Finally, Meara leaned forward and whispered something in Kallie’s ear.
Kallie’s foot shifted a second later, followed by the slow stretch of her leg. “I can feel them.”
Whatever she said after was lost in the chorus of shouts and praise for Meara’s work, the weight of potential tragedy happily traded for triumph and relief.
Elise let out her own shaky breath, the onslaught of post-trauma adrenaline making her light-headed enough she’d have likely tipped over had she been standing.
Tate steadied her with a hand at her shoulder and moved in closer so his torso blanketed her back. “You did good.”
“I didn’t do anything. Meara did.”
“Elise.” He squeezed her shoulder as if to drive the rest of his words home. “If you hadn’t stepped in, Kallie might not have gone home at all today. You did good. Not to mention, made a huge impression on the clan.”
All around them, people waited for their turn to pay Meara their respect and hug a now bewildered looking Kallie where she stood beside her. Everyone but Vanessa. Even her usual crew seemed missing in the crush, leaving her isolated and on the far end of the fray.
But she was there. Her arms crossed and her gaze glacially cold. And every bit of her anger was directed squarely at Elise. “Maybe some of them. But there’s at least one who likely wishes Draven had found me before Priest did.”
Chapter Thirteen
His mate was quiet. Too quiet now that Tate thought about it. In the two weeks since Elise’s first training day with the clan, he’d learned many things about her, but at the top of the heap was how she only got quiet and distant when she was gnawing on something in her head.
Walking steady by his side, her footsteps were nearly as silent against the forest’s undergrowth as his own, each stride far more confident in the darkness than they’d been their first night walking home. Considering she didn’t have the benefit of an animal’s sight and only a crescent moon hung overhead, it was a hell of a feat.
But there was something else about her silence that bugged him. An uncomfortable current that made his coyote’s hackles bristle. He slowed his steps and gently squeezed her hand in his. “What’s on your mind?”
She startled a little as though he’d yanked her from a daydream. “What?”
“You haven’t said a thing since we left Priest’s house.” And even then, she’d been a little distant. While they still hadn’t moved further physically than their first night in the cabin, most nights had been a mix of easy flowing conversations and sexual exploration, each day reflecting her growing comfort. But tonight, lingering around the firepit behind Priest’s house, she’d been distracted. Unplugged from the rest of the conversation around her.
She shrugged and eased close enough her shoulder brushed his arm. “You’re going to think I’m nuts.”
“I highly doubt that. Jade’s nuts, so I know firsthand what it looks like.”
Her soft smile scattered some of the tension moving through her, but not enough to completely dispel it.
“Spill,” Tate said. “Brooding’s bad for the soul.”
“That sounds like a Priest-ism.”
“That’s because it is. I think I heard it on a daily basis from the time I turned fourteen until my early twenties.”
She nodded, but kept her gaze rooted on the ground.
Rather than press, Tate kept his silence.
It took another handful of seconds, but she finally pulled in a long breath and said, “I’m worried about Vanessa.”
Now, that was the last thing he’d expected. He halted dead in his tracks and pulled her to a stop beside him. “Why?”
“Because she wasn’t there tonight.”
“That’s a good thing.”
“She wasn’t there last week either.”
“Double bonus.”
She tried to fight her smile with an exaggerated frown, but it couldn’t quite hide the mirth in her eyes. “Okay, I’ll admit it’s been nice not to have the drama, but aren’t you worried about her? I mean, she can be a bitch, but I don’t want anyone from the clan feeling ostracized. She’s a healer. A good one. The last thing we need is to lose someone with her skills.”
That right there.
That single display of concern and her focus on the bigger picture was why he was certain to his bones Elise would be the healer prima. “You’re thinking of her as one of your healers, not as an adversary.”
“I’m thinking of her as a person.” She shrugged again and started meandering toward the house again. “Probably makes me a glutton for punishment, but I just wondered if there wasn’t something I should do. Maybe reach out to her somehow and see if she’s okay.”
He caught an outstretched limb directly in line with her head and pulled it out of her path right before she walked into it. “If it was anyone but Vanessa, I’d say you were probably right, but she created her situation. A sting that lasts awhile is one you tend to remember longer.”
She chuckled, a little of the lightness he’d grown so accustomed to the last few weeks pushing past her preoccupied demeanor. “That sounds like another quote from Priest.”
“Yeah, I heard that one a few times, too.”
Ahead, the back porch lights from Elise’s house glinted between the thick tree trunks. Tate snatched her hand and spun her so the widest one was at her back, effectively blocking her from the wide windows at the back of the house. “You sure that’s it?”
Elise wrinkled her nose. “Thinking about Vanessa all night’s not enough?”
“You have a point.” He cupped the side of her neck and backed her one last step so her shoulders were flush with the tree. Even with her thoughts out in the open, something still felt off, but he was loath to push it. Especially with the topic he’d been itching to bring up all day. “I don’t like leaving you at night.”
For the first time all afternoon, her face lit up, her smile pure joy in physical form. “We’ve been coming back so late at night, it hardly counts to say we’re apart.”
“I want to make it so we’re not apart.”
He’d meant to lay the concept out with a little more finesse and considering the instant heat that flashed across her face, he figured fast-and-to-the-point hadn’t been a total fail.
Her lips parted, and he’d damned well bet in better lighting he’d have found a flush on her cheeks and neck. “I’m not sure I know how to interpret that.”
“You and me under one roof. You falling asleep next to me and saying good morning instead of good night.”
“But Priest’s house is already packed with you, Alek, Naomi, Katy and Jade.”
“Priest has already broken ground on the house he’s building for Katy. That knocks the headcount down inside three to five months, and if it bugs you being around them all in the meantime, then we can stay at the cabin.”
She splayed one hand above his heart, the simple touch so much more confident than those first hours they’d spent alone he could hardly contain a howl. “I like the cabin.”
Fuck, he did, too. Loved all the memories they’d made there already. Loved seeing her curves highlighted by moonlight and shadows—a regular occurrence considering she’d yet to bare herself to him in any stronger light.
“But if I leave, my mom will be alone.”
Her near whispered statement would have sucked the hope right out of his sails if he hadn’t already spent an inordinate amount of time hashing possible options. “She doesn’t have to be. Naomi’s patient as a saint, but she’d gotta be tired of sharing space with Jade. She loves your mom and might appreciate being around someone she can relate to.”
Her gaze dropped to where her fingers played back and forth against his T-shirt above his sternum. “I don’t know.” She met his stare and frowned. “You don’t think that might make Naomi feel weird? Like she’s not
wanted or something?”
“Are you kidding me? We’re talking about a natural born matchmaker. I’m halfway surprised she wasn’t the one to suggest it.”
Actually, now that he thought about it, he’d gotten the idea three mornings ago when Naomi had offhandedly over breakfast shared how much she missed chatting with other women her age. For all he knew, it’d been a tactical comment custom tailored to send him in the right direction. Naomi was crafty as hell that way. “So, what do you think?”
That odd sensation he’d been sensing all night kicked in again. Not uncomfortable this time so much as different. Foreign and stirring his coyote’s awareness.
Elise pressed her palms up and outward, stroking his shoulders and triceps in a surprisingly aggressive way. She urged him closer. “Can I think about it?”
The tone didn’t match her words. If anything, the underlying message was a resounding yes. Especially with the way her gaze was rooted on his lips.
He gave her the contact she wanted and angled her face to his with a hand at the back of her head. “I’m not going to rush you.” At least, he was trying not to, even if his dick had its own agenda. Like right about now, all it wanted was a chance to sink inside her pussy and glory in the wet heat his fingers had been privy to. He braced his free hand on the tree behind her and forced himself to go slow. Fit his lips to hers and prayed the hunter inside him would hang on just one more day. One more minute.
She sighed into his kiss and eagerly opened for him. Teased her tongue against his and playfully nipped his lower lip.
He groaned and deepened the kiss, an action she encouraged with nails sinking deep into his shoulders. Fisting his hand at the back of her head, he dragged her mouth away from his and arched his neck and shoulders into her wild grasp. His coyote’s warning growl rumbled up his throat and his muscles strained.
“Tate.” No fear in her voice. Not a drop. Just pure hunger. A ravenous hunger that rattled the cage on his control.
Not yet.
Not now.
Fuck, she couldn’t even bare herself to him fully yet. If he took her with his beast in charge, he’d scare the living hell out of her. “Go inside.”
“I don’t want to go inside.”
“Elise, go. Now.”
“Why?”
Chest heaving, he forced his eyes open and faced her, knowing full well what she’d see.
A predator’s eyes—part man, part beast, but the whole of him ready to possess what he wanted.
She gasped and would have knocked the back of her head against the tree had it not been for his hand holding her steady. Still, she stayed rooted in place.
“Elise, you either go inside, or the first time I take you will be right here, pinned against this tree.”
Her eyes dilated and, for a second, he was certain she’d sink her nails in deeper and demand he follow through.
But she dipped her head and released her grip, instead. “Are you okay?”
“I’ll run. I’ll be fine.” Hell, in the last two weeks, he’d covered every inch of Priest’s sizable land burning off the edge leaving her left him with. Tonight, he might have to run the length of two states.
He uncoiled his fingers from her hair, too unstable to risk another kiss, and somehow managed a shaky step backward. “Go. I’ll pick you up for work in the morning.”
With one last lingering, uncertain look, she turned and started toward the house. Slow at first, then breaking into a jog as if it was the only way she could manage the separation.
The bond was definitely there. Not sealed by any means, but getting stronger every day. Tonight, it had practically pulsed between them, the changed energy inside her flooding the connection so completely letting her step inside the house bordered on impossible.
Soon.
The confident message from his companion was all knowing. Grounded in wisdom beyond Tate’s human comprehension and calling him to surrender to his other half. He welcomed the change. Absorbed the sting against his skin as the magic burned through him and his coyote took over. The peace was instant, his companion’s form a welcome cage for the roiling need she’d stoked too close to the surface with her kiss.
Elise paused at the back door, scanned the tree line and smiled when her gaze locked on his beast. “Good night, Tate.” A simple statement offered in a soft voice no singura could have heard at his distance.
But Tate heard it. Felt it in every part of him. He answered with a lift of his muzzle and a sharp bark that sent her hurrying inside. The unmistakable slide of the thick dead bolt registered a second later and her shadow drifted behind the closed living room curtains.
Still, he waited. Watched her bedroom light come on. Listened through the muted rush of water and the faint strains of music. Only when her light went off and every sound inside the house settled did he move, stalking the house’s perimeter as he had every other night before leaving her to run. A stronger wind than normal rustled the treetops and carried with it a hint of the smoldering fire the straggling clan members were no doubt still gathered around outside Priest’s house. Otherwise, all was as it should be. Every chirp, hoot or croak of the forest’s inhabitants a balm to further still his restlessness.
A twig snapped.
Tate froze and zeroed in on the sound, its source directly opposite where he stood near one corner of the front entrance.
Leaves whooshed and light, but steady footsteps trekked toward the main highway.
There.
Definitely a person. And whoever it was was dressed in dark clothing and no taller than Elise or Jade.
Tate followed, running parallel to the shadowed form until he’d gained enough ground to circle around and gain a solid visual. A light flowery scent hung on the air. Something manufactured rather than natural.
I’m worried about Vanessa.
She hadn’t been there tonight and she was a fan of perfumes. So much so, his coyote had always bristled after too much time in her presence.
Close, but still not to the road, the footsteps slowed and stopped.
A car door chunked open, then slammed shut.
The service road.
He’d forgotten about the new road Priest had begun to build for his new home. A perfect place for someone to park if they wanted to get close and roam undetected. All pretense of stealth pushed aside, he shot forward, pouring all his magic into his speed.
An engine revved to life. Tires spun against soft soil and headlights flooded the darkness, burning and blinding his eyes. With one last burst of energy, he leapt, straining to focus through the overpowering brightness.
Pain exploded in his hip, a blast of searing agony that ricocheted up and down his spine. The forest spun, and his head and shoulders took the brunt as his body crashed to the main road’s asphalt.
Broken.
Elise.
Danger.
His coyote’s thoughts were his last before the shift blasted through him, leaving him huddled in human form on the ground. The kaleidoscope red of receding taillights narrowed and faded.
Then...nothing.
Chapter Fourteen
Elise bolted upright in bed, her gasp still hanging shroud-like in the dark room and her heart pounding an irregular beat.
No threat. At least none she could distinguish in the room’s shadows. But something had woken her. Ripped her from an eerily deep sleep and thrust her headlong into what felt like a waking nightmare. A cold sweat fanned along her forehead and the fine hairs along the back of her neck and down her arms prickled as though unseen ghosts danced around her. “Mom?”
Silence.
With trembling hands, she pushed the covers aside and hurried to the window, her light cotton sleep pants and the fitted tank she’d worn to bed doing nothing to fight the sudden chill.
Moonlight.
Stillness
.
Everything exactly as it should be.
But she couldn’t shake the unease. The iron-weighted lethargy in her bones. The deeply seated certainty that something was terribly wrong.
Tate.
A shiver ran the length of her spine and urged her into motion. She snatched an oversized sweatshirt she’d thrown over her desk chair, shrugged it on and nabbed her cell phone on the way out the door. Pausing at the bottom of the stairs, she scanned the open foyer. The living room. The kitchen beyond.
All quiet.
Her mother’s voice sounded from the top of the staircase behind her. “Elise?”
Where was Tate? He was here. She felt it. How, she didn’t have a clue, but he was there. Somewhere. And he was hurting. Badly.
“Elise, what’s wrong?”
“Call Priest.”
“Why?”
She had no clue. Only knew that whatever it was, she wouldn’t be able to handle it on her own.
Moonlight shafted through the front door’s square panes, leaving a geometric spotlight on the floor to her left. Outside. “Just call him. Tell him to hurry.”
She was out the front door and racing across the wide wooden porch before her brain bothered to catch up, instinct a whip that dogged her every step. Gravel and scattered twigs along the long drive to the highway dug into her bare feet.
“Tate?” Her shout rounded through the forest, an eerie boomerang effect that left her cold and empty. “Tate, where are you?”
Nothing. Not even the normal sounds she’d grown so accustomed to in the weeks she’d spent roaming the woods with her mate. Lungs heaving, she reached the end of the drive. Darkness stretched in both directions, the only color to break the emptiness the white and yellow lines that marked the asphalt.
Except one of the yellow lines had a break in it. A long-ish chunk that stood out in the darkness.
No.
Not a chunk.
A huddled mass.
“Tate!” She ran across the road and dropped to her knees, the uncontrolled descent and the road’s harsh surface scraping the flesh beneath her sleep pants. The pulse at his neck beat steady, but was far too weak. Blood trickled from a head wound near his temple and, curled on his side at an awkward angle, there was no way she was moving him. Not without someone far more skilled than she was to properly package him onto a backboard with a cervical collar.
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