by Kimber White
“I forbid it,” I said, the words simply thundering out of me. It was far too risky. Every time she shifted, she set off a pheromone trail.
“You forbid it?” she said. “Typical.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
She shook her head. “You keep telling me you’re here to protect me, not control me. It’s all just words, Erik.”
“And do I have to remind you what happened the last time you did something I told you not to?” I asked.
“And do I have to remind you that I’d only be in half as much danger if we weren’t...if you weren’t...in my life.”
Her words stung, even if they were true. But, she couldn’t yet bring herself to name what we really were to each other. Neither could I even as it burned through me.
“It makes no difference,” I said. “However you got into this situation, you’re in it. And the only way to keep you safe is my way.”
She bared her fangs. It sent a shock of desire through me and I dropped mine as well.
“I. Need. To. Shift,” she said. “Today. Now. I’m not planning to go far. I won’t leave the property. If you want to send that tiger or one of the others with me, I won’t fight you on that.”
“No!” My voice boomed. Just the thought of letting another shifter near her when she was in her jaguar sent me into a rage. My wolf echoed my sentiment.
Mine!
Nova sat down hard on a kitchen chair. “I thought wolves were supposed to be different,” she spat.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Do you know how it is with male jaguars and their...mates?”
“Enlighten me,” I said.
“Female jaguars are never Alpha,” she said. “They are...shared.”
I felt the hair stand up on the back of my neck. “Wolves aren’t so different. Female wolf shifters, it’s not uncommon for them to mate with the entire pack if they choose. Generally it’s only human wolf mates who remain monogamous.”
“I could never…” her voice trailed off. “I never wanted that. It’s why I defied my uncle. He wanted to arrange a mating when I turned eighteen. He said it was to keep me safe, but I always figured it was to get me off his hands. He wanted me to mate with an Alpha jag from a powerful family in Costa Rica. They promised protection. But it was a traditional pairing. I would have been mated to the whole clan. I would have been...subservient to them in exchange for their protection.”
I couldn’t suppress the threatening growl that erupted from me. I knew what she meant. Her uncle would have her bred to an entire jaguar clan. Perhaps a dozen or more Alphas would demand their time with her to ensure the continuation of their line. It was abhorrent to me.
“Is that what you think of me?” I said. “That I want you to be subservient?”
Her eyelids flickered. “Don’t you?”
My body quaked as I struggled to control my temper. “No,” I said simply.
“No,” I said again, softer this time. “It’s as I told you. There are some female wolf shifters who mate to the entire pack. Bear shifter females sometimes do too I’ve heard. But, it’s their choice to do so. It’s never forced upon them. And...in my family, it hasn’t been the way for generations. My parents were monogamous.”
“Your mother was human?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said. “But my grandmother was a wolf shifter and she was also monogamous. God, Nova, I would never...there isn’t. That’s not how it has to be.”
She nodded, considering my words. I don’t know if she believed me, but her heart seemed to settle.
“I’m glad to hear it,” she said. “But you’re forcing me not to shift right now. And it’s…”
“Fine,” I said, realizing she’d just outplayed me. I couldn’t very well extol the virtues of my kind and then turn around and deny her very nature.
“Fine?” she said, smiling. Damn, she was good.
“Tomorrow,” I said. “Let me come up with a plan to minimize the risk. And then...we’ll go out in the woods so you can hunt.”
She rested her chin in her palm and smiled up at me in a way that melted my heart.
Oh, yes, she’d outplayed me well.
Chapter Nineteen
Nova
I headed for the small pond at the edge of the property. It was beautiful here. With the snow-capped mountains in the distance it reminded me what had drawn me to Montana in the first place. For the last four years, I’d thought it was where my heart belonged.
Now, I felt the slow, rhythmic pull that started in my core then spread all the way to the roots of my hair. Erik.
He held back, his wolf running along the northern perimeter. His agitation bled through me. I took a steady breath to try and still my own pulse.
To the east and west I sensed the tiger shifter and a bear shifter. I knew they had instructions to stay extra vigilant for the next few hours.
Stepping to the water’s edge, I tested it. Early fall, and it had an icy chill to it. I didn’t care. I stripped off my clothes and laid them neatly on the grass. I heard Erik’s howl behind me. It was a warning to the others. Stay back, but stay alert.
I arced my hands above my head and skimmed the water with a shallow dive. I kicked downward, touching the bottom. It was only fifteen feet.
Peace. Solitude. For a moment, I wished I were a dolphin shifter or a mermaid. I wanted to stay down here for hours. After a few minutes, my lungs began to burn. I pushed off and rocketed upward.
I shifted as I broke the surface, letting out a sharp growl. Though Erik kept his distance, I knew he held his breath right along with me.
Using my tail to propel me forward, I swam for shore. Water ran down my back in fat rivulets. I shook them off, drying in just a few seconds. Then, I pricked my ears, sensing a rabbit to the south. Baring my teeth, I headed straight for it.
My blood thrummed with the nearly orgasmic pleasure of the hunt. I felt free for the first time in weeks. My paws barely touched the ground as I leaped over fallen branches and crevices. The rabbit darted left, I reacted. I got ahead of it and picked it off easily. One quick snap between my jaws and it never knew what hit it.
I felt Erik’s blood rising right along with mine. His urge to join the hunt nearly blinded him. But, he’d made me a promise. This time, he would keep his distance.
The mountains beckoned. Instinct told me to run for it. Though the men of Wolfguard were strong and formidable, I could outrun them all.
But, I’d made a promise too. As much as I hated to admit it, running from Erik the last time had been foolish. I’d put myself at risk but also Erik and his men. I might be restless, but I couldn’t afford to be reckless again.
Finishing with the rabbit, I cut left and doubled back. Adrenaline coursed through me. This was all I needed. Just a few hours outside the same four walls. To be alone with my thoughts and instincts. To think. To breathe. To just...be.
I came upon a bubbling stream cut through the thickest part of the woods. I approached slowly, letting my paws sink into the damp earth. By the scent of it, I knew the stream would eventually widen to a river. I was tempted to follow it.
I lowered my head to take a drink. The water was clean, fresh, and cold. I lifted my head and stared at my reflection. My golden panther eyes glowed. My fur was black as midnight with dense, shadowy spots all along my flanks and back.
I lowered my head to take another drink. That’s when I saw her.
I raised my head sharply. On the other side of the stream, I saw a twin reflection. Another jaguar with the same golden eyes. But, when I looked up, she was gone.
“Sena?” I thought. No. That wasn’t possible. I looked back at the water. It was an illusion. Some trick of the light. But, there again, I saw my own reflection and another just like me.
My scar from the Dragonsteel bullet wound began to flare. It was just a twinge at first. Then it blossomed. I meant to take a step back, but it was as if my limbs were stuck in cement. My chest seized. Something
invisible squeezed my ribcage, threatening to crush me. The bullet wound became the core of my agony. Gasping, I fell to the ground, rolling to my side.
I couldn't move. I could barely breathe. From where I lay, I could still see the surface of the water. The reflection of the other jaguar was still there, drinking from the water as if nothing was wrong.
I tried to growl. I tried to scream. No sound would come out. Then, a shadow blotted out the sun.
A pair of red wolf eyes hovered over me. I couldn’t even blink. Whatever magic he used held me paralyzed.
Erik. I couldn’t feel his pulse inside of me anymore. The phantom jaguar at the water moved. She was me. But that was impossible.
The wolf came to me, eyes still blazing. He shifted, then knelt beside me. He had a thick head of dark hair and deep-set eyes. They still glowed red.
He took hold of my jaw. I tried to sink my fangs into him.
“None of that,” he said, his Russian accent pronounced.
He tilted his head to the side and smirked. “Shift,” he commanded.
With a fresh wave of searing pain from the bullet wound, I did.
Gasping for air, he pinned me to the ground. “Don’t worry,” he said. “This will only hurt for a second, little cat.”
He shifted again. His fangs dripped as he hovered over me. I tried to rake deadly claws across his neck, but my limbs wouldn’t move.
It was a spell. Or poison. Maybe both. The gray wolf snapped his jaws. He nudged me with his head, forcing me over so I lay on all fours. I couldn’t even flick my tail.
He circled me. Ahead of me, I still saw my mirror image drinking from the stream.
I realized with cold horror it was part of his magic. However he was doing it, my doppelganger projected calm. Erik and the others couldn’t sense my distress.
I tried to let out a shrill growl, but even my throat was paralyzed. But, I could still feel pain. The wolf circled me, snapping his jaws. Would he kill me? Was he sent here to finish the job his pack member couldn’t that day on the bus?
It made no sense. Frozen as I was, he could have ripped my throat out in an instant. He came to me then, licking a trail through the fur along my spine. He stopped, hovering at the back of my neck. It was then I knew what he meant to do.
Dear God, killing me would have been better.
I screamed for Erik inside my head. He was my mate. I could deny it all I wanted, but I knew it was true. Only, I hadn’t let him mark me. We did not share the bond of telepathy and this wolf’s stolen magic blocked him from even hearing my racing pulse.
“No!” I silently screamed.
Then, pain flooded my nervous system as the wolf bit down hard at the base of my neck. There was nothing I could do.
It set my blood on fire. The faint thrumming of Erik’s pulse faded. In its place, the gray wolf’s thundered inside me.
He was an Alpha. And he had just marked me as his own.
No. God. No.
The wolf shifted. He knelt beside me and stroked my fur. His pulse beat steadily.
“Well done,” he said, though his words reached me inside my head. His lips never moved.
“I told you that wouldn’t hurt much. You’ve given us a lot of trouble. I understand your sister was easier. That’s all right. I like my mates feisty.”
Mates. How many had he claimed against their will?
“Let me go,” I thought. Then, I tried like hell to keep my mind still. The more I gave him, the stronger the connection between us would grow.
“Relax,” he said. “It’ll get easier each time. I’m not a monster. I would never force myself on you. In a few weeks, I won’t have to.”
Which is entirely the same thing! I wanted to shout.
“Get up,” he commanded. “Stay in your jaguar. I’ll let you know when you can shift again. We need to move.”
Though I tried to resist, my body bent to his command. Slowly, with ungainly, lurching steps, I got to my feet. My tail hung low. The doppelganger jaguar still took languid sips of water from the stream.
“Walk,” he commanded. “Stay close to my side. When we reach the foothills of that tallest mountain there, I expect you to climb.”
He started walking. I fought with everything I had, but my feet wouldn’t obey. As he walked away, I had no choice but to follow. After a few yards, he reached down and picked up a pack he must have hidden there. He quickly threw on a pair of pants and pulled out a diamond-studded, pink leather collar and leash.
I froze. I managed to bare my teeth. But, when he got close to me with the collar, I couldn’t snap him.
“Take it easy, cat,” he said. “I don't want to hurt you, but I will.”
I was helpless as he slipped the collar around my neck then snapped the leash to it. He tugged me forward as we made our way to the mountain.
How much time did I have? Never mind the decoy jaguar this bastard left behind, Erik would come after me before too long. He would piece it together. He had to.
With each step the gray wolf forced me to take, cold horror snaked its way through me. In one ripping bite, this wolf had broken through the bond I shared with Erik. He would figure out I’d gone missing, but he would have no special power to track me.
It wasn’t long before we reached the mountain. I tried to dig my paws into the ground. The urge to climb and run pulsed through me. It was my Alpha’s command.
He shifted. His wolf loomed large over me.
“Stay,” he commanded.
He circled me, rubbing the length of his body against mine. I let out a slow, rhythmic purr.
“Time to go.” His words blasted into my mind. I felt his need to howl, but he suppressed it. In the distance, I heard another howl rise high.
Erik.
His distress cut through me. He was calling for me. My brain and heart short-circuited. I wanted to answer his call. My need to run to him tore through me. But, the Alpha’s mark overrode it. The moment I tried to turn toward Erik’s call, my muscles seized up in agony.
“Don’t try it,” the Alpha’s words assaulted my brain. “Now run, little cat. Keep up.”
He started to climb the rocks. He held the end of my leash between his teeth.
He jerked me forward. I tried to look back.
There was nothing I could do. As I passed a sharp, jagged rock, I leaned into it.
It was small. Just a tiny cut along my right flank. But, it was enough to draw blood.
The Alpha was running at top speed now. I raced at his side. Far below, I heard the calls of the bear shifter and the tiger sent to protect me. And I heard Erik’s lonely howl rise above the rest.
Chapter Twenty
Erik
“Nova?”
She stood at the edge of a small stream, bowing her head as she lapped at the water. When I approached, she didn’t seem to hear me.
To the east, I heard Dirk, the tiger shifter, as he finished his patrol of the perimeter.
“Nova,” I said again. I wanted to shift and hunt with her. She’d made it clear she needed a couple of hours to “be.” I understood that.
Sun beat down, turning the bubbling water from the stream gold. Nova lifted her head again. Her amber eyes fixed on a point in front of her right where I stood, but she didn’t seem to see me.
It was then I noticed that the light was wrong. From this angle, her eyes should have lit up with sunlight. Instead, she stayed mostly in shadow.
“Nova!” My voice came out sharp, a warning growl. She simply lowered her head and began to drink again.
I went to her, leaping over the narrow stream. She didn’t react. I reached for her, intending to put a light hand just above her shoulder.
My hand went straight through her. There was nothing there but air. The image of Nova shimmered for a moment. Then vanished into black vapor.
“Nova!”
Heart hammering, I crouched low. She was here. Her scent was everywhere. I closed my eyes and listened for the beat of her pulse beside mi
ne. It was there just a moment ago. Now, its absence hollowed me out.
There was movement through the trees. Dirk’s tiger emerged. Seeing me, he shifted.
“Where is she?” I yelled.
“She was right here,” Dirk said. “Drinking water from the stream.”
Lingering remnants of black smoke swirled where Nova’s image had been. I let it fill my nostrils and released enough of my wolf to catch the scent.
“Black magic,” I said, my voice a hoarse whisper.
Dirk crossed the stream. He waved his hands through the smoke. His nostrils flared and I knew he smelled what I had.
“There was nobody here,” he said. “Erik, I swear. I’ve been through here ten times in the last hour. There was just Nova.”
I grabbed him by the shoulder, letting rage overtake me. I shoved his back against the tree.
“Didn’t you call to her? Didn’t you notice something wrong? It took me two seconds to see that was just a shadow.”
Dirk put his hands up. His tiger eyes flared, but he had more control of his animal than I did at that moment.
“You told us not to bother her. You told us just to keep eyes on her. I did. You saw what I did.”
I shoved him harder. “That’s your excuse!”
Dirk pushed back. My fangs dropped.
“Stop!” My other men reached us, sensing the alarm I’d raised. I had two other wolf shifters out here this morning. Rick and Sonny.
“She’s gone,” I said, trying to stave off the panic. “Something took her.”
“Or she had some kind of borrowed magic,” Dirk said. “Hey man, I know she’s your...but didn’t she try slipping away from you in the city a few weeks ago?”
“No,” I said. “No. She knew not to go off by herself.”
“You can’t scent her?” Sonny asked.
I paused for an instant, then shifted. The others quickly followed suit. I pressed my nose to the ground.
There were traces of Nova. She’d been here. I had no doubt. But after a few feet, the scent of her faded.
I shifted back. I put a hand on Rick’s back. He shifted and rose on two feet. “Where’s your phone?” I asked.
