a hard time coming to terms with. At least Cassidy, Eryn, Jaren, Meadow and Haven have been trained to fight in werewolf form. There won’t be enough time for you to teach Riya. That would make her vulnerable still even with her no longer being mortal.”
“Okay. Then I’ll wait until we have this crisis under control.”
His alpha gave his shoulder a squeeze, then released Capac. “And you’ll have to cancel your date with Riya today.”
Capac cringed inside but nodded. He left the living room and headed up to his bedroom to text Riya. Luckily they had exchanged cell phone numbers and he’d gotten her address before she’d left. He didn’t want to disappoint her already at this early stage in their relationship, but he had no choice. He could not bring her along to a confrontation with Tanner. If anything were to happen to Riya, he would never forgive himself.
* * * * *
After taking a shower, Riya dried off before heading to her bedroom. Wren wasn’t home, and Riya had no idea when her roommate had left. She didn’t mind. It wasn’t very often she ended up having the apartment to herself.
Inside her room, she walked over to her dresser to comb her damp hair. As she untangled her long locks, she smiled. She’d soon see Capac again. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him. Now that she knew he wanted to have a real relationship with her, she felt as if she could allow herself to think of a future with them as a couple. Even though she really could be jumping too far ahead of herself, Riya would have no problem moving in with Capac. She already liked his roommates, and they seemed to like her. And his bedroom was large enough for the two of them.
She’d just finished combing her hair when her cell phone, which sat on top of the dresser, beeped to alert her to a new text message. Riya put down the comb and picked up her phone with a smile, hoping it was Capac who’d sent it.
Her smile slowly faded as she found it was indeed from him, but the message wasn’t what she’d expected. Instead of asking her how much longer she’d be or that he missed her, he cancelled their date. His reason why was vague at best, stating something had suddenly come up and he’d get in touch to set up another time to see her when he could.
Riya’s heart sank. She didn’t like the idea of Capac cancelling through a text message. To her, it would have been better if he’d called her and spoken to her. This was so impersonal and allowed him to not really explain himself.
She finished getting dressed and decided to go to the kitchen to make something to eat now that she wouldn’t be going out to lunch with Capac. It really sucked that she couldn’t see him as planned.
Riya opened the fridge and looked to see what she had in her section. It was pretty bare. She’d have to do a grocery-store run either later or after work tomorrow. Wren’s part was well stocked as per usual. She saw a package of ground beef that was thawed. She grimaced. That meant her roommate was going to make steak tartar for her dinner. Riya would have to make sure she wasn’t around once Wren made it or she’d be asking her if she wanted some. Riya couldn’t stand to watch Wren eat the raw meat. She could handle sushi but uncooked beef was way out of her comfort zone.
She’d decided to make some eggs when the apartment door opened. Wren came into the kitchen and stopped in front of Riya. Her roommate looked at her intently before she spoke.
“You’re finally back,” Wren said. “Your date must have gone well if you stayed overnight.”
“I thought so,” Riya replied as she took out a frying pan from the cupboard. She placed it on top of the stovetop. “I was supposed to have lunch with Capac, but he bailed on me, through a text message, no less.”
“You’re worried he won’t see you again.” Wren said it as a statement rather than a question.
“Yeah.” Riya didn’t normally talk about men with Wren, but she didn’t have anyone else. Plus, her roommate had seemed so certain Capac would stick around.
“Don’t be.”
She whisked two eggs and a bit of milk in a bowl before she dumped the mixture into the frying pan. “I don’t know how you can be so certain when you’ve never even met Capac.”
“Call it intuition. I’m sure he’ll be calling you tomorrow. Did you meet all his friends last night?”
“Yes. They were all nice. I guess one of the couples just found out they’re expecting their first baby. Dinner was a celebration of sorts for that.”
“Are any of them single?”
Riya stirred her eggs. “Two of them were. I think Carson is in his thirties while Ryder is around your age, though when you look him in the eyes he seems older than that.”
“Can you introduce me to him?”
“Maybe. It all depends on whether or not I see Capac again, which I hope I do.”
“You could always call Capac and invite him over here. Tell him to bring Ryder with him.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Thanks. I guess I’ll let you finish making your eggs before I get something to eat as well.”
Wren left the kitchen. Riya shook her head. She still didn’t understand the change in her roommate. The other woman had spoken more words to her in the last two days than she had in a year. Not that Riya minded. She’d tried to become closer with Wren before and had always been unsuccessful.
Riya finished her eggs, then put them on a plate. She took her food to her bedroom where she turned on her laptop to check her emails while she ate. There was one from her parents again, sharing the latest attractions they’d seen on their holiday. She hit reply and wrote a message in between mouthfuls. She made no mention of Capac just in case he didn’t call her as he said he would.
Chapter Five
The bastard was playing with them. Capac stood in the large, open space of an abandoned warehouse near the docks along with the other sentinels as well as Ryder, Brice, Tad and some handpicked members from the local werewolf pack. Once again Tanner had slipped through their fingers.
This was the fourth place Ryder had been able to pinpoint using his locator spell, but it appeared Tanner knew they were coming and was gone before they arrived. And he threw it back in their faces by leaving a note behind for them to find, taunting them. Each time they missed the new dark wolf leader Ryder would have to use his spell again, which took away precious moments.
“This is fucking ridiculous,” Tad said with a growl. “What good are these sentinels and their shaman if they can’t find my mate? It’s been hours since my asshole brother and the dark wolf took her. Who knows what they have done to her.”
“I know you’re going through hell with the separation anxiety, but you have to calm down,” Brice said to his pack member. “Without Ryder, we wouldn’t have been able to find even these places.”
Tad ran his hand roughly through his short, blond hair. “Shit, I know. This is the longest I’ve been apart from Lora since we became mated. It’s killing me to think of what she has to be enduring right now.”
Edensaw came to stand in front of Tad. “We’re doing our best to get your mate back. I know it’s hard, but we can’t rush off blindly without knowing where Tanner will be. It would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.”
“I have it,
” Ryder called from where he stood off to the side, away from everyone else.
Capac hoped this next place would end up being the spot where they managed to corner Tanner. It was already late into the night and with the luck they were having they could be chasing the dark wolves into the following day.
With his mating urge riding him, and seeing what Tad was going through, Capac really missed Riya. He’d thought she would have texted him back after he’d had to break off their date, but every time he checked his phone there wasn’t one from her. He hoped she wasn’t mad at him. If she was, he’d have to make it up to her. It sucked that only he knew what she meant to him, that there was no chance of him walking out of her life.
They all piled back into their various vehicles where the mates waited and headed for the area Ryder had directed them to. This time they ended up on vacant treed land on the outskirts of Juneau.
Once again they left the mates, and this time Ryder, in the cars while the rest of them headed for the wooded area. Capac took on his dire wolf form as the others shifted as well when they were hidden from the road by the tall trees. His senses more acute in this form, he sniffed the air around him, searching for tracks.
Tad was the first one to pick up a scent trail. He let out a growl, then took off at a run. They charged after him. Capac could smell the scents of two male dark wolves and a female werewolf, and they were fresh. Maybe this time they would catch up with the ones they hunted.
They broke out into a small clearing that consisted of a hill of rock. At the top stood Tanner and Greg along with Lora, who was held firmly in Greg’s arms. She didn’t appear to be hurt, but there were tear tracks down her face. Her gaze jumped from each of them until she let out a whimper as it landed on her mate.
Tad bunched his hind legs under him as if to jump up the small hill, but Brice shifted to human form and caught him. “Don’t. This could very well be a trap. You charging up there won’t help us get Lora back.”
They all shifted and moved as a group to stand by Tad and Brice. Tanner chuckled. “Yes, Tad, better listen to what your pack leader has to say. Keep your distance.”
Burning Ice: 6 (Werewolf Sentinels) Page 4
