Allister, J. Rose - Displaced Cowboys [Lone Wolves of Shay Falls 5] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by J. Rose Allister

  “I’ll be damned,” Connor said. “You’re one lucky son of a bitch. Silver against your heart would have killed you in an instant. Looks like it just missed the mark.”

  “Just help me up, will you?” Nash asked, and she and Connor both grabbed him under the arms. Her mother came back to the room just as they got him on his feet. Both men were shaky, but they were alive.

  “Should he be standing?” she asked, clutching the cordless phone in her hand. “I was going to ask for an ambulance, but I wasn’t sure that was a good idea, all things considered.” She averted her eyes from the naked men as she bustled over to Terra, whose hands were too busy helping Nash to deal with her open robe. Lilith tied it for her. “I didn’t tell them about you two at all.”

  “That’s mighty kind of you, ma’am,” Connor said. “It would raise more questions than we’d want to answer. He’ll be all right, anyway. Looks like the bullet passed clean through.”

  “What are you?” Terra’s father asked as he pressed a hand to his ribs and made his way over to her mother.

  “I think you know,” Connor said. “You saw for yourself.”

  “I suppose I misjudged some things about you,” Jack said. “But not everything. It’s obvious you’re still no good for my daughter.”

  “Dad,” Terra half shrieked. “How can you say that? Nash just put himself in front of a bullet to save you and Mom.”

  “And why was that woman firing a gun in our house in the first place?” Fire danced in her father’s eyes. “These men, if that’s what you can call them, are a danger to you.”

  Terra scowled.

  “He’s right,” Connor said, looping one of Nash’s arms around his neck and helping him hobble forward. “Maybe it’s best if we go.”

  “We only came back here because we sensed she was in trouble,” Nash said.

  “You can do that?” her mother asked with obvious shock.

  Connor nodded. “The mark I placed on her shoulder lets us sense her from anywhere. If she is ever in danger, we’ll know it.”

  “And we’ll give our lives to make sure she gets out of it safe,” Nash added, and Terra’s head whipped around to his at the declaration. “It’s lucky we were still close enough to town to get here in time.”

  “Lucky?” her father shot back. “She’d have been far luckier never to have met you.”

  Nash nodded somberly. “I reckon I can’t argue that, in some ways. But with all due respect, it was fate that brought us together. Now that it has, there ain’t no use wishin’ it hadn’t.”

  “Is she one of you now?” her mother asked quietly. “Since you bit her?”

  “She is a part of us,” Connor said. “Forever. But not as a werewolf.”

  Terra’s mother nodded and left the room. The rest fell silent while her father glared at Nash until the woman returned with some towels from the bathroom. Two went around the men’s bare waists, another was pressed to Nash’s wounds, and Lilith used the rest to wipe up drips of blood from the hardwood floor.

  “I can’t tell you how sorry I am for all this,” Connor said, pressing the towel to Nash’s chest. “Though I don’t expect forgiveness for it.”

  “Damn right you don’t,” Jack snapped.

  “We’re all lucky to be alive,” Terra’s mother said. “Thanks to you.”

  “I thought for sure you were dead when she stabbed you,” Terra said. “I can’t believe the knife blade actually broke off. How did that happen?”

  “I have no idea,” Connor said, and he appeared clearly rattled as he said it. “It shouldn’t have, by all rights. A silver knife should have sliced me like butter straight to the heart.”

  Terra shivered at the haunted sound to his words. “Why is Jayel so intent on killing you?” she asked. “From what little I could get her to tell me, I gather it has something to do with her brother.”

  Connor nodded.

  “What the hell did you do to her brother?” Terra’s father asked with a tone of pure acid.

  “Nothin’,” Connor said. “But the alpha of the pack I used to belong to did somethin’ terrible to her family. And then he claimed Jayson for himself.”

  “Her family’s dead, and her brother’s a werewolf now,” Nash said. “She ain’t exactly takin’ it well.”

  “Nor should she.” Connor rubbed his neck, which was raw and red where the silver chain had sat. “Blaise made Jayson a hostage the way that he did most of the rest of us. Jayson was the last one turned before that bastard finally met his end. Somethin’ Jayel must not know yet.”

  “She does know,” Terra said. “I told her.”

  “She obviously doesn’t care,” Nash said.

  “She was pretty manic when she heard the news,” Terra replied. “But she doesn’t think she’s got her pound of flesh just yet.”

  Lilith interrupted. “So you two came back to fight a woman who wants to kill you because you sensed somehow that Terra was in danger?”

  “That’s pretty much the way of it,” Nash said.

  The sound of approaching sirens halted the discussion. “You should go,” Terra told the men.

  “She’s right,” her mother added. “I told the dispatcher there were just the three of us here. I’d rather not have to explain you two.” She held out the stained towel she’d just used on the floor. “Take this with you so they won’t see it. And hurry.”

  Two pairs of mildly glowing eyes turned Terra’s way. “I’ll be all right,” she said. “Get out of here before they see you leaving.”

  “We ain’t goin’ far,” Connor whispered to Terra. “Not ever again.”

  They were halfway down the hall, clutching their towels around their waists, when her mother called after them. “Thank you,” she said, and they paused. “Thank you for coming back to help my daughter.”

  With a nod, they slipped into the kitchen, and Terra heard the back door close a moment later. Her heart was still racing as she stared into the void left by their departure.

  “Why the hell are you thanking them?” her father asked. “Whose side are you on?”

  Her mother turned to him with a flat look. “I’m on the side of anyone who would risk themselves to protect my little girl.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  “What’s ridiculous is that we almost lost Terra because a boyfriend was not only irresponsible, but stood by without doing a damn thing to help her after the accident. You sat by her bedside in that hospital, Jack. You should be on the same side I am after seeing that those two boys were willing to die not only to save your daughter, but your wife as well.”

  A muscle twitched in the man’s jaw at the words. That’s when Terra saw something she’d never seen before, not even in the hospital when she woke up from a coma.

  Her father broke down in tears.

  Chapter Twelve

  Two Months Later

  “Are you sure this is gonna work?” Nash asked the spiky, white-haired man who was taking a seat across from Terra and Nash.

  Late afternoon had fallen in Shay Falls, where Terra and her mates had gathered behind a quaint cabin deep in the woods. Terra inhaled the scent of pine and rich earth while she watched “Drew,” as he’d been introduced, take a long drag off a tall-neck beer. Between his bleached hair and tight black clothing, he came off looking very punk. But his voice was pure cowboy when he spoke.

  “It’ll work,” he said. “Tal is the real deal. Ain’t no doubt in my mind.”

  “We ain’t doubtin’ your mate’s abilities,” Connor said. He was leaning, arms folded, against a nearby tree, looking delectable in snug jeans and a denim shirt. “Based on the enlightened chat we had with some of the old pack, it’s clear your mate saved our lives.”

  “I had no idea gypsy curses even existed,” Nash added. “But Jayel’s bullet goin’ straight through me but missin’ my heart, and then her knife snappin’ off against Connor’s rib, well, it was just too much to be sheer coincidence. It all made sense once Caleb told us about
Talaitha and the curse she used to protect you.”

  Terra shoved her hands between her knees to ward against the chill in the air—and in her bones—while she listened. He wore dark jeans and a simple black T-shirt that did anything but simple things to his taut body and her fluttering stomach. Maybe the mystical explanation made sense to Nash, but Terra was still shocked to think that some kind of gypsy magic had been the only thing that stopped her from becoming a despondent, grieving mate.

  “We’re very grateful that your mate’s actions spared us,” Connor added. “We just want to make sure this vendetta of Jayel’s ends here.”

  “Even I cannot guarantee that,” said a female voice behind them. “But I can help you.”

  The woman they had come to see stopped in front of Terra and extended her hand. “I’m Talaitha. Sorry to keep you waiting. I was helping Russell ready the ingredients I’ll need for the protection spell.”

  Terra and Nash stood up and shook the woman’s hand.

  “You knew we were coming?” Terra asked.

  Talaitha nodded. “Caleb called ahead.”

  A real live gypsy! Terra couldn’t help but stare. This woman was the reason Jayel’s attempts to kill Connor and Nash had failed. Talaitha’s mates had once been in similar danger, and she’d put some kind of curse on Jayel to stop her. It sounded unbelievable. But then, so did the existence of werewolves.

  The moment Terra took Talaitha’s hand, she felt an instant sense of kinship and understanding. Both women were the mates of werewolves. Werewolves with a common enemy they had come together to discuss. That shared ground aside, the two of them couldn’t be more different. Talaitha certainly dressed the part of a gypsy, wearing a long skirt and flowing, white blouse. Her hair was dark, almost black, and her keen eyes were no lighter. Although she was a quite a bit shorter than Terra, there was a fiery aspect to her manner that made her stand equal to those who towered around her. And she carried herself with grace and a self-assured air Terra could only aspire to.

  Talaitha regarded her at the same time, her eyes focusing just above the cleavage visible between the open buttons of Terra’s purple blouse. Talaitha glanced at the throat scar Terra no longer felt the need to hide behind turtlenecks and scarves. Then she smiled.

  “Nice to meet you,” Terra said. “I’m glad the alpha who took over Blaise’s pack lifted the rule about them having no contact. With my parents stuck in the middle of Jayel’s revenge hunt, we could really use your help.”

  “Kade Winchester liftin’ his ban had nothin’ to do with the Jayel situation,” Drew said. “But his decision couldn’t have come at a better time.”

  “Tell us about the curse,” Connor said. “Caleb told us you were also attacked by Jayel.”

  Talaitha nodded. “It wasn’t long ago that she showed up at my clan’s camp and pointed a gun at my mates. But my people have ways of thwarting attacks, and I reacted. I laid a curse on her, and her bullets went awry even from point-blank range. Now, she can’t kill a werewolf with any weapon in her possession.”

  “She obviously doesn’t know about the curse,” Terra said. “Because she keeps trying.”

  “She wasn’t aware of it, no,” Talaitha said. “But that doesn’t change the fact that she can’t harm the wolves.”

  “And a protection spell can keep Terra and her folks safe as well?” Connor asked, pushing away from the tree and wandering beside Terra. “Since they aren’t werewolves, your curse doesn’t cover harm to them.”

  Terra swallowed and waited for the answer. Maybe just the fact that she’d officially moved out of her parents’ place two hours before would help ensure they were no longer a target, but she couldn’t count on that.

  Talaitha nodded solemnly. “The spell will work just as well as the curse that kept you alive. I’ve already cast the protection circle on several members of Russell’s old pack. They all have human mates to think of as well.”

  “So we heard,” Nash said. “That’s why we’re here.”

  “We were also interested to learn it wasn’t Caleb who attacked Nash,” Connor said. “I never could reason why Caleb would do such a thing. Turns out, I’d picked up his scent that day because he’d had a run-in with Jayel earlier. His blood attracted another wolf, and that’s who turned Nash. It was Titus, the eldest and meanest of the old pack alpha’s offspring.”

  Drew gave a disgusted grunt. “Titus. I heard stories about him from Russell. Him and the rest of Blaise’s sick mongrel pups.”

  Nash had an unpleasant glitter in his eyes when he spoke. “If anyone in the old pack still deserves vigilante justice now that their keeper Blaise is dead, it’d be Titus and his fool brothers.”

  “Evil didn’t fall far from that tree,” Drew agreed.

  “Jayel can’t exact that justice on any of the pack,” Talaitha said. “Whether or not they were responsible for the atrocities against her family. My curse prevents her from killing any werewolf.”

  “But humans are another matter,” Terra said. “So that’s why we’re asking for this protection spell of yours.”

  “It is a simple matter,” Talaitha said. “Russell should have started the fire pit by now. If you’ll follow me, we can get started.”

  Talaitha gestured into the woods, and Drew led the way. They all filed behind, Terra sandwiched between her mates while they were taken to a clearing in the woods. The man waiting there by a small campfire was taller than Drew, with brown hair and the usual gold-flecked werewolf eyes. He was dressed cowboy-fashion in a hat and boots similar to Connor’s and Nash’s, along with a red plaid shirt and dusty jeans. He gave Connor a nod of acknowledgment as they approached.

  “Ready?” Russell asked Talaitha as she moved beside him. He casually draped an arm over her shoulder.

  She looked at them all and nodded. “If you’ll each take a white sage bundle,” she said, pointing to a pile of tied-up sticks on the ground. “Light just the end in the fire. Then stand around Terra.”

  Terra felt a wave of nerves wash over her as she did what the gypsy instructed. She’d never been around magic before. She’d never even considered that magic was something real, let alone something she’d need to protect her family.

  When the sage bundles glowed orange and released puffs of white smoke, Talaitha lifted her arms and chanted something in her native tongue. Then she switched to English.

  “I cast this protection for Terra and hers,” she said. She walked around Terra with her sage, creating a circle of herb-scented smoke. “Let no darkness enter the circle. Let no danger follow the smoke.”

  Talaitha stopped in front of her. “Now, face the direction of your parents’ home and extend the sage out that way. Everyone else do the same.”

  Terra frowned and glanced around the tall pine trees. She didn’t have her bearings out here. Connor, who was beside her, pointed with his sage bundle. She gave a quarter turn and stuck her arm out.

  Talaitha whispered in Romani to Terra’s sage bundle, and the curls of smoke wafting upward began changing. Everyone’s smoke straightened and changed direction, practically shooting straight out in the direction they all were pointing.

  After a moment where they all watched the smoke behave abnormally, Talaitha nodded in satisfaction. “The spell is complete.”

  “That’s it?” Terra asked. “That’s all you have to do?” She wasn’t sure what she expected, but there hadn’t been nearly as much fanfare and hocus-pocus as she figured would be necessary.

  Talaitha smiled. “Your family will be safe from many things now, not only the danger Jayel’s revenge brings.”

  Terra lowered the sage bundle and followed suit when the rest tossed theirs into the fire. The heady aroma released mingled with the scent of the campfire and pine around her, and she breathed it in.

  “We appreciate your help,” Nash said, “but it seems to me that the best way to put a stop to Jayel is to get to her personally. That’s another reason we’ve come.”

  “Get to her how?” Tala
itha asked. “Will you kill her?”

  “We have to find her,” Connor said. “Several from the pack have been searching, but there’s been no sign of her since she left Terra’s.”

  “Maybe she has given up,” Talaitha said. “All her failed attempts on your pack have got to be sending her a message about this path she’s taken. Maybe she won’t be back.”

  “Could be,” Nash said, “but in case she does return, we’re hopin’ we can count on Russ and Drew to help in the hunt. The more of us we have lookin’ for her, the faster this will be over.”

  Russell shook his head. “Murderin’ a human ain’t somethin’ I can support,” Russell said. “She’s got her reasons for hatin’ us. And with Tal’s spell in place, she can’t kill us.”

  “But now she’s involved innocents,” Connor said. “We can’t let that go unchecked. Someone will get hurt, curse or not.”

  “We ain’t plannin’ on killin’ her,” Nash said. “But we have to try to reason with her. And there’s someone we think can talk her out of this vendetta.”

  Russell and Drew exchanged confused expressions.

  “Her brother Jayson is one of you now,” Terra said. “He’s our best chance of getting through to her.” Her eyes shifted to Talaitha’s. “Unless there’s some other mojo you can work to change her mind completely.”

  Talaitha shook her head. “With hate that powerful, there’s no spell that can completely undo it. She has to make the choice herself.”

  Russell nodded. “So where is Jayson?”

  “We don’t know that, either,” Connor admitted.

  “Best as we’ve been able to figure,” Nash added, “he ain’t been seen since your old pack split. We have to find him, too.”

  The group fell silent. Russell looked to Drew, who folded his arms. “I suppose we could join in the search for him. Assumin’ Kade ain’t opposed to the pack joinin’ forces.”

  “Kade is lettin’ us coordinate efforts,” Nash said. “He and his mate Chaz have even searched the area around their ranch.”

  Drew nodded thoughtfully. Then he strolled up and shook Connor’s hand. “We’ll do what we can to help.”