by Lia Davis
***
After escaping Bastian’s apartment where his scent filled every inch of the one-room space, she drove to Gee’s Bar, a run-down place in the center of Los Lobos and the main hangout of the Tao Pack. It didn’t look like much with its weathered exterior walls. The bar could use a makeover. Then again, so could the whole town.
She parked her bike out front and stared at the weathered exterior, her vision not really focusing on anything. Bastian filled her mind and her senses. His intoxicating cedar scent clung to her skin. The kiss didn’t allow her to enter his mind like she’d intended. Instead, it confirmed what she tried desperately to deny. He was her mate.
Damn it.
Removing her helmet, she got off the bike and entered the dusty building. The blunt heels of her worn boats click-clocked against the old hardwood floor as she made her way to the counter. There were a couple of pack mates sitting to her right at the end of the bar and a few more at a table near the back. She gave a nod to Paul, the waiter, as she climbed onto a barstool.
Thoughts of Bastian threatened to consume her. She could still feel his lips on hers and her damn Wolf paced under her skin, too close to the surface. Fisting her hand over the bar top, she silently cursed. She shouldn’t have let him go. Yet, she didn’t have any reason to hold him other than her Wolf wanted him near.
A long neck slammed down on the counter in front of her, drawing her attention to the large man staring down at her. “Thanks, Gee.”
He grunted and began towel drying drink glasses. “Speak, girl.”
After taking a swig of beer, she studied him. Gee was a Were-bear, standing about six feet seven and weighing in at over three hundred pounds of muscle. Why he lived with a Wolf pack, no one knew. He refused to talk about anything personal. However, the Bear remembered everything.
“Have you known any other telepaths like me?”
“A few.”
“Have you heard of any of them not being able to read someone?”
He set the glass he dried in the cabinet behind him then turned to pick up another. “It happens.”
Picking up her beer, she took another drink, giving herself and her Wolf time before she asked her next question. She’d never been good at holding her tongue. Brock teased her about having no brain-to-mouth filter. Still, she didn’t need to piss off the Bear, especially when she craved answers.
“I’ve never experienced running into a wall. I guess you heard about Cody.” When he nodded, she continued. “Well the human doctor has some kind of mental shield I can’t penetrate.”
He put away the drink glass and stared at her, his expression void of any emotion. “Where is the human now?”
Swallowing, she did her best to avoid answering his question. Plus, she had already spoken to Drew about Bastian. She didn’t want to discuss it with the Bear. “What does it mean? Is there a way around his shields?”
“Where is the human?” He placed both hands on the bar and leaned toward her.
Fuck me. “Home. But, he doesn’t know anything about us. Drew says he’s my responsibility.”
A low growl rumbled out of the Bear. “How do you know that if you can’t read him?”
Good point. Damn Bear. “I just do.”
“Then you have the answer to your own question.” Straightening, he dropped the towel on the bar and disappeared into the kitchen area.
Great.
“Alanna.”
Turning at the familiar sounding voice, she smiled at the sight of Jada, one of the maternal females who helped out in the nursery and one-room schoolhouse. “Hi.”
Jada gave her a hug and handed her a paper bag. “Hi. I was just headed to your cabin when I saw your bike parked out front. This is for Cody. Chicken-noodle soup with extra chicken exactly how he likes it.”
“Thanks. He’ll love it when he wakes.”
The submissive Wolf dropped her gaze as her cheeks darkened. “How is he?”
“He’s healing and resting.”
The other female nodded. “Good. Why was he out off pack land?”
“Not a clue, but I’ll find out once I return to the cabin.”
A shy smile lifted Jada’s lips. “Send him over after Drew and Ryker get done reaming him. I have cleanup duty for him.”
Alanna laughed. “Will do. The kid is going to have plenty to keep him busy and, hopefully, he’ll think twice before sneaking off again.”
“Oh, I hope so.”
Jumping off the bar stool, Alanna squeezed Jada’s hand. “Thank you again for the soup. I should be getting back now.”
“Talk to you soon.” Jada turned and left the bar.
Alanna smiled, her heart warmed. Submissives like Jada kept the hope and the faith of the pack alive. Now that Drew was Alpha and Magnum dead, the Dominants and Betas could do their job in protecting the pack.
Outside Gee’s Bar, Alanna climbed on her bike and sighed. Gee wasn’t much help in the answer department. Then again he never did, not really. She wasn’t sure of anything—especially Bastian being her mate. However, she couldn’t turn away from him. She’d set herself on that path when she took him from the ER. God, she hoped he didn’t freak out too bad when she gathered the nerves to tell him she could shift into a Wolf.
***
Bastian slammed a shot of whiskey, then another as he sat on his sofa trying to get the beautiful, dark-haired woman out of his mind. Alanna’s face had haunted him since the moment she fled his apartment. She was unlike anyone he knew, independent, strong, beautiful, and gave him a hard-on he couldn’t make go away. He tried, but release wouldn’t come.
The urge to get in his car and hunt her down nagged at him, but his car wasn’t parked in his spot outside his door. It was still at the hospital, where Alanna grabbed him.
Oh great, he lusted for the woman who kidnapped him.
And put him out.
She’d let him believe she was a witch. Somehow, he didn’t think it was as simple as that. When he cut the bullet out of Cody, Bastian had expected a lot more internal damage, but the tissue around the bullet appeared scared like an old wound. The kid didn’t have any outer scars indicating he’d had surgery before.
He phone chimed, and he frowned. Picking it up, he noted the text message from an unknown number. Opening his messages, he smiled at the text.
It’s Alanna. Don’t ask where I got your number. You don’t want to know. Anyway, just wanted to let you know Cody is awake and mending fine.
He hit the reply and typed, Thank you. When can I see you again?
There was a long moment before she replied, which surprised him. He hadn’t expected an answer at all.
Soon. I’ll come to you.
He closed the message and laid his phone on the coffee table. If he had anything to do with it, he would see her sooner, even if he had to track her down. Because like it or not, she was going to answer more of his questions. He wasn’t against seducing the truth out of her.
Chapter Five
Alanna set her cell on silent, then placed it on the nightstand and pulled the covers up over Cody. When she returned to the cabin, he’d shifted back to human. Poor kid slept all night in Wolf form, healing. She brushed his too-long hair from his eyes and smiled as he opened his eyes. “Hey, kid.”
His forehead creased, and he glanced around the room. “Hi. I’m in trouble, huh?”
“Yep.” She ran her knuckle down his cheek.
Cody had been barely two when she found him in Wolf form in the forest, confused, scared, and hungry. She didn’t know how long he’d been curled up beside his dead parents’ bodies, but Alanna had guessed it must have been at least three or so days. The wolves’ bodies had started to smell.
It took lots of patience and a few weeks before Alanna got the kid to shift back to human. Even longer to trust she wouldn’t hurt him. Her maternal instincts came to life and showered Cody with love and discipline.
“You want to tell me why you snuck off and how you got shot?”
> He gazed up at the ceiling. “I was supposed to meet Merribella at the watering hole, but she couldn’t make it. So, I went for a walk.”
Alanna raised her brows at him. “All the way to Rapid City?”
“I don’t know why. I just started walking.” He shrugged and lowered his gaze.
Releasing a sigh, she lifted his chin with a finger. “We’ve talked about you wandering off. What happened when you got to town?”
“I’m not sure really. Once I arrived in Rapid City, I figured I’d go watch a movie, but there was a Wolf there I’d never seen before. He didn’t smell like pack.” He creased his forehead as if recalling the event. “He turned to me, sniffed the air, and pulled a gun. People screamed and, before I knew what happened, he shot me.”
Fuck. A rogue. It had to be. Maybe someone bearing a grudge with Magnum and who hadn’t got the memo he’d died. “Do you know if he was caught or revealed himself to the humans?”
Cody shook his head. “No. Sorry, Mom.”
“It’s okay, baby.” She squeezed his hand. “Can you draw what the Wolf looked like?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She picked up her phone and dialed Brock as she rose and then walked out into the living.
Her brother answered on the first ring. “Yeah.”
“I need you to come over. We may have a rogue issue.” She hung up before her brother could ask any questions she refused to answer over the phone. She’d didn’t have to explain herself with Brock because they shared a psychic bond close to what twins shared. He’d pick up on her urgency and come right over.
Moving to a small desk in the corner of the living room, she pulled out one of Cody’s sketch pads and pencils. He loved to draw and displayed an amazing talent for art.
When she returned to the bedroom, he’d propped himself up in bed. “How are you feeling?”
“Sore.” She handed him the pad and pencils, and he smiled as he took them. “Thanks.”
“Brock will be here soon. I want him to take Ryker the drawing so he can show it around to the other protectors.” She turned to the door, leaving him to sketch out the face of the rogue.
Pulling out her phone, she sat on the sofa and stared at the text message. Bastian had sent another while she spoke with Cody. Her pulse increased slightly at the thought of seeing him again. To smell him, taste him, again.
The words pulled at the increasing need inside her. Have dinner with me tomorrow at my place.
Closing the messaging app, she slid the phone onto the coffee table and sank into the couch. Once the mating urge started, it couldn’t be stopped. Hell, Ryker had mated a human. Drew had lifted the ban on such relationships and made each Wolf fully responsible for their human.
Could she gamble with her heart that way? If Bastian turned on her and told other humans Wolves existed, it would endanger the pack, and they’d both be killed.
Her heart ached at the thought. With a growl, she sprang to her feet and padded to the door. The whole thing was fucked up and ridiculous at the same time. You’re a chicken, Alanna. She’d meet the doctor for dinner and force him to pledge an oath of silence.
She yanked the door open and jumped at the sight of Brock.
He raised a brow. “Going somewhere?”
Rolling her eyes, she turned and led him to Cody’s room. Before they reached the door, Brock grabbed her elbow, drawing her attention. “What’s up with you?”
She shook her head. “Later. Right now, we have to worry about a possible rogue targeting the pack.”
He raised a brow at her again, something he did to annoy her because he knew it bugged her. A heavy sigh escaped her lips, and she sagged against the wall. “A Wolf shot Cody.”
After she finished telling him what Cody told her, Brock let out a string of curses. “That isn’t good.”
“Agreed. Cody is drawing the man’s face. I want Ryker and Drew to look at it to see if they recognize him and share with the protectors to keep an eye out.” She pushed off the wall, not giving him time to ask any more questions. Her brother was great at steering the conversation around to get the information he wanted. She didn’t have to read his thoughts to know as soon as they were alone, he’d unload a truckful of questions about her and Bastian.
Once inside the room, Alanna offered Cody a warm smile. The kid glanced from her to Brock, then drew his brows together as he handed over the sketch pad.
Brock studied the drawing before tearing the page out. “Anything particular you remember about him?”
Cody shook his head. “Nothing unusual. He was dressed nice, like he had money.”
Brock reached over and ruffled his hair. “Next week, you’re to go to Widow Jamison’s place and help her with anything she needs done. She said something about her chicken coops needing a good cleaning.”
A shudder rippled through Cody as he sank down in the bed. “Yes, sir.”
“Are you hungry? I can warm up the soup Jada sent over.”
Cody shook his head, his lids drifting shut. “Not right now.”
“Okay. I’ll be here the rest of the night, so just holler if you need me or get hungry.”
He nodded once and settled farther under the covers. Alanna glanced to Brock, sighed, and motioned him out of the room. Instead of sitting, she continued to the kitchen and pulled out a couple of bottled waters.
“Where is the human?” her brother called out from the living room.
She closed her eyes briefly before entering the room. “I took him home.”
Brock took the water she offered and glared, the muscle in his jaw flexing. She expected him to yell, or at least give her a lecture on the dangers of the possibilities of Bastian outing them to the world. But instead, her brother shook his head and walked to the worn Lay-z-Boy and sat.
After a moment, he said, “I hope you know what you’re doing.”
Blowing out a growl of frustration, she dropped on the couch. “I have no clue. My Wolf thinks he’s my mate.”
“The Wolf would know.”
She narrowed her gaze on him. “You’re not helping. Mating a human is complicated.”
He shrugged. “Ha. You’re asking me? My mate isn’t human. But honestly, you won’t find out if he is if you don’t pursue it.”
Her body stiffened. “What are you saying?”
“Oh, I don’t know, go see for yourself if he truly is your mate. Don’t shut him out if he is.” Brock stood and stretched. “I’m going to take the sketch to Serena and see if she picks up anything from it.”
Serena was a young Wolf with an ancient witch bloodline. Many considered her to be an oracle, although the submissive Wolf said her powers were unpredictable and she didn’t like using them too often.
The oracle also avoided Brock. Alanna wondered if her brother had started the mating dance. Only other males could tell for sure. Studying her brother as he moved to the door, she smiled. “You should follow your own advice, brother. Don’t shut your own mate out either. Or push her too hard. Whichever is the case keeping the two of you apart.”
He let out a low growl before he stepped out of the cabin, shutting thedoor behind him and ending the conversation. She laughed, but it was short-lived as her phone chimed again.
Damn it. Another text from Bastian.
What are your favorite foods?
Persistent damn human. She replied with, I’ll be there at 7:00.
May God help her to not make the biggest mistake of her life.
Chapter Six
Bastian made his final rounds through the ER before leaving his shift. Usually, he only worked in the ER one night a week, but he’d filled in for another doctor. As he saw patients and talked with the staff, not one person asked how he felt or even mentioned anything about the night before.
Strange. Surreal had become a theme for the experience.
When he mentioned to one of the nurses, whom he knew had worked the night before, about leaving early, she instantly replied he hadn’t been there. She s
aid she remembered because they were understaffed.
The conversation turned in his mind, distracting him from his duties. However, the knowledge that no one remembered he had worked the prior evening wasn’t the only distraction. A dark-haired, tall woman was as well.
The feeling Alanna had lied to him pissed him off. It also concerned him because, in less than two hours, she would be at his apartment for dinner, where he would get some answers from her.
He exited the hospital and crossed the parking lot, then stopped in his tracks halfway to his car. A large, familiar form stood with his back leaned against Bastian’s BMW. Shoulder-length blond hair hid the man’s face, but Bastian knew him without a doubt.
Lester Miles. The SOB who’d set him up and cost him his family and reputation in the whole state of Florida.
What the fuck did he want?
Pushing forward, Bastian allowed old fury rise as he continued to the car, quicker than usual. “Lester,” he snarled.
The wife-stealing bastard curled his lip, but a sense of sadness and anger swirled in his gaze. A raw, primal energy Bastian had never felt before rolled off Lester.
“She’s gone.” Lester lifted his gaze, his upper lip curled. “It’s all your fault.”
Who? What? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Ava,” he barked out and pushed off the car.
Bastian balked at the sound of his ex-wife’s name. “It’s been ten years. Did you expect her to stick around forever? Once the well dries up—”
Lester gripped Bastian by the throat, cutting off his sentence. “She’s dead, asshole. Hung herself in our bedroom five days ago.”
No. Not Ava. She was too strong-willed to kill herself. If she’d wanted out of the marriage, she would have divorced Lester and taken everything he owned, like she had Bastian. He refused to believe the bastard.
Suddenly, Lester let him go. Bastian crumpled to the ground, gasping for air. A photo drifted into sight, resting on the asphalt. At first, his brain had a hard time processing what he saw. Clarity hit him on the chest like a five-pound bag of wet sand.
