He, too, was asleep and was just as near to me as James, but I could feel so much more through his connection. The bullet wounds on his chest were closed but still sore and healing. There was an old pain in his shoulder from when he’d gotten into a fight with another wolf, one of his younger brothers. I drifted, unbothered by the intimate knowledge I shouldn’t have had.
As with James, I discerned Cash was aware that I brushed this strange bond and I felt him wake. He immediately dampened the sensations of pain. It was like he pulled a heavy blanket over it until it was only a dull throb compared with the fear and love shooting through the connection. The fear was paralyzing, and I couldn’t understand how he was able to function while feeling that much cloying terror. It was too strong and I couldn’t sift past it to find its cause. Why is he so afraid?
The love I felt streaming through the bond was magnificent. I took it and wrapped myself with it like a warm fuzzy blanket. It felt silky soft; it smelled of the woods and tasted like smooth caramel. It was like a beam of golden sunshine I could hold in my hands, and when I did, Cash must have sensed it. The orb shone brighter until I could hardly stand to look at it anymore. All of Cash’s other emotions faded into nothingness until his love was all I could feel. The brilliance of it fought off the dark more effectively than all of the other lights combined so I closed my eyes and sank down into its blazing warmth, safe against the blackness.
Chapter Twenty-Four
A few miles outside of Pendleton, Oregon a man stood at his front window watching as a stream of vehicles pulled down the driveway of his ranch house. His dirty blonde hair was graying at his temples and his golden brown eyes were shadowed by confusion. As a man accustomed to confidence and authority, confusion wasn’t a feeling he enjoyed.
A dozen people parked, strolled into the house and gathered in the room with him, sitting in silence until their leader turned and regarded them. He could feel their bewilderment mirroring his own.
“So you felt it too.” He said quietly. They exchanged wary glances before a young woman spoke up.
“Yes, sir. She just appeared out of nowhere, and to the South.” Her straight black hair swirled as she shook her head in wonder. “None of us have left the territory in years, so how could we have a new pack member?” The gathering murmured in agreement.
The man stood in silence, lost in his own thoughts. There was only one possibility that could explain the new female sharing the pack bond and it was remote at best. It had been a quarter century since he’d been in that part of California, but he couldn’t help the tiny glint of hope in his heart.
He cleared his throat, immediately regaining the attention of the group. “It’s been a while since I was down there, but I’m still friendly with a few of the alphas in that area. I’ll take a few days and investigate. This isn’t a good time to invite weakness into our pack.”
The pack nodded, trusting implicitly his judgment as their leader. He pushed down a swell of guilt. Whoever she was, there must be a reason why she seemed so familiar to him, and he could only think of one.
Beau tried to ignore the insistent ringing of his house phone and was rewarded eventually with silence, but only for a moment before a jazzy little tune squealed out of his cell phone. He snatched the phone and growled, “What!”
“You know what, you ass. All of us have felt her so there’s no denying it.”
Beau sighed heavily into the phone to let his younger brother know how much he taxed his patience. “Yes, I can feel her, but what good does it do waking me up at three in the morning when I’ve got to get up for first shift? It doesn’t change the fact that our idiot brother has got himself a mate, and nearly killed himself in the process, by the feel of it.”
“Was it James?” Guy asked in a small voice.
Both of them knew of James’ insane plan to free himself from his mate by finding himself another. The fact that Cash had beat him to the punch killed him, he could feel it.
“No, he wouldn’t do that, no matter how angry he was. Cash almost died, and knowing our big bro, he had to prove how manly and good he is for some skirt. He always was a showoff.” Beau paused, thinking quickly. “You talked to Ma?”
Guy snorted. “I’ll dodge that bullet like my life depended on it. You think one of us should go out there?”
He sounded like Beau felt; tired and resigned. Neither of them could really afford to leave their jobs, but it’d be easier for Beau, so he took one for the team. “Look, I’ll try to clear some time off from the Captain. I know you’ve gotta stay in the station for the next two weeks.”
Now that it was colder, people were lighting their heaters and fireplaces and it was always a busy time for the local fire department. Someone always forget to clean out their chimney and accidentally caught their house on fire.
“Thanks bro. You’re a champ.” Beau rolled his eyes at his brother, even though Guy couldn’t see the gesture.
“Yeah, thank me after you talk to Ma.”
I surfaced from my cocoon of light and love to realize that there were three males lying on my bed, on my legs and curled up by my head. Fortunately, or unfortunately, they all had furry tails and they were snoring. My romance novels never prepared me for this, I thought as I shifted the drooling James-wolf off of my feet.
Reggie was curled up next to him, glaring at me as if I intruded on something. I sat up slowly, noting that I still felt exhausted even though I must have been asleep for hours. I gave Reggie a giant hug and a good scratch behind the ears.
“I sure have missed you, buddy,” I said, my voice muffled by his fur as I rubbed my cheek against it. “I guess one of your new best friends picked you up from the vet.”
I ran my hands down his whole body, checking it over, making sure he felt better. I had come so close to losing him and I was still shaken up by it. He lifted his head just far enough so he could gently lick my fingers and I had to fight back the tears that prickled in the corners of my eyes.
When I looked up from petting him, I scanned the rest of the room and it dawned on me that this wasn’t my bedroom. It wasn’t my guest bedroom either. It was definitely a man’s room, if the furniture was anything to go by.
There was a black chest of drawers with a gun cleaning kit, a watch and a handful of change sitting on top. Two stainless steel nightstands of the Ikea species with two black lamps stood on either side of the bed which was covered in white cotton sheets and, you guessed it, a black comforter. A total bachelor pad.
I let the weariness that permeated through my entire body push me back down into the pillows as I took stock of myself. Yes, I felt like I hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in a year and had just finished two back-to-back marathons, but I didn’t know why. The last thing I could remember was Cash being shot and James yelling at me to bite him.
My heart beat accelerated as I remembered the discovery of James going all canine on me and the realization that Cash was in the same furry boat. This can’t be happening! My mind raced as I tried to rationalize my way out of actually accepting that the man I loved wasn’t human. That’s when I felt James stirring, in my head. Whoa, that’s weird.
I could feel him experiencing the same confusion I had when I woke up before he faded away in my consciousness. I could still feel his presence in the back of my mind but could no longer feel his emotions as strongly as before. I frowned and looked over at where he lay, but he was gone. That was strange, I thought. I didn’t even feel the bed move.
I went back to mentally exploring. Cash was still an adoring presence dwarfing all of the others in my mind. The light from his love burnt like a supernova. I could still feel the pain emanating from the five gunshot wounds in his chest, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it was earlier. The fear and rage that had been present before were muted now as he slept.
My bladder finally caught my attention and I realized I had to use the little girl’s room, stat. I slipped from under the covers, tiptoed softly out of what I assumed was Cash’s bedro
om and down the hall, urgently searching for the bathroom. After finding another bedroom and a linen closet, I discovered the door to the bathroom just in the nick of time. When I finished I paused before walking back to Cash.
James slouched at the kitchen table, his head in his hands. I touched James’ bond in my mind and he flinched, visibly. I walked quickly to the kitchen and sat down across from him. He remained still, face covered with his palms.
“James, what happened? Why do I feel—in my head—and why were you and Cash all wolfy on the bed?” He finally lifted his head, and his expression of hopelessness made me suck in a harsh breath.
“You know, I thought when I finally felt a woman in my head I’d be bonded.” He laughed darkly before continuing. “We heal faster when in wolf form and the presence of others in our pack is soothing, hence ‘being all wolfy together on the bed’.”
He stood up and gave me a searching look before walking to the other bedroom. James paused before walking in and looked at me over his shoulder. “Go to bed, Shells, you need to sleep. By the way...now I don’t have a shot.”
With that enigmatic statement he walked in the room and shut the door. I walked back to Cash’s room and slithered into the covers. I cuddled up next to my wolf, my warden, my love.
He still smelled like a forest fire, and I breathed in his scent as I rubbed my face in his fur. Now I knew why I wasn’t afraid of him, why I always felt better when he was around. Cash was my guardian, even as a wolf, and he’d kept me safe. I knew I should be more weirded out by what he was, or wondering how it was even possible, but I wasn’t.
My fingers ran through his silvery fur, and I mentally pushed my own love at the glowing ball that was Cash. The tension melted away as he lay next to me, and he sighed deeply in his sleep. Love and contentment radiated in my mind as the fatigue claimed me and I fell back asleep.
The next time I woke I heard Cash yelling. I did an inventory on myself again. The exhaustion that had plagued me was much better. I could probably get up without falling asleep on my feet. After that, I noticed that I wore a man’s shirt and boxers, neither of which was mine. I hadn’t noticed the wardrobe change last night, but seeing as I wasn’t wearing my jeans and flannel, someone had undressed me, and I didn’t think it was Cash. Now he’s a douche who’s seen me naked, wonderful.
Next were the little tangles of emotions in the back of my mind. Cash was the most prominent, and beside his was James, but there were about twenty other knots there as well. Several were faint and I could gather a general direction of North. There was one particular knot I thought felt familiar, but I shrugged it off. No use going crazy over it, ha! The rest were even more faint and in the East. I turned my attention to Cash and James. I didn’t want to touch them because I wanted to hear what had Cash so upset before they realized I was awake.
I felt only extreme anger flowing from Cash and irritation from James. What’s got Cash’s panties in a twist? Without touching the bonds, I tried to probe them the best I could. Cash’s anger was the main thing I felt, with threads of fear lacing through, and all of it was centered on... me?
“Okay, what did I do this time—?” I muttered to myself as I got out of Cash’s bed and tiptoed over to the door. The brothers were still speaking with raised voices, but I still couldn’t make out the words. I cracked the door open until I could.
“—Dammit James, she’s going to hate me! You’ve seen how independent she is, she’s going to wig out and never speak to me again. And that’s the best case scenario! You know how many guns that woman has?” I couldn’t see James’ face, but I could feel his amusement in my head.
“Yes, I have noticed she likes her weapons,” he said in a droll voice.
I stuck my tongue out at the door.
“I wasn’t going to let you die, Cash. Not when she was right there.” Hmm… I thought, that is something I’d like explained.
“I’d have rather died then to have her hate me her whole life.” Cash said darkly. I felt something new in my head, misery. “She doesn’t even know what she is, how am I supposed to tell her?”
“Ooookay—what the heck does that mean?” I said as I walked through the door and into the living room where the two men were sitting, Cash in a wingback leather armchair and James lounging on the leather sofa. Leather, leather leather…men are so predictable. Cash stood up as soon as I walked into the room his face impassive, but thanks to the Vulcan mind meld he’d done on me I could feel that he was a ball of emotions.
“Shelby, I can explain—”
He pulled up short when he saw my face, or maybe he could feel what I felt. I wasn’t sure if this thing went both ways. He opened his mouth to say more, but I covered it with my fingers. I lifted up his shirt with the other hand, looking at his chest for the bullet wounds. The smooth skin was perfect and he didn’t even have any scars. He took my hand in his and kissed my palm.
“How?” I whispered in wonder. Cash sent a quick, beseeching glance at his brother.
James shrugged his shoulders. “You’re on your own, big bro.”
I looked at Cash expectantly, mentally pushing all of my determination at the knot in my mind. His eyes flitted back and forth over my face before sighing. He pulled me back to the leather chair and tugged me into his lap before placing a chaste kiss on my lips.
“Um, so don’t freak out—”
He winced and I could feel in my head that he was preparing himself.
“You’re a werewolf?” I figured I’d tell him what I knew and he could fill in the holes. “And you did some sort of mind thingy on me and I can feel you in my head?”
His mouth gaped open. Apparently I’d taken this a lot better than he expected.
He cleared his throat. “Ah, yes. We call ourselves lupines, but essentially we are what people consider werewolves. And what you feel is our bond. You finished the mating when you bit me.”
My eyes flashed. “Mating? What are you talking about? And what do you mean finished?”
He and James exchanged a martyred glance and it pissed me off. Cash yelped when I pinched his stomach, hard.
“Shells, when one of us,” he gestured at James and himself, “finds a woman like you, we become mated. It usually doesn’t happen so quickly, or without the mate’s knowledge...”
He trailed off as he glared at his brother. James smiled angelically and raised his hands in surrender.
“Okay, how do you become mated?” I said, using a businesslike tone.
Cash grimaced, and I knew I wasn’t going to like his answer. “And I gather it isn’t about sex, like I previously had thought.” I said sarcastically sending a glare at the oblivious James.
Cash took a deep breath. “Well, first the mate dreams of us, like you did a few nights ago. I was in my wolf form at the time, but I still felt it.” He paused, and I felt the fear tinge his feelings in my head. Buckle up, Shelby. This is going to be bad… “Well, the urge to mark you was overwhelming, so I did it while you were asleep.” I stiffened in his arms as I felt the beginnings of anger and outrage, but I snuffed them down so he wouldn’t sense them.
“And what exactly does marking me entail?” My voice was smooth and emotionless. You already know what it means. I looked in his eyes and begged him to tell me something different.
“I bit you.” He said quietly.
I leapt out of his lap and stalked across the living room as far away from him as I could get. My mind raced, and it took me a few moments of pacing before I answered. Cash grimly studied his hands and James tried to melt into the background. Since he was shirtless and gorgeous, his chances of succeeding were slim.
“That was real. I dreamed of you biting me and my neck was sore because you did bite me!” I stomped back over to him and smacked him upside the head. “What the hell!”
James barked out a laugh but that’s all he got out before I walked over and smacked the back of his head. “And you knew! You knew he bit me!”
“You have no idea the pull y
ou had on me,” said Cash, his voice coming out harsh. “I knew you were mine the moment I caught a whiff of your scent. I’m sorry, but I just couldn’t help myself. Plus, I felt like I had to, Shells! I was worried about you with that guy hanging around and if I marked you I’d always know...”
“You’d always know what?” I said menacingly. Cash stood and walked toward me, his eyes pleading.
“With the bond, I know if you’re happy, if you’re safe, and I can always find you.” He tried to take my hands but I pulled away. “I’m so sorry, Shelby.” I turned my back on the both of them and screamed.
“You freakin’ wolfy lo-jacked me!” I shrieked in outrage.
Chapter Twenty-Five
I could feel Cash’s anguish through the bond but it only fueled my anger. I blocked out Cash and became more aware of James. He feels smug as hell. I turned just enough so I could see him out of the edge of my vision. He was focused on his fingernails, and a small smile turned up the edges of his mouth.
James enjoyed this way too much and that did a lot to cool my rage. He wanted me to be furious with Cash, and maybe that’s why he’d done what he had. I wasn’t about to let that jerk have the satisfaction. Plus, I could still feel Cash’s love through the bond, and I knew he was dying with guilt that he shouldn’t have felt. At least, not entirely.
“Okay, now I have zero privacy. Awesome,” I said more calmly than I felt. “So now that I’ve bitten you back, and I’m still wondering why I did that, what does this mean?”
Hope flickered in Cash’s eyes. “Lupines heal faster than humans, but when that son of a bitch shot me he used a high powered rifle. I gave you my good vest and the one I had on was only rated for pistols. It couldn’t handle those hollow-tipped rounds James pulled out of me.” He looked at me ruefully. “When he shot me five times, it was more than my body could repair on its own. But a mated wolf can draw energy from their mate to help them heal. That’s why you were knocked unconscious, I pulled a lot of energy from you and James.”
Hunter Moon (Lupine Moon Series) Page 19
