“I-I can’t,” she said, her teeth chattering as she spoke. “I don’t think I can handle this.”
Kajakti came to stand directly in front of her. Yes, you can. You’re only fearful because you don’t understand. I’m a sentinel, one of the very first werewolves. And you are my mate.
Jaren shook her head. “This can’t be happening. I had to have fallen and hit my head. Now I’m having hallucinations. I did not see my new boyfriend turn into a wolf to fight off another man who did the same thing.”
You aren’t hallucinating. And you didn’t hurt your head. I’m truly a werewolf.
To prove it, Kajakti brushed his head against the back of one of Jaren’s hands. She let out a little squeak and jerked away. Knowing the alley was no place for him to help his mate understand everything she’d seen and been told, he shifted to his human form. Unlike Tanner, when Kajakti changed forms his body blurred and shimmered. The black smoke-like mass was a dark wolf trait, same with the black eyes.
“See, it’s still me,” Kajakti said once the shift was complete. The side of his neck throbbed a bit. He reached up and touched the spot. His fingers came away with a small smear of blood. He scowled as he looked at it.
“Y-you’re hurt,” Jaren stammered.
He wiped the blood off on his jeans. “It’s nothing. I heal fast. I’m more worried about you.”
“I’m not going to lie to you. I’m scared shitless right now.”
Kajakti sighed. “I know. I can smell your fear. This isn’t a good place for me to explain everything properly. Let’s meet up with Matt and get your things, then we’ll go home and get this all out in the open.” He reached out to caress Jaren’s cheek but she jerked her head out of the way before he could make contact with her skin. “I’m just going to say one thing. You’ve been staying with a houseful of werewolves. We all are, even Carson. Not one of us has ever done anything to harm you. We’re the good guys. Tanner and Andre, they are dark wolves, the ones you have to fear.”
“What you said hasn’t made me feel any better, knowing I’ve been living under the same roof as creatures I thought never actually existed.”
“We’re not creatures. We’re only a different kind of human. Come on. Let’s go to the coffee shop and wait for Matt. We’ll get that over with, then hopefully you’ll come to accept what I am.”
Jaren kept enough space between them to prevent him from trying to take her hand. They walked out of the alley and onto the sidewalk. As they headed for the coffee shop, Kajakti figured he was going to have his work cut out for him to have his mate get over her fear of him. Hopefully back at the house the others could help him with her.
He reached up and touched the spot on the side of his neck. The throbbing had increased and had moved up into his head, giving him a headache. He hadn’t had one of those since being turned. It concerned him a little but he had to focus on Jaren for now.
* * * * *
Tanner looked back at the way he and Andre had come but didn’t see Kajakti giving chase. “I think the wolf brother isn’t following us.”
Andre smiled. “I didn’t think he would, not with his mortal mate with him. He wouldn’t think of leaving her unprotected.”
“So have I made up for having the wolf brothers follow me to the warehouse?”
“Yes, and then some. It was quick thinking on your part to call me when you saw Kajakti entering the Canadian consulate. All it had taken was for me to use my dark magic to see where the sentinel would be once he left the building. It couldn’t have gone any better.” Andre pulled out a used syringe from his jacket pocket. “While you kept Kajakti distracted I was able to inject the potion I created. Now we have to wait for it to take effect and hopefully we’ll have one of the wolf brothers turning to the dark side.”
“How will we know if it worked?”
“Kajakti will come looking for us. But before he does, he’ll do some damage to those in his pack, especially that mortal mate of his. He hasn’t turned her yet. If he does so after the potion has taken effect, she’ll be as dark as he.”
Tanner laughed. “We’ll have two for the price of one. I like that. And a female will make a nice addition to our pack. She might be Kajakti’s mate, but I wouldn’t mind sharing her with him.”
“I’m sure Kajakti wouldn’t mind. As a dark wolf, he’ll be more than happy to let you have your fun with her.”
* * * * *
At the coffee shop, Jaren sat at one of the tables with Kajakti—keeping a lot of space between them—sipping coffee as her gaze kept flitting to the entrance to the building. She hoped Matt would hurry up and get there. She wanted this meeting over and done with so she could focus on the fact the new man in her life was a freaking werewolf. What had transpired in that alley still left her shaky.
Since they’d arrived, Jaren had only told Kajakti what kind of coffee she wanted, then hadn’t spoken a word to him after that. She had a hard enough time just looking at him. Her mind was awhirl with what she’d learned. But what seemed to have become stuck in her mind, coming up again and again like a broken record, was the fact he’d called her his mate. Also the fact that the dark wolf, Tanner, had called her a mortal more than once. Did that mean werewolves were immortal, meaning Kajakti was?
Jaren snuck a quick look at him before she focused back on the coffee shop’s entrance. Kajakti sat at the table, his gaze on his mug while he rubbed his temples as if his head was hurting. If anyone should have a headache it should be her, what with the amount of adrenaline still in her system. Back in the alley, her fight or flight had seriously kicked in but she’d been too scared to do anything other than stand there frozen to the spot and whimper.
Now the only thing that kept her with Kajakti was the fact that all her things were back at his house. She still hadn’t decided if she really wanted to hear what he had to say, or whether it would be better for her to pack up and get as far away from him as she could. The fact that she did have real feelings for him held her back. And that she’d been in such close quarters with ten werewolves and had come to no harm was another. If they had any intention of hurting her they would have had ample opportunity, especially that first night when she’d been drunk.
Finally the entrance door opened and Matt walked in. His gaze landed on her and Kajakti. He wound his way around the tables to theirs. Once he reached them, he threw down her plane ticket, credit cards and passport.
“Here they are as promised,” Matt said. “I hope you enjoy your bully boy, Jaren. Don’t expect me to ever take you back.”
“Why would she want an asshole like you?” Kajakti snarled in a low voice. “You come near her again and I’ll rip your throat out.” His eyes took on a muted glow for a second before they returned to normal.
Matt scrambled away and out of the coffee shop as if the hounds of hell were nipping at his heels. Jaren looked at Kajakti to see his face was a mask of rage. A low, wolf-sounding growl rumbled out of him as his gaze remained fixed on the door Matt had almost run through.
“Kajakti,” she said slowly, a tremor of unease going through her. Unlike before, she felt a little threatened by him. “Pull it back unless you want someone calling the cops on you.”
He turned his head to look at her. The rage was still there but he seemed to get it under control after he took a few deep breaths. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to get like that. I don’t want to do anything more to scare you. It makes me furious when I think about what your ex did to you. You’re mine. It’s my job to protect you, keep you safe. He had no right to have ever been with you.”
The last part Kajakti said with a snarl, his anger seeming to return. Then he sucked in another deep breath as he rubbed his temples once more. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yes.” Kajakti stood. “Pick up your things.” Once she had, he guided her out of the coffee shop. “I think we’ll take a taxi home. It’ll be faster than waiting for Ketah and Haven to come get us. Plus, they’ll probably be busy with the real estate agent
.”
It didn’t take long for Kajakti to flag down an unoccupied taxi. They slid into the backseat and he gave the driver the address to the house. Jaren kept herself pressed to the door, not wanting to sit that close to Kajakti. Not that he seemed to notice. He had his eyes closed while he continued to rub his temples. They didn’t say a word to each other during the ride. After the taxi pulled into the driveway, Jaren got out of the car, not waiting for Kajakti as he paid the driver.
She made a beeline for the front door and went inside. She’d made it halfway up the stairs when the sound of Kajakti calling her name brought her to a standstill. Jaren slowly turned to look at him. He appeared angry with his hands fisted at his sides.
“Stay down here,” he said loudly with a snarl. “We’re not done talking yet.”
Cassidy, Edensaw, Wachei, Eryn, Durlach and Capac stepped into the entranceway, having come from the living room. They all looked between her and Kajakti.
“What’s going on?” Edensaw asked.
“We had a run-in with Tanner and Andre while we were downtown. Jaren saw me shift,” Kajakti replied. “I still need to explain everything. Her fear is making her want to run from me, though. I don’t like it.”
Edensaw stepped closer to Kajakti. “Calm down. I know you have to be upset about Tanner and Andre, but that doesn’t mean you take it out on your mate.”
Kajakti dragged in a deep breath through his nose. “I know. I don’t mean to. I’m having a hard time right now. I don’t want Jaren to fear me.”
Cassidy walked past them and went to Jaren. “Come on, why don’t we all go sit in the living room to talk? It’ll be more comfortable there.”
Jaren nodded and allowed the woman to guide her to the other room. She didn’t feel threatened by Cassidy, or the others, only Kajakti. He didn’t seem to be acting like himself. And really hadn’t since they’d left the alley.
Chapter Seven
Kajakti followed the others into the living room, his gaze never straying off his mate. He didn’t know what was wrong with him. All he felt was a bubbling rage that seemed to increase no matter how hard he tried to control it. And the damn pounding in his head didn’t make it any better.
Everyone took a seat, except for him. He paced in front of them, unable to stay still. The thought that Jaren would reject him for what he was made him want to force her to accept him, even if he had to chain her to his bed to keep her from running.
He shook his head. No, he wouldn’t do that. She was his mate. He had to protect her, keep her safe, even from himself if need be. She was his to love, the one woman he’d waited ten thousand years to find. He would never hurt her, he couldn’t. But a part of him he didn’t recognize wanted to punish her for her fear, actually wanted to wallow in it. That scared the crap out of him. The pain in his head increased.
Edensaw was the first to speak. “I think it would be best if we help Jaren understand this new world she has found herself in, then we’ll discuss your run-in with Andre and Tanner. Obviously, you managed to get Jaren and yourself out of it without either one of you coming to harm.”
“One of you will have to tell her everything,” Kajakti said with a slight growl. “Right now, I don’t think I’d do a good job of it. I’ll only make it worse.”
His alpha stared at Kajakti for a few seconds before he gave a short nod. “Okay. I have to agree with that assumption.”
Kajakti vaguely listened as the others told Jaren how they’d been created as the sentinels, the first werewolves, by their shaman. How that same shaman had put them to sleep in an ice cave for ten thousand years to awaken when the dark wolves made their presence known. Then Cassidy and Eryn took over, explaining what it meant to be his mate, how the mating bond wouldn’t allow them to be apart for any real length of time without suffering separation anxiety, and how a bite from Kajakti in dire wolf form would turn Jaren into an immortal werewolf like him.
He didn’t listen to how Jaren reacted to all that new information. The pain in his head seemed to reach a crescendo before it tore through the rest of his body. He stopped pacing with his back to the others in the room. Anger and the need to cause pain seemed to take hold of him and couldn’t be shaken loose. The scent of his mate filled his nose. His upper lip peeled back in a snarl. How dare she be afraid of him? She was his, he’d claimed her. And it was his right to turn her whether she wanted it or not. She would stay at his side for all eternity.
Kajakti turned around with a loud growl. The others stopped talking all at once. He stepped toward Jaren. “I will turn you, my mate. Now.”
He shifted to his dire wolf form and launched himself at the woman who was his.
Jaren couldn’t hold back a scream as Kajakti came straight for her. Unlike in the alley, this time when he shifted, a black, smoke-like mass surrounded him before he took on his dire wolf form. And a split second before that happened she noticed his eyes had changed from their normal brown to black.
As her scream ended, Jaren found herself blocked from Kajakti by Capac while Edensaw, Wachei and Durlach threw themselves at the man who was her mate. It all happened so fast she barely could register their movements. But the three of them were able to subdue Kajakti, who had shifted back to human form once his friends got a hold of him, but was trying to punch each one. He swore and threatened to kill them for coming between him and his mate.
It was Edensaw’s fist that shot out and connected with Kajakti’s jaw, knocking him out cold. The men had all ended up on the floor in a tangled mass as they’d fought. Durlach, Wachei and Edensaw sat up, breathing hard.
“What the fuck was that?” Durlach asked. “It’s as if he’s now one of the dark wolves. I could smell the stench of one but I thought it was on Kajakti from dealing with Tanner and Andre. But it isn’t. He smells like one of them. And did you see his eyes and what happened when he shifted?”
Edensaw nodded. “I did.” He looked at Cassidy. “Go get some of that heavy rope in the garage. We have to tie Kajakti up until we can figure out what is happening to him. Right now he’s a threat to everyone.”
It didn’t take Cassidy long to return with the requested item, and the men set to work binding Kajakti. Jaren sat on the couch feeling numb. Her mind was still reeling from everything the others had told her about their world. She couldn’t believe Kajakti and the men were ice age hunters, and that they’d only been in the modern world for just over a year. She would never have guessed. Then to see Kajakti like he was now, knowing Tanner and Andre had actually done something to him back in the alley, she was about ready to break down and blubber like a baby. It was all too much.
The men left Kajakti on the floor and stood. Edensaw walked over to Jaren and squatted in front of her before he took her cold hand in his. “You need to tell us everything that happened with Andre and Tanner.”
Jaren nodded. She swallowed as she collected her thoughts. She’d been so scared during it she wasn’t sure if she’d seen everything that had happened. “We ran into my ex, and Kajakti pushed him into an alley. After Matt left, Tanner jumped down from a fire escape and went after Kajakti. They both shifted to their wolf forms and started to fight. Then Andre appeared. I don’t know where he came from. I was too scared to focus on anything other than the two wolves. He threw Kajakti into the wall, then he and Tanner took off.”
“Did either Tanner or Andre say anything before they left? It doesn’t make sense that they’d just run like that without much of a fight.”
“It’s a bit fuzzy but I think Andre said something about leaving Kajakti and I alone and seeing what the future would bring.”
“I still don’t understand why they’d just leave you two alone totally unscathed.”
Jaren remembered something else. “I don’t know about that. Once the fight was over and Kajakti returned to his human form he was bleeding some. He touched the side of his neck and his fingers had blood on them.”
“Which side?”
“The left. I think.”
Wachei turned Kajakti’s head and pushed his long hair out of the way. “I can see a very small mark but it isn’t something that would have really hurt him.”
“Let me see,” Eryn said. “I have a hunch about what it can be.”
Wachei held out his arm to keep his mate from getting too close. “Be careful. He’s dangerous right now.”
Eryn smiled. “You guys did a pretty good job of trussing him up like a turkey. Plus, he’s still out cold.” She squatted and looked at Kajakti’s neck. “Yeah, it’s what I thought it was. That’s not caused by a tooth or a claw. That’s a mark from a very fine needle like one used on a syringe. I bet Andre injected him with something. He probably moved at werewolf speed and Jaren wouldn’t have been able to track him, especially in the state she was in.”
“If he did, how are we supposed to help Kajakti?” Capac asked.
At that moment, the doorbell rang. Edensaw answered it. From the entranceway, Jaren heard a man say “I hope I’m not too late. I tried to get here as fast as I could but I don’t live that close to Juneau.”
A few seconds later, a strange man walked into the living room. He had the long, black hair and bronzed skin of a native. He didn’t look any older than twenty-four. He smiled at them all as he came farther into the room.
Edensaw followed him in. “You can’t just push your way into my home. I don’t even know who you are.”
The man turned to him. “Oh sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Ryder. And I’ve come to help Kajakti.”
Ryder went to go to Kajakti, who started to stir, but had Edensaw stop him. “How did you know his name and that he needed help?”
“I guess I’m getting ahead of myself,” Ryder said. “I’ll keep it to the point until after I’ve treated your wolf brother, then I’ll explain more. I’m a descendant of the shaman who made you all sentinels. I’m also the one who inherited his strong magic. He came to me in a vision this morning and told me Kajakti would need my help, that the dark wolves would give him a potion that would bring him over to their side. So I’ve come to fix that.”
Ice Age Lover Page 7
