by Dana Archer
She hadn’t even kissed him. Tonight’s little encounter was the closest they’d gotten.
For months, they’d danced around their mutual attraction. They’d been ordered to stay away from each other. For their own good, of course. Better not to know what it was like to be with him. The rational side of her understood, but her heart…
“For the love of god, Mira. Go back to him and tell him you’re sorry.”
Mira stopped her restless steps and glanced at her new sister. It still amazed her the tiny female had been able to soothe her brother’s broken mind. For three centuries Mira had lived with the guilt of her actions. She’d never once regretted killing Edmund. The remorse she carried was for allowing Devin to take her punishment.
She should’ve stopped him before he left their familial home to go to the shifter prison, but her heart and body had hurt too much. That was her weakness, her shame. And Devin had suffered for it. Not anymore. He’d found his true mate and could finally live.
“No, it’s better this way.” If she kept repeating that maybe she’d believe it.
“You love him, don’t you?”
Did it matter? Mira shook her head, refusing to give life to her emotions. “Honestly, I don’t know. I crave him. That’s not the same thing.”
“You’re as stubborn as your twin.”
Mira crossed her arms. “I do not—”
“Whatever, Mira.” Lena leveled a hard glare on her worthy of any alpha shifter. “I’m not going to argue about the L-word with you, but I will say this—if you let Josh go, you’re a fool.”
“Then I’m a fool because—”
The ringing phone stopped her words. With a sigh, she grabbed the house line. “Hello?”
“Mira? It’s Sara. I’m…I’m one of the waitresses at Josh’s bar.” Her voice sounded high and panicked.
Mira tensed. “Yes, I know who you are. What’s wrong?”
“Josh’s parents are out of town and”—the woman choked back a sob—“I didn’t know who else to call.”
“Sara, calm down and tell me what’s wrong.”
“I forgot my wallet at the bar so I came back and found Josh lying there bleeding. There was a gun on the ground, and I couldn’t find a pulse. I thought—”
Mira’s heart skipped a beat. “Dead. He’s dead?”
“No! I was wrong. He started groaning. I called an ambulance. They’re on their way.”
She tightened her grip on the phone. “How badly is he hurt?”
“I don’t know. He’s on his stomach. I’m afraid to move him.”
“I’m coming.” She dropped the phone and ran for the front door. Kade and Devin turned at her sudden appearance. “Josh has been hurt.”
Devin cursed and glanced toward his mate.
“Go, go. I’ll stay with Molly,” Lena called out.
Mira hopped into the backseat of Kade’s Barracuda while the males took the front. They pulled out, tires squealing. She listened to the engine’s rumble, ignored Devin’s demands to know what had happened, and prayed they weren’t too late. She wanted to get to Josh’s side before the humans did. He was hers to protect and cherish. She’d made sure of it when she claimed him as her beloved human.
Once she knew he was safe, she’d hunt down the human who’d attacked him and make the coward pay for his crime, slowly and painfully until he begged for mercy.
No one harmed what belonged to her. No one, not even her.
Chapter 3
Josh sat on the edge of the ambulance, just inside the open door. The paramedics had wanted him to get on a stretcher. He’d refused. Seeing the rolling table had brought back a memory he hadn’t wanted to recall—his baby sister restrained on one with blood over her swollen belly. He’d slammed the door on the thoughts before all the other ones he kept locked away escaped.
The medic had still insisted on treating him, so Josh had sat on the hard metal. While the guy cleaned the excess blood from his stomach, Josh studied the exposed skin. He cursed inwardly. The cut curved from his rib cage to his hipbone. When he’d first regained consciousness, it had been fairly deep. Now it looked like a nasty scratch.
The middle-aged man finished taping the dressing. “If you hadn’t jumped out of the way, he could’ve done some major damage.”
The lie he’d come up with while waiting for the ambulance wouldn’t hold up in court, especially if the cops found Zeb’s knife, but he had to explain away his lack of an injury. No way did he want to admit his miraculous recovery was from his involvement with the shifters.
He’d consumed a lot of their blood during the weeks he’d been participating in their popular brawls. The fights gave the shifters an excuse to beat on one another. For Josh, it allowed him to hone his body and distract himself from obsessing over Mira, not that he’d succeeded in the latter. Still, it gave him something else to focus on for a few hours a week. Plus, they were fun.
Many of the shifters enjoyed taking him on in the fights, but more often than not Josh had needed a little intervention to ensure he could walk away. He’d always felt stronger, more powerful, and well, just…better in the days after he’d taken their blood. He didn’t even fall victim to the case of food poisoning that had sickened many of the employees in his bar the last time they’d had Chinese food.
He had to assume the lingering effect of his last dose of shifter blood was the reason he’d recovered so well today. It was the only explanation he could come up with that sounded logical. The other, a memory of pain, apple pie, and Mira’s eyes, made no sense whatsoever.
He shoved the crazy image in the locked box with the ones of finding his beautiful sister tortured and in labor. The door was going to burst soon. He’d experienced too many horrors in his life.
He counted backward from a hundred. His racing heart slowed. The memories faded away. He breathed a sigh of relief.
The older medic pushed to his feet and patted him on the shoulder. “You’re a lucky man, Mr. Conway.”
“I suppose.”
The other man held out his hand for the phone Josh held. “Are you done with that or do you need to make another call?”
He passed the cell over. “Nope. I’m good.”
He’d gotten the info he’d needed when Zeb had answered his phone with a slurred, incoherent greeting. He’d reacted exactly the way Josh had expected. Zeb had gone home and gotten drunk—his MO. It gave Josh time to deal with the mess he was currently in before averting another.
The medic collected Josh’s bloody shirt and the remaining dressings and tossed them in a Haz-waste bag. “You really should come to the hospital to get some blood tests. You bled an awful lot for such a small wound.”
“I’ll call my doctor in the morning.” Or not. Josh cleared his throat. “Are you all done?”
“If you won’t take the pain meds, then I am. Do you have somebody to stay with you overnight?”
“Yeah, I’m good,” Josh lied. Truth was he didn’t want anyone around him. He didn’t feel quite…right. Company wouldn’t be welcome tonight, not when his skin crawled, and his gut rolled. It took every ounce of self-control he had not to scratch madly at his arms and legs.
The medic stepped away and a small pair of booted feet took his place in front of Josh.
He sighed and glanced into Bree’s concerned face. Five-foot-two, one-hundred and-ten pounds, and a no-bullshit attitude made his little cousin the best cop in the county. He knew she still struggled with the sexist attitudes of many of the other police officers, but Bree never let it bother her. She just worked harder and better than everyone else to prove herself.
“Officer Rodrick.”
“Who did this?”
“I got in a fight with Zeb. He nicked me. I must’ve hit my head and blacked out. Last thing I remember is tripping and falling.” Along with the scent of apples and the feeling of burning alive. He rubbed at the back of his neck where tingles skipped along his skin. “I woke up when Sara was talking on the phone.”
&
nbsp; Bree narrowed her eyes. She pointedly looked from the blood-soaked gravel to the bandage on his stomach. “And you bled that much from a little nick?”
“Must have something wrong with my blood. I don’t know why it didn’t clot sooner.” He shrugged. “I’ll call Doc tomorrow.”
After glaring at him for another long moment, she huffed. “What were you fighting about?”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m not pressing charges.”
She widened her stance more. “You don’t get to decide. Zeb shot at you. That’s not something I can let go. He’s on probation.”
“You do what you have to but don’t expect my involvement. Just do me a favor.” He leaned forward and turned pleading eyes on his stubborn cousin.
“Don’t pull the ‘I’m family’ card, Josh. You know I hate that.”
Yeah, he knew, but he couldn’t let anyone find the knife that had nearly gutted him. People would start asking questions. “Please, Bree, just hear me out. I called him. He’s home and was minutes from passing out. He’s not going anywhere. Give me tonight to talk to him. We had a disagreement. I want to clear it up.”
“What kind of disagreement?”
The black muscle car pulling into the lot stopped his answer. Josh stepped around his cousin and strode toward Kade’s ’Cuda. Mira jumped out before it came to a complete stop and ran straight to him. Josh opened his arms and enveloped her in his embrace. The scent of spring rain chased away the lingering clover and cinnamon in his nose. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled more of her comforting fragrance.
“Are you okay?”
The concern in her voice slowed the churning in his gut. Another deep breath and the itch lessened. “I am now.”
“Sara said you were bleeding and unconscious.” Mira pulled back and ran her hands over his bare sides. She fingered the tape holding the large bandage. “Gods, what happened?”
“I got in a fight. The guy nicked me, but it was a long cut. Needed a big bandage.” He grinned, hoping to ease some of the worry in her eyes. “You can kiss it later and make it better.”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth he tensed, expecting Devin or Kade to say something. They didn’t. Both shifters stood with their backs to them, talking to Bree’s deputy.
Josh jerked his chin in their direction. “Have your bodyguards decided to stop giving us a hard time?”
She gently skimmed her fingertips around the white dressing. “Not in this lifetime, but they want to know who hurt you so we can return the favor.”
“No.” He focused on her and let her see his determination. “I don’t want them or you involved.”
That’d be a disaster. After what had happened tonight, he had to corner Zeb and convince him he hadn’t nearly gutted Josh. Zeb might be slow in a lot of things, but Josh couldn’t take the chance Zeb would put two and two together and start looking too closely into the affairs of Josh’s new friends.
Josh might only be an honorary member of the pride, but it didn’t mean he wouldn’t protect them at all costs the same way the full-blooded shifters would.
“You’re a member of our family. We protect our own.”
He loved the fire in her eyes. He brushed his knuckles over her cheek. “I know, but this isn’t something that needs their interference or yours. It was a little fight. That’s it. I’ll handle it.” She opened her mouth. He pressed a finger to her plump lips to stop her argument. “I won’t allow anyone to fight my battles, and this one simply got out of hand. Okay?”
Mira held his gaze for a long moment. Finally, she breathed a sigh, and his tension eased.
“Yes, okay, but if this person”—she choked on the word—“hurts you again, all bets are off.”
“This person was human,” he whispered, conscious of the people around them. “He’s also not accepting of anything different. Leave him be.”
She pressed her forehead to his chest, and he rubbed her back in long soothing strokes along the length of her spine. She’d talked to him one night about her fears for the future. He shared them too, which was why he couldn’t let Zeb get any crazy ideas in his head.
Shifters were known by nearly every government in the world. In most modernized countries, they were accepted as citizens with special provisions taken to hide their age and others to legalize certain instinctual customs, including their devotion to their beloved humans.
Those who were entrusted with the knowledge of shifters’ existence understood the danger to the world if the general populace learned about the nonhumans living among them. It didn’t take much to picture the scenarios of what would happen if they found out they weren’t alone. None of those situations were good. As much as he loved his fellow neighbor, he knew the peaceful acceptance of another species wouldn’t happen. Hate ran deep in human culture.
The only problem was—the shifters’ secret wouldn’t remain hidden forever. Josh felt as though they were riding the peaceful waves before the storm. One of these days, the secret would come out. He refused to be the reason it did.
Devin approached and cleared his throat. Josh loosened the tight circle of his arms. “Yeah?”
Devin glanced from Josh’s linked hands at Mira’s waist to his face. Although Devin’s expression remained blank, displeasure rolled off him. “Mira wanted the honors, but I’m going to pay Zeb a visit. They’ll take you home.”
Josh set Mira to the side and took a step forward. “I already discussed this with Mira. I’m the only one who’ll be paying him a visit, and”—he motioned behind him—“my car is right there. I can drive myself.”
“Absolutely not.” Devin whipped his head around to peer at Mira. After a moment, while they no doubt engaged in a telepathic argument, Devin snapped his teeth together. “I don’t like it.”
“I agreed. The discussion is over.” She stroked her fingertips over Josh’s biceps. “Let’s get you home.”
Josh grasped her wrist. “I don’t—”
She looked over her shoulder. “You shouldn’t drive if you hit your head hard enough to black out.”
Josh took in the stubbornness and worry stamped on her face and sighed. The sooner he assured her he was well, the quicker he could deal with Zeb and make sure she was safe. “Fine, let’s roll.”
They climbed into the ’Cuda. The short drive to the house Josh had moved into the previous week passed in silence after he refused to answer Devin’s pointed questions about the injury he’d suffered. Josh didn’t need anyone else’s doubts on top of his own. As soon as he’d gotten in the car with the other shifters, the crawling sensation had returned.
Kade parked in front of Josh’s fixer-upper farmhouse and motioned toward the door. “I called Zach to come stay with you tonight. He’ll be out within the hour.”
“No way. I don’t need a babysitter.”
Kade narrowed his eyes. “Mira won’t be content until she knows you’re well, and I won’t allow her to stay here tonight. Deal with it, or you can come room with me.”
Josh ground his teeth. Instead of wasting time arguing, he bit out, “Fine.”
“Good.” Kade motioned toward the house. “Do you need help getting settled?”
Mira grabbed Josh’s hand before he could answer. “I’ll help him.”
“Don’t take too long and remember the rules.” Devin’s focused gaze held a warning.
She opened the door, pulling Josh along with her. “Sure, okay.”
They hurried up the steps and slipped inside. With the door shut behind them, Josh crowded her against the hardwood surface. He leaned in to kiss her, but she bent her head so his lips brushed over her forehead instead.
She splayed her hands over his chest and gave him a slight push, not enough to break his hold, more of a ‘hold on’ move.
He clamped down on his disappointment.
“So I guess you didn’t come in here so I could ravish you.” Not that he had time to indulge in her, but he hated losing any moment with Mira.
She w
rapped her hands around his waist and snuggled close, her cheek over his heart. “Please, just stop. I’d like nothing more than to go upstairs with you. It can’t happen.”
He shoved away before he swept her into his arms and did exactly that. “Go home, then. I’ll be fine until my babysitter shows up.”
She twisted her fingers together. He turned his back on the sight and walked to the living room.
Moving boxes filled the otherwise empty space. He opened one and started unpacking the stacks of movies, anything to distract him from what he wanted to do with the woman standing behind him.
Dusty VHS tapes took up most of the space inside the crate. Why had he brought them? He didn’t even own a player anymore. Hadn’t even watched any of them in years. With them piled off to the side, he pulled out the discs he could use.
Mira grasped his wrist, stopping him from reaching for the next movie. “Ignoring this won’t make it go away.”
He yanked his hand free. “What do you want me to do? I’ve made it clear I want you. You said no, and I’m in no mood to fight tonight.”
Silence stretched while he continued to unpack. He felt her gaze on his back no matter where he moved in the room.
Finally, she sighed. “No matter who I end up mating, I don’t want to lose you.”
He slammed a disc down. “You can’t lose what you don’t have. And this”—he brushed his fingertips over his scarred cheek that carried her scent—“doesn’t give you any rights to me.”
He turned away, unable to bear the hurt expression on her face, and reached for another movie. Not looking at her didn’t stop the memory of her laving the wound Devin had caused when he’d swiped a clawed hand across Josh’s face in a fit of rage.
Josh had almost kissed her that night, probably would’ve made love to her too if she would’ve let him. Kade had stopped them in a frenzied panic as if he’d known they were about to get naked. That was when all the ridiculous rules had started.
“It makes you my beloved human.”
