“I’ll get Niko and Luca on it.” If anyone could sniff out intruders, the Garcia brothers could. “Anything going on in town?”
Emmet slowed before pulling a three-point turn to park in front of Maple’s car. “Not that I’ve seen. I’ll ask Maggie to keep an ear open. Nothing goes on in Dexter that she doesn’t hear about at the diner.”
Jaxon took a few long breaths as soon as he exited the truck, isolating the scent of the two men, memorizing them. A lingering bitterness tainted the air. “At least one of them is a smoker,” he said almost to himself.
“There are a few butts on the ground where the other vehicle was parked.” Emmet pointed to the spot behind Maple’s car. “One of them left footprints we can work with at the edge of the road. The right foot turns outward a little. Enough to make it noticeable when our trackers go out looking. They walked a couple hundred feet before turning back.”
“What I want to know is why they were here in the first place. This road leads to Maple’s, and farther down, to the old Sugar Shack. It’s all private property. Do you know if that building still stands?”
“No idea, but it’s worth a look.”
“Right. Let’s get the car to the shop so I can talk to the guys and get back and fix Maple’s shower.”
Emmet snorted, then chuckled. “Is that what you call what you were doing when I drove up?”
“No, I call that getting acquainted with my mate. Something, I might add, that you rudely interrupted—and, you won’t repeat a damned word of it to anyone,” Jaxon warned. He didn’t care if it was his brother or not. If he embarrassed Maple, he’d live to regret it.
“What kind of asshole do you think I am? For one thing, I don’t treat women like that. And for another,” he said, ticking his points on his fingers, “she’s going to be Alpha female. I’m not going to do anything to undermine her before she’s even mated to your sorry ass.”
Jaxon groaned. He was acting like a prick. “I know. I’m sorry. I’m just on edge. I don’t know where her head is at. Hell, I don’t even know if she’s aware of the shifter community. Add that to the fact that she intends to leave in a few weeks, and my wolf is clawing at me to get back to her. Never mind any of this shit,” he said, sweeping his hand toward her car.
Emmet clapped his shoulder. “Let me talk to Niko and Luca. Go figure out the rest of this stuff with your woman.”
As much as he wanted to take what his brother offered, he couldn’t. He was Alpha now. If problems arose and he passed the buck to his brother, he’d lose the respect he’d earned over the last two years. “I appreciate it, but I can’t. I think she’s safe enough out here for now. The tracks don’t go any further down the road. The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can get back there.”
Ten
Maple waited until the truck was backing out of the drive before squealing like a teenager at a pop concert, stomping her feet, and doing a happy dance all over her kitchen. When she finally stopped, she fanned her face. She had to get a hold of herself. She wasn’t a kid with a school girl crush.
Over eight million people living in New York city, and she had to come to this small town in Maine to find a man who excited her more than her drawer buddies. Granted, she had an impressive collection of drawer buddies, but still. And it was more than just the sexual tension between them. Jaxon was witty. And nice. Generous, too. Who went out of their way to do the things he’d done—or was going to do—to help her with no expectations of payment? He hadn’t even met her and he’d agreed to fix her faucet and bring a fridge, so it wasn’t like he’d been trying to get into her pants at that point.
Disappointment rose at the thought of leaving again in three weeks. As run-down as it was, she loved the old cabin. It represented her childhood and a time when she hadn’t a care in the world. She hated the idea of putting a For Sale sign on the place, but it wasn’t like she had much of a choice. If her uncle continued to flake out on her, and she had to carry the financial load for Grandma’s retirement home, she’d need the money from the sale to make ends meet. Period. Taking a slow breath, she pushed the sadness aside. She may not get to keep the place, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t enjoy it—and Jaxon—while she was there.
She couldn’t keep the smile from her face as she prepared another sandwich. Once she was done eating, she’d freshen up, then try to sort through a few boxes. After two orgasms, she’d need it. Besides, she wanted to be ready for when Jaxon came back. If she had her way, she’d get to finish what they had started on the beach. Her cheeks heated as she recalled his words. He’d known she had been masturbating in the bedroom, and damn him, he knew she’d been thinking of him while doing it. Having him say so while he pleasured her had propelled her desire into the stratosphere and her climax ripping through her so fast she’d had no hope of stopping it. He’d watched her come, for crying out loud. Maple giggled as she popped the last bite of her sandwich into her mouth.
Mooning over the man, as pleasurable as it was, wouldn’t get anything done. And like it or not, there was plenty that needed doing. When they’d moved to the city so long ago, they’d brought what they could fit in Grandma’s car and left the rest. Grandma had assured her that they would come back for their things, but they never had. Now she had to sift through decades-old stuff, figure out how to get what she wanted to keep shipped to her apartment in the city, then donate the rest.
Starting in the spare room that had, at one time, been the one her uncle had called his, she dragged boxes to one side. Hopefully nothing had taken residence to scare her when she pulled the flaps to open them. She shuddered at the thought.
Knickknacks and items she didn’t even remember were going into the donate pile. Same with the old kitchen wares. She didn’t have room in her tiny apartment to fit anything other than what she needed. After a couple of hours of steady work, she’d gone through the boxes and stacked them in neat piles. Donate. Toss. Keep. The biggest pile was the one to donate, with the keep pile being the smallest. No big surprise there. Had the things left behind been essential, they would have taken them with them. Maybe Bonnie would know if one of the churches was planning a fundraiser soon.
She thought about going into Grandma’s room next, but that didn’t seem right. Her grandparents had been very private and it had always been off limits. Even though their room was a little larger than her tiny one and faced the lake, Maple still chose to sleep in her childhood bedroom. There was still more than enough for her to do without having to venture in there yet. Grabbing one of the boxes piled high in her own closet, she headed back to the spare room. No sooner had she set the box down, a soft scratching sound had her nearly jumping out of her skin. For half a second, she thought maybe there was something inside the box, but the sound had been too loud and had come from the kitchen area.
It sounded almost like an animal wanting to get in. With her heart pounding, she tried to think of where she’d left the rifle. With Jaxon there, she hadn’t even thought to take it anywhere with her. The scratching came again, followed by a deep, rumbly growl, then the rattle of the doorknob. What the hell?
Did bears growl like that? And worse, could they open doors? She knew they were resourceful when need be. With her knees shaking, she eased down the hallway toward the kitchen, ready to bolt into her bedroom again if the door burst open. Bears didn’t eat people, did they? Maybe it was the fear freezing her brain, but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember. Clutching the broom she’d left leaning against the wall in a grip to rival Hercules himself, she made her way to the door. She couldn’t see anything through the windowpane. Maybe it decided breaking into her little cabin wasn’t worth the effort after all.
She spotted her rifle only ten feet away off to the left of the porch, leaning against the wall of the cabin. Maple scanned the empty yard. She never should have left the rifle out there to begin with. Had she had it in the cabin, she wouldn’t have been so damned freaked out by a little scratching and growling. As much as she wanted
to get to it, she wasn’t an idiot. Maple crossed the room and peered out the window. Nothing was in the side yard, either.
Taking a deep breath, she went to the door again, glad to have locked it when she’d gone into the bathroom to freshen up earlier. She looked out again, and finding nothing out of place, she opened the door. She pulled her hair to one side as the warm breeze blew it around her face. If she was going to make a run for the rifle, she wanted to see what she was doing.
She took a tentative step, then another, listening for anything out of the ordinary. By the time she reached the spot where the gun was, she started breathing a little easier.
A wicked snarl to her right had her freezing in her tracks as the fingers of her right hand closed around the barrel.
In an instant, a huge tawny brown wolf leaped toward her, his jaws open and pointy canines bared. The growl rumbling from its chest had her backpedaling as fast as she could, but her foot caught on a tree root. She landed hard on her ass. Still gripping the barrel of the rifle, she swung as the beast reached her. The animal’s pained yelp sounded moments after the crack of the rifle smacking against its skull. It took a few steps back, then shook its head. It snarled as Maple fumbled around, trying to get a decent grip on it. She didn’t want to kill the animal, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to let it eat her.
The wolf took a step closer, then froze. Its ears perked as it looked off to the side, where Jaxon’s truck was still parked, then bolted into the forest.
Eleven
Jaxon was half a mile from Maple’s cabin when the first round of niggling unease washed over him. Needing to reassure himself that the ones responsible for the vandalism on her car were nowhere near the cabin, he’d had Emmet drop him off where her car had previously been so he could take to the woods around Maple’s home.
His lips curled back in a silent snarl as the first whiff of the other male’s scent drifted to his nose. The closer he got to the cabin, the stronger it became, but what had his wolf ready to tear into everything that stood in its path was Maple’s fear tainting the air. That, more than anything, drove him to run faster.
The moment he emerged from the tree line, he let out a growl any shifter would be sure to hear. And it was a shifter. The same smell they’d found on the road where Maple had left her car now filled her yard.
He found her standing a short distance from the cabin with her rifle tight in her grip, looking to her left. Not wanting to frighten her further or get himself shot, he slowed his pace and whined. As soft as he made the sound, Maple still jumped back as she whirled around, bringing the rifle up to her shoulder as she did. Her beautiful eyes were round, and her hands shook as she aimed the gun straight at him, making him want to howl his fury. He wanted to hunt the male who’d dared come onto the property and scare her as he had, but more than that, he needed to be sure she was okay. He couldn’t smell blood, so she had no grave injuries, but the need to be with her pulled at him like nothing else.
Giving her another little whine, he put his nose to the ground and sniffed while taking slow steps closer to her.
“Back off,” she demanded, her voice tight, as she took a step closer to the cabin, all the while keeping the barrel pointed straight at him. “You might be friendly, but I’m not taking that chance right now.”
He was no idiot. She wasn’t the killing type, but she’d been scared shitless. Pushing her at this point could be more than a little dangerous. Instead of going to her as his wolf demanded, he sat and looked at her, his head cocked to the side as she made her way up the steps and to her door.
With her safely inside her cabin, Jaxon scoured the immediate area for anything the rogue might have left behind, other than his scent. The vandalism on her vehicle was one thing, but threatening her person was a whole different ball game. He wouldn’t sit around and wait for something to happen to her. Whatever this was, it ended now. He’d already called the Garcia brothers in. If they weren’t already in the forest following the bastard, they soon would be. He hadn’t wanted to tell her about the slashed tires, but he needed to get to the bottom of this, so he’d have to ask questions. Besides, keeping her safe meant letting her know what was going on. If she unknowingly went traipsing into the forest and something happened, he’d never be able to forgive himself.
Satisfied there were no other threats in the area, he made his way back to his truck, where he kept spare clothes, before shifting.
Jaxon’s knuckles hadn’t yet made contact with the door when it flew open, and Maple reached out to pull him in. “Get in, quick. There’s a couple of wolves out there, and one of them isn’t friendly,” she said, her voice breathless.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “What happened?”
She closed the door behind him and locked the deadbolt. “I was sorting through some stuff and I heard some scratching at the door. At first, I thought it might have been a bear or something, but when I looked out, I couldn’t see anything. I’d left the rifle outside, so I went to get it. That’s when the wolf attacked. I don’t know what I would have done if my wolf hadn’t shown up,” she told him, her words practically tripping over each other in her haste to tell her story.
“Did it hurt you?” Only the gravity of the situation kept him from grinning like a fool at hearing her call him her wolf.
She shook her head. “No. It was close, but I hit it with the rifle, and then my wolf came and scared it off.”
This time, he couldn’t keep his smile from emerging. He could get used to those words from her pretty lips. “You hit it with your gun. You do know how to use that thing, don’t you?”
Her lips quirked up at the corners. “I do. But I was reaching for it when the wolf jumped, so I used it as a bat. Better than letting it take a chunk out of my ass.”
“Jesus. It got that close to you?” Jaxon swallowed the growl wanting to break free as his fury rose again.
“I’m fine, really.”
She was putting on a brave front, but her fingers shook when she brushed her hair from her face, and her smile didn’t quite make her eyes sparkle.
For her safety, he’d have to tell her what had happened to her car and what kind of creature she’d come face-to-face with, but that could wait. Without giving her a chance to object, he pulled her into his arms and held her tight. “It’s okay. I’m here now. I won’t let that thing near you again,” he promised.
If it meant sleeping outside in his wolf form for the rest of his life, he’d do it. Stroking a hand up and down her spine, he held her until the tension in her shoulders loosened and her trembling stopped. With a soft sigh, she pulled away from him.
“I’m sorry, I’m not usually such a wuss.”
“Wolves are scary creatures. Some of them can be downright vicious. You were right to be afraid,” he assured her.
“So, did you guys have a hard time with the car? I’m sorry for being such a pain with all the running around I have you doing,” she said, changing the subject.
He didn’t relish the conversation he had to have with her. Depending on how much she knew of the shifter world, it could end badly for him. He would have liked to have more time with her before having to tell her the truth, but the attack had made that impossible.
“I need to talk to you about that. Want to sit somewhere?” he asked, stalling for a few more minutes to gather his thoughts.
“Yeah, sure. Want something to drink?”
When he shook his head, she grabbed her water bottle from the table and headed into the living room. She took a seat on the old yellow-and-brown plaid sofa that faced the fireplace. “You look so serious,” she finally said when he sat next to her.
“Your tires were slashed, Maple. All four of them.”
She gasped. “Why? Who would do something like that?”
“That’s what I’m trying to get to the bottom of. Is there anyone that you know of who might want to cause problems for you? Who knows that you’re here?”
Maple ran her fingers through her
hair. “Not that I can think of, no. As for who knows I’m here, only you, Bonnie, and my grandmother. I didn’t tell my boss or coworkers where I was going. Maybe it’s random vandalism? I mean, some punk kids could have come across my car and gone a little too far, right?” The tension in her body climbed with each word she spoke. Even her thigh next to his tightened.
“It’s possible, but since this happened on private property, I don’t want to leave anything to chance. For now, it might be best if you stayed close to the cabin, and keep that rifle with you when I’m not around.”
Sighing, she got up and paced the length of the living room. “I was going to go out to the old Sugar Shack tomorrow and see what kind of shape that’s in. I’m hoping some of the equipment will be salvageable.”
Jaxon stilled. “What do you need the equipment for?” Maybe she’d had a change of heart about opening the family business again, but something told him that wasn’t the case.
“I don’t. I need to see if it’s still operational. I’m hoping to be able to sell some of it off, or maybe sell the property and equipment as a whole to someone who can make use of it. It’s been empty for too long already,” she finally said with a shrug. “I wish I could keep it, but it’s not possible.”
Jaxon barely managed a grunt as her words sunk in, and his stomach clenched. He’d known all along that she was planning on leaving in a few weeks. After her incident with the wolf, telling her he was a shifter right then would send her running back to the city so fast his head would spin. The rest of their talk would have to wait. In the meantime, he’d let the mating pull work its magic and hope he could figure out a way to get her to stay.
“Unless a plumbing fairy showed up while I was gone, there’s a shower that needs new faucets, and I’m just the man to take care of it. Let me get my tools, and I’ll get that fixed up for you,” he offered. Once he got done with that, he’d find something else to do, and then something else, until he made himself so indispensable that she wouldn’t even think of leaving him.
Sassy Ever After: Northern Sass (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Sugar Shack Book 1) Page 5
