by Dana Archer
He pivoted in a slow circle and focused on the shimmering wall. A hand reached for him. One talon-tipped finger curled, coaxing him closer. He took a step toward that out-stretched arm.
Something wet and cold splashed over him.
Josh jerked awake, fists raised. Golden brown eyes filled his vision. He blinked to bring them into focus. The long blond hair clued him in as to which twin had woken him up.
“Rafe? What are you doing here?” He sat up straighter, muscles as coiled as they’d been in his dream. “Is Megan okay? Molly?”
Rafe gave a single nod, a pleased look on his face. “They’re fine. Megan was curled up with Molly’s cub form when I left. They were watching some cartoon with a talking dog.”
“That’s good.” Josh sighed. “What’s wrong, then? You look worried.” His heart skipped a beat as the next thought took hold. He forced his mouth to work. “Is it Mira?”
“She’s with Jazz. They’re both fine too.” Rafe ran a hand through his hair. “I like you, Josh. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
Josh groaned. He rubbed the back of his hand over his face and turned away. “Don’t bother with the lecture. Your twin already delivered my warning.”
“Warning?”
The confusion in Rafe’s voice caught Josh’s attention. He glanced over his shoulder. “That once Mira’s suitors are announced, they’ll have the right to ensure her attentions aren’t diverted by the insignificant human, using whatever means they see fit. Short of killing me, that is.”
“And you’re okay with that.”
“No, I’m not.”
Josh prowled the office, pacing from one end to the other. He’d come here earlier in the morning after his unwanted encounter with Abby to pick up his liquid therapy, but he hadn’t been able to drive home. The itch had returned, leaving him agitated. He’d shoved away the worry about why before his heart started racing, then had started drinking.
Obviously the liquor-induced sleep hadn’t helped. He had the urge to rip his fingernails off. They thumped. The tremor in his limbs didn’t help matters either.
Calm down. He had to keep it together in front of the predator. If he looked weak, Rafe would tell Kade, and they might take Megan from him. The reminder helped. He stopped and pivoted to face Rafe.
“I want Mira. I have since the moment I set eyes on her. That’s no secret.”
Rafe pointedly glanced at the empty bottle of whiskey on the desk. He slowly raised his gaze and stared at him. “So why were you passed out drunk and not getting ready for tonight’s meeting?”
Josh stopped and leaned against the empty bookshelf. “Why? So I can torture myself?”
“Jazz and Lena cornered me today. They think they’ve found a loophole in the Council’s order. It states Mira must choose a mate but doesn’t specify it has to be a shifter mate. Nor does it say what type of mate bond she must form.”
Josh’s pulse kicked up. That was what he’d tried suggesting to Mira. A union blessed under the light of the full moon qualified as a mating in the eyes of the shifters. No physical or mystical mate bond required.
Those unions blessed by a pride leader or pack alpha were meant as a consideration for widowers who went on to love again, allowing them to benefit from mating laws. The alpha from the Kagan pack had taken the practice a step further a few decades ago.
Nicholas Kagan had blessed a gay couple. That bold act had changed the course of history. Xander had told Josh about it one night and how Xander was considering meeting with the newest alpha to see if the son was as openminded as his father had been.
Yes, a union blessed by Kade might just be the answer to Josh and Mira’s problems. At least Josh had thought it the perfect solution until he found out about the prophecy.
“Has Mira said anything to them about me? Does she think I’m her true mate?”
“Not outright, but we’ve all seen how she acts around you. She’s calmer. Content. At peace.” Rafe gave him a sympathetic look. “Those are pretty good indicators. She’s also admitted to them she can’t stay away from you. Kissing you in the bar triggered her instincts. You’ve seen what happens when our males’ mating instincts are triggered. For a female, it’s not as blatant but no less powerful. She might fight the pull, but she’ll fail.”
“That’s what I thought.” He was hers. Too bad he’d been born in the wrong body.
Rafe sighed. “Jazz and Lena hope a union blessed by Kade and a marriage in the human world will override the Council’s order to take a mate. Jazz and Lena don’t want to see Mira hurt when she’s forced to mate another male, and frankly, neither do I.”
The word ‘marriage’ didn’t faze Josh. He’d take her to the courthouse today if that was what it took to lock her to his side, but nothing in his life worked so easily. Josh stepped back, the defeat forcing more bile into his throat. “What about the prophecy?”
“The prophecy never came with a time limit. Being with you does. If the two of you take this path, it’s only going to offer her a reprieve.”
“Being with me will hurt her.” It already had.
“Jazz and Lena think not being with you even for a little while will hurt worse. They had a phrase that convinced me to come out here and talk to you—‘better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all’.”
Zoe said the same thing. She treasured the memories she’d made before she lost her fiancé. Still, Zoe’s situation wasn’t as screwed-up as Josh’s with Mira. The species difference became the deal-breaker.
“Just come.” Rafe tossed him the T-shirt Josh had taken off before he’d lain down. “Mira will need you. Just having you close strengthens her. She smells calmer when you’re around.”
Josh nodded. He didn’t have to ponder his answer. If Mira needed him, he’d go, even if it killed him. His wants came second.
Chapter 10
Mira paced from one end of the library in Kade’s house to the other. The built-in shelves sat empty, and the walls remained unadorned, not a surprise. The home technically wasn’t finished. Only a handful of bedrooms, one bathroom, and the kitchen were in working order. She took in all the details and without anything else to distract her, her strides quickened.
With her racing pulse and her rapid breaths, she hovered on the verge of an anxiety attack, a leftover from her teen years. For a long time after Edmund raped her, the sight of any stranger sent her running for cover. She no longer feared being overpowered by a male. Long, hard hours of training with Devin and their younger brother, Dante, had ensured she could hold her own, but the automatic reaction to any threat still lingered. The response embarrassed her. Unfortunately, as much as she tried to stop it, tense situations or strong emotions set her off.
She forced herself to stop pacing and peered out the big window overlooking what would eventually be the gardens. At the moment, the yard consisted of a lumpy dirt pile. Stacks of wood, tarp-covered stone, and other building supplies sat neatly arranged near the far wall.
Thankfully, no construction workers roamed the grounds. She was grateful for that. She’d forgotten to put in her contacts and dye her hair. The slip in her almost daily routine spoke of how stressed she’d been since she’d left Josh’s side. If the lack of her human guise had been the only mistake she’d made recently, she wouldn’t feel so bad. No. Shifting and frightening a human, maybe even injuring her, was Mira’s biggest problem. Not actually remembering what she had done made everything worse.
She pressed her palms to her eyes and groaned. She still didn’t know who the woman was to Josh. When she’d asked Kade, he’d told her he’d taken care of it. She was to meet him here to discuss her act of indiscretion. In other words, receive her punishment.
Mira tensed as the soft footfalls in the hallway announced her leader’s arrival. The door closed with a click. She waited another moment before turning around. Her brows pinched at the sight that met her.
A shirtless Kade strode to the room’s only piece of furniture, a large oa
k desk. Deep claw marks bisected his chest. The wounds were healing before her eyes, but the shock came from seeing the evidence of whatever tussle he’d been involved in. Royals healed quickly, so he’d either been injured badly or had come straight from a fight.
“What happened?”
Kade didn’t answer. He opened the bottom drawer of the desk, removed a thick black towel, and wiped the blood from his skin. With controlled movements, he balled the towel and dropped the bundle to the floor.
Arms crossed over his chest, he studied her until she dropped her gaze. “I took your punishment.”
She glanced at him. “But why?”
“Because it is my right to shoulder my family’s pain.” Kade stormed toward her. Using a single finger, he tipped up her chin. “Why Mira? An inch more and you would’ve sliced her femoral artery.”
“I hurt her?” She tried to remember what had happened. Only her jaguar’s rage lingered in her memory. “How badly?”
He released her with a shove. She stumbled. Kade strode across the room. He faced her once he reached the door. His chest rose and fell roughly. Claws slid from his fingertips. Her inner animals responded to the threat, pushing to be set free. She forced them back. She deserved her pride leader’s wrath.
“The female needed stitches. Since she couldn’t go to the hospital, I had to intervene.”
Her stomach churned with the revelation of her sin. She swallowed the rising bile. “I am sorry you had to give her blood.”
Kade closed the distance between them. “She refused my gift!”
He panted hard. Fangs filled his mouth. And the warmth emanating from his skin warned her he barely had control of his cats. Fear slithered into her belly, heaving the contents. She held her breath and waited.
Kade leaned closer so his hot breath washed over her face. “I was forced to lick them shut.” Thereby making the female his beloved human.
She stifled a gasp at what that meant. Kade would not only be drawn to the woman because she carried his scent, but he’d be responsible for her safety. Or least that was what most shifters felt. Zach was the exception. He avoided his beloved human as if Ella carried the plague.
Kade stormed away, his angry steps betraying his conflicting emotions.
“I am sorry.” She forced herself to respond. “Is Josh’s lover well?”
Kade stopped mid-step and jerked his head to glare at her. “The human is not Josh’s lover. Had you not given in to your ridiculous jealousy, you’d have realized that.”
Trepidation settled over her, chilling her soul. “Then who is she?”
“His baby sister, Zoe.”
She covered her eyes and slid down the wall on a garbled moan. The sweet way Josh had spoken to her should’ve clued her in. There’d been tenderness in his voice, not lust. She’d written it off. In light of Kade’s revelation, it made perfect sense.
“I’m so sorry.” She dropped her hands and met Kade’s derisive glare. “I’m in your debt. I’ll take over the female’s protection.”
A shudder ran through him. He closed his eyes and groaned, the sound reminding her of a wounded animal. “You know I can’t allow that. She’s my burden now.”
Mira knew all too well the instinctual drive to watch over a beloved human. If she had her way, Josh would be locked to her side twenty-four/seven. “Is Zoe well?”
Kade nodded. “She will carry your scar. I didn’t get to her soon enough, but otherwise she’s fine.”
“That’s good to hear.”
A long moment passed in silence while he stared at her. “Please tell me you’re not actually considering mating him.”
Mira wasn’t sure how to answer that. She had thought about mating Josh, even though she knew it was impossible, but feared offering her response in the face of Kade’s anger. She must’ve debated too long. He slammed his fist against the desk.
“Why can’t you follow the rules? You can’t take a human male as your mate.”
“Not in truth, I know that.” She wasn’t about to admit how often she’d contemplated trying to tie Josh to her anyway. It’d be a death sentence…for both of them. The deities’ words were law. Unbreakable. Still, desperation fed her doubt.
“Good.” He leaned across the desk separating them. “Keeping him as a lover would only label you as a fool, too. Don’t even think about it.”
Her irritation got the better of her. She straightened her spine. “Why? Josh is the first male who ever wanted me as a person, not as a breeder or something to use to get off. Would it be so wrong if I marry him?”
“Want you as a person?” Kade smirked. “Are you sure about that? Humans, especially males, will sleep with anyone that gives them the time of day. You are not special to Josh.”
Kade stepped closer. He took the chin he’d roughly held a minute ago and ran his thumb along her jaw, the soft touch at odds with the hard glint in his eyes. “You’re beautiful, Mira. Sensual and sexy. A walking wet dream. That’s what Josh sees when he looks at you—a fantasy. You are not someone he wants to marry.”
“So, you’re saying Josh doesn’t want me”—she swallowed and forced herself to add—“for more than a tumble.”
“Exactly.”
She clamped her teeth together to resist snapping at Kade’s fingers. Part of her wanted to admit she suspected Josh was her true mate, but she knew in the end it didn’t matter. With Josh’s soul being stuck in a human body, they couldn’t form a soul-bond, guaranteeing they lived and died together, or even the one-way breeding bond that was popular among shifters who didn’t want to tie their eternal life to a lover.
“I’ve given this much thought and blame myself for this situation.” Kade sighed. “He’s been told over and over he can’t have you. That makes the unattainable prize seem sweeter, but honestly, after the stunt you pulled, I doubt he’ll feel anything toward you besides disgust. He’ll be glad he didn’t sleep with you.”
The tremor in her limbs betrayed her anxiety. She feared the same. Kade wrapped his arms around her, tucking her smaller frame into the shelter of his. She buried her face in his shirt, needing the comfort he offered. Shifters were a touchy-feely bunch. At the moment, she hurt.
“I didn’t mean to upset you. You know I care about you.”
Kade did care about her. She’d been a member of his family’s pride since her sixtieth winter. Although fully mature, she’d been skittish. She’d needed constant reassurance, and Kade had given it to her. He was also the first male she’d trusted enough to have sex with, but like all the other encounters she’d had over the years, it meant nothing more than the physical act. Actually, he was the last male she’d been intimate with, too. They’d gone full circle and remained friends throughout the centuries.
She tightened her grip around his waist. “If you care about me, then why not fight the Council’s order? If you use the goddesses’ prophecy as an excuse, we might be able to stop them.”
He sighed and stepped away from her. Stiffness tightened his shoulders. “I can’t. This has to play out. You must be mated. Sooner rather than later.”
Chapter 11
Josh sipped his third cup of strong black coffee. A jackhammer pounded behind his eyes and each smack echoed in his head. With the visor down in the car, he squinted against the late-afternoon sunset. Relief from the shooting pain piercing his brain came with each little bit the sun slipped below the horizon. He breathed a sigh as darkness blanketed the countryside.
The ache in his bones had worsened since the disaster earlier in the day when he’d bitten Mira. His earlier thought came back to him. He was getting old. No escaping it. That was part of life, for humans at least. The shifter driving didn’t have to worry about arthritis or gray hair. He’d forever look the same, exactly as he had the day he’d matured. The only thing he had to worry about was his hair. Why that grew while nothing else on his body changed, including his facial hair, Josh didn’t know nor did he bother asking. What was the point?
No matter h
ow much it angered him, he couldn’t ignore the facts. A mortal man could only keep up with the predators for so long before the limitations of his body held him back.
He peered into the visor mirror and groaned at the sight he made. He looked like death warmed over. Bloodshot eyes stared back at him. The stubble darkening his cheeks gave him an unkempt, gruff appearance. On top of that, he had the chalky look of someone who’d overindulged. The dark circles marring his face added to the overall image.
He dropped his head back against the seat. “I look like death warmed over.”
“At least you no longer smell like day-old beer. Plus, the cold shower cleared the dazed look from your eyes.” Rafe chuckled. “What were you trying to do? Drink yourself into oblivion?”
“Something like that.”
Silence descended. The engine’s rumble and their breaths were the only sounds. The radio had gotten turned off within the first five minutes. Even on low, it had hurt his head. The handful of aspirin he’d downed hadn’t touched the pain. Not surprising, really. With the amount of shifter blood he’d consumed over the past couple of months, human medicine didn’t work well for him. Actually, without all the donations he’d gotten from the felines and the wolves, he probably would’ve died before Sara found him or at the very least, still been in the hospital recovering.
If Kade had known how many times Josh had skirted death or serious injury, he’d have ordered him to stop participating in the popular brawls the shifters engaged in for fun. That wasn’t happening. He needed the outlet. At first, it had been to build his stamina so he could protect Megan. Then it had become necessary to deal with his sexual frustration for Mira.
From the moment he’d laid eyes on Mira, he’d become obsessed with her. Every day proved worse than the last. It’d gotten to the point he’d started carrying around the picture of her he’d snapped at Rafe and Jazz’s wedding so he had some connection to her. The wrinkled print showed how often he took it out simply to look at Mira’s image. The nights were the worst. He dreamt of her. Woke up aching and stiff. His hand in the spray of cold water and the fights had been his only relief.
