Dancer's Heart

by R. E. Butler

  Males wearing park uniforms were pulling bodies off each other and making a line in the center of the barn. It looked like a psychotic game of dominoes.

  “This is my brother and the king of our herd, Dragos,” Liam said as he stopped twenty feet from the first body. A large male turned from where he was watching the males work with the dead and faced them.

  He extended a hand to Adam. “I’m sorry your mate was taken, but I’m thankful we were able to free her when we found Tesli. Our sister was abducted a week ago. I’ve had many sleepless nights trying to find her, but I can’t imagine the hell you suffered with your mate being taken in front of you.”

  Adam shook his hand. “Thank you for freeing Dani.”

  Dragos snapped his fingers and the workers stepped back. “Take your time.”

  Adam wasn’t sure what to expect, but staring into the lifeless eyes of a dozen males wasn’t among them. It hadn’t surprised him to see that the men who had captured Tesli were dead. Judging by the well-armed, muscular males who were pushing around bodies like they weighed nothing, Adam thought that the fact they were prey in their shifted form was clearly irrelevant. They were most likely deadly in their shifts, too. Which made him want to find out how to teach Dani to protect herself. Not that he planned to let her ever be harmed again.

  Shaking himself from his thoughts, he concentrated on the dead. He didn’t recognize any of them, until he reached a very familiar face. Richard’s arms were folded over his torso, and his eyes were closed as if he was sleeping, but there was no doubt that he was dead. A crimson stain had spread out from a hole in his chest. Wolves healed quickly, but there were some injuries that were too severe, too deadly.

  Relief and sorrow churned together inside him. He was thankful that Dani was safe. The people who had taken her were dead, his father among them. Adam had been planning to put his father down himself, to meet him in a death match and come through on the other side victorious. That had been taken from him, and in a way it closed the door on his past, while also leaving a gaping wound because he would never get to reconcile his feelings with his father.

  “I hate what you did to me,” Adam said in a low voice. “I hate that gambling was more important to you than me, your only son. I was just a kid, for fuck’s sake, and you got in so deep someone tried to kill you with a firebomb that ruined my leg. Then you tried to take the most precious thing in the world from me. You died too fast. You deserved to suffer for a hundred years. It’s not much comfort to me that you’re not breathing anymore, but I’m walking away from you today, and I’m not going to let the shadow of your ugly behavior rule my life anymore.”

  He lifted his head and howled. Triumph. Regret. Hope.

  The sound echoed in the barn. Adam stared for a moment longer at his father and then he turned and walked away. He didn’t say anything to the males as he passed by them, their heads lowered in a gesture of respect. When he was out of the barn, he looked up at the morning sky and took a deep breath of the crisp winter air.

  He moved to Dani, and she jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs and arms around him, dropping her head to his shoulder and weeping. He held her close and stood for several minutes in silence, thankful to have her back.

  Acksel, who had been speaking to Dragos in the barn, joined them with Dragos and Liam. “We should get on the road. The herd has business to take care of,” he said.

  “I need to find my grandparents’ car so I can get it back to them,” Adam told him.

  “It needs to be cleaned to make sure there isn’t anything that will lead someone back to us,” Liam said. He opened his cell and said, “If you give me your grandparents’ address, we’ll deliver it to them in a few days.”

  “I need to tell them about…him.”

  “Of course. We’ll just leave it outside of their home with the keys in it.”

  Adam had to use his phone to look up their address, which he rattled off to Liam. Then he said, “Thank you for freeing my mate and keeping her safe.”

  “Tesli wants to keep in touch. Perhaps if we ever come by Wilde Creek we’ll be able to visit,” Liam said.

  Dani lifted her head. “I’d like that.”

  “Me too,” Adam said.

  Dani and Adam said goodbye to the reindeer and followed Malachi and Jeremiah back to the SUV. Acksel spoke to Dragos for several more minutes before joining them. Dani didn’t want to let go of him, so Adam carefully got into the second row of the SUV and held her on his lap.

  “If I never see a petting zoo again, it’ll be too soon,” Malachi said as he made a U-turn in the street and left the park behind. Adam glanced behind him and saw a plume of smoke billow into the sky. The park was out of the way enough that no one would notice the smoke for a while. With her abductors dead and the park about to be destroyed, at least no other shifters would be abducted and sold from that location.

  “I love you,” Adam whispered, nuzzling Dani’s throat.

  “I love you too.”

  * * * * *

  Although Adam wanted to put the whole ugly business behind them, he knew he needed to tell his grandparents what had happened. He called his grandmother, wanting to get it over with so he could close this chapter of their lives.

  “You found him?” she asked, but he could hear in her voice that she didn’t hold out any hope of him being alive.

  “He was killed with the others who had kidnapped my mate.” He opened his mouth to say something comforting, but he realized he didn’t have anything nice to say. He hadn’t been there when his father drew his last breath, so he didn’t know – had he begged for his life, had he tried to promise to change his ways so the reindeer would let him live, did he ask for them to let his mom know he loved her?

  “It’s okay, Adam,” his grandmother said, drawing him from his dark thoughts. “You don’t have to tell me anything more. I knew one day that we would get a call like this. Parents always hold such hope for their children, and I always wished that he would have a change of heart. Losing a mate is an awful thing for a wolf to go through, but he shouldn’t have let his grief take over his life the way he did. And we failed you. I understand that you might hate us for the male he became, but if you ever want to come see us, know that you can and that we’d welcome it.”

  “Take care,” Adam said, ending the call.

  Dani burrowed against him and rested her face against his throat. He could feel the warmth of her breath as she spoke quietly. “You don’t want to see them again, do you?”

  “No.”

  “Good. You’re amazing, and they don’t deserve to be in our lives.”

  “Our kids will have your mom to be their grandma.”

  She lifted her head and stared at him, her blue eyes luminous. “Do you think our kids will be reindeer or wolves?”

  He tucked a lock of her golden hair behind her ear. “Wolf DNA is dominant, but it would depend a lot on whether they took more after you or me. Either way, we’ll love them and protect them.”

  “I hope they’re fierce like their dad.”

  “And beautiful like their mom.”

  She smiled, and it made all the darkness inside him dissipate. Things could have gone so differently; instead of seeing his father dead, it could have been Dani. He wrapped his arms more securely around her and released a deep sigh. They were going home, together, and that was all that should matter.

  Chapter 12

  Dani blinked at the bright morning light when she awoke as Adam carried her from the SUV toward their home. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but she’d found it impossible to stay awake after the stress of her kidnapping. Jeremiah walked ahead of them and opened the front door. She yawned, and Adam whispered, “Let me put Dani to bed and I’ll be right back.”

  She hugged her arms around his neck a little tighter and chuckled. “Aren’t you supposed to stay with me if you put me to bed?”

  “You need to rest, and I have to talk to Jeremiah about a few things.”

  She c
ouldn’t keep from yawning again. “Okay. But you have to promise to join me as soon as you can.”

  “As if I could stay away from you long,” he murmured as he lowered her to the bed and began to gently strip her out of the clothes the herd had given her. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to get rid of these things.”

  “That’s fine with me.”

  He pulled the blankets over her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll be right back.”

  She thought she wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep, but she had no trouble slipping back into a deep slumber, nestled in her mate’s warm bed. When she woke several hours later, Adam was lying next to her, one arm around her and one bent behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. She snuggled closer, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder.

  “What are you thinking about?” she asked.

  His hand tightened on her shoulder. “Malachi’s security company is in the backyard putting in safety measures. I’ve been listening to them for the last few hours.”

  “Are you mad?” She went up on her elbow and looked down at him.

  “Of course not. I’m just disappointed that it never occurred to me to do it in the first place. If I’d had perimeter alarms or motion lights, or if I’d even thought for a heartbeat that he would be so callous as to turn you over to save his own neck, I would’ve done more, and you never would have been taken.”

  “We can spend all our time worrying about what we could have done differently, but the truth is it’s in the past. I know you were terrified for me, and I was scared, too, but they didn’t hurt me. It could have been so much worse than it was. You came for me.”

  He stared at her intently. “I love you.”

  “I know. I can feel it all the way deep inside of me. I love you, too.”

  He got up from the bed and scooped her into his arms. She giggled in surprise and threw her arms around his neck and kissed the space under his ear. “Where are we going?”

  “Shower.”

  She hummed. “Together?”

  “Of course.”

  He set her on the counter and turned, pushing the shower curtain aside. He bent to turn on the water, and she smiled at his cute butt. At the moment it was encased in black boxer briefs, but she still thought it was really sexy. She’d never really thought much about butts before, but Adam’s was great. He looked over his shoulder at her, one hand testing the spray.

  “See something you like?” he asked, his voice a deep rumble.

  “I like everything I see.”

  He straightened, and she could see his erection through the thin material of his briefs. She was naked, and the air in the bathroom was cool. Her nipples pebbled, but it had nothing to do with the temperature. He closed the distance between them, pushing her thighs apart roughly and then tugging her against him with a growl. She lifted her face to him, anxious to feel his mouth against hers, and he didn’t make her wait. Their lips met and parted, their tongues tangling in a heated dance that made her shiver with anticipation. She slid her hands down his back to the waistband of his briefs, and pushed down on them until she could free his erection.

  He smiled against her mouth and nipped at her lower lip. He pulled from her and cupped her face, his gaze serious. “Are you sure?”

  “About what?”

  “We don’t have to do anything right now.”

  Grasping his erection, she stroked his thick length slowly. His eyes narrowed, and he growled softly. “This begs to differ,” she teased.

  “Dani,” he said roughly.

  She stopped stroking him and grasped his hips. “I know we don’t have to make love right now, but I want to. We were supposed to run around in the yard last night and then make love until dawn. I feel cheated by what happened. We need to celebrate that we’re safe and together and no one is going to separate us again.” She kissed his lips and then trailed kisses down his chest, lightly biting his nipple. “Remind me why having a wolf truemate is so awesome.”

  She flicked her gaze up at him, and he gave her a look hot enough to melt her panties, if she’d been wearing any. He slid his hands up her thighs and then jerked her forward on the counter until her pussy was bare inches from his cock. She skimmed her hands up his back and tipped her face up for a kiss. When their lips met, he growled possessively and spread her pussy lips apart with one hand and began to lightly rub her exposed clit with his thumb.

  She moaned into his mouth, her hands tightening on his hips. She tried to pull him forward so he could enter her while he played with her clit, but he remained immobile, holding himself away from her while he rubbed and flicked, driving her wild.

  Her pussy clenched and her belly fluttered as he worked her, moving rapidly until she was hovering on the edge and then easing away. Her body throbbed with need.

  “Adam,” she whimpered, pressing her forehead against his chest.

  He teased the opening of her pussy with two fingers. “So wet. I love how your body responds to me.”

  Her nails dug into his flesh, and she gazed up at him as he slid two fingers into her. She gasped. “Only you.”

  He snarled possessively. “Mine.”

  She moved her hips, wiggling on the counter as he began to fuck her with his fingers. His thumb latched onto her clit, and he placed his hand on her lower back and held her in place while he fingered her.

  Letting her head drop back, she gave herself over to the pleasure that coursed through her. Adam was done teasing her, his body tense as he pushed her toward climax with his fingers. Heat pulsed through her, and she screamed his name as her body gripped his fingers and she came.

  His cock replaced his fingers, sliding into her pussy as he lifted her from the counter and turned, pressing her against the wall. His arm protected her back as he began to pound into her, his face buried in her throat as his teeth latched onto her flesh. A growl vibrated in his chest as he took her, and she hung on for the ride. She closed her eyes and lost herself in the pleasure he gave her, pushing her further and higher, until heat crescendoed inside her and she cried out again.

  He bit down on her neck and she shuddered as another spike of pleasure pulsed through her. Lifting from her, he shouted her name as he came, his cock thickening inside her as he rocked into her once more and held her tightly.

  She went limp, resting her head on his shoulder. Her heart was racing, and her limbs felt like jelly. “I love what you do to me, how we are together.”

  “Me too, sweetheart.”

  Nuzzling her neck, he kissed the mark he’d made and then carried her to the shower. They were still locked together when he stepped under the spray, which had long since gone cold. She curled her toes with a gasp as the icy water hit her.

  “Sorry baby,” he said with a chuckle as he eased her away from him and she put her feet on the ground. “We’ll have to shower fast.”

  “And maybe invest in a bigger hot water tank.”

  “If I’d had any blood left in my brain, I might have turned the shower off before we played.”

  She ducked under the showerhead, biting back a squeal at the frigid water. After washing as quickly as she could, she hopped out and grabbed two towels.

  “Brr,” Adam said as he shoved the faucet off with a little more force than necessary. Dani smiled, her teeth chattering as she handed him the other towel.

  When they’d dried off, they dressed and walked into the family room. She prepared hot chocolate with lots of marshmallows while he made a fire in the fireplace. She carried the mugs over to the coffee table in front of the fireplace and set them down, settling onto the couch and watching him stare intently into the flames.

  “Fire used to bother me,” he said. “For years, actually. Even the scent of burning wood would make me panic.”

  He stood slowly and rubbed absently at his thigh. She recognized the motion as something he did when his leg hurt.

  “What did you do?”

  “I had a teacher in high school, her name was Mrs. Gracin.
Her husband was a psychiatrist and she brought him to school to meet with me. The pack doesn’t like it when humans intervene in wolf affairs, so we kept the meetings a secret.”

  He dropped heavily onto the couch next to Dani and put his arm around her. She wiggled close. “Why wouldn’t the pack want you to have help? You were very seriously injured because your father was an asshole.”

  He kissed the top of her head. “It’s a wolf thing, I guess. I saw Doctor Gracin twice a week during my lunchtime for two years. In the summer, I would call him and we’d talk on the phone when my dad was gone. Without that help, I think I would have spent my whole life being afraid of being burned again.”

  She kissed his cheek and hugged him. “I’m glad your teacher saw that you needed help.”

  “You had the bears. Were you ever scared of losing them the way you’d lost your family and herd?”

  She leaned back, resting her head on his arm. “For a while. The first time Alice shifted to go hunt with the other females, I panicked. I was so scared she was going to be killed. Fayar felt bad for me, and he sent some of his best guards to follow the females. The guards were in their human form and had rifles. He promised me that they wouldn’t let anyone hurt Alice or the other females. Row and I stayed in Fayar’s house with his sons and waited until the females came back. When they were home safe, Fayar said to me, ‘I told you I’d keep them safe, and I’ll keep you safe, too, little reindeer.’”

  “I’m glad you found them.”

  “Sometimes I think about how dangerous it was and how easily I could have died out in the woods all alone.” She looked at her mate for a long moment. “Even when I was living with the bears, I always figured I would someday mate with a reindeer and have kids, and I’d end up being nomadic like my herd had been.”