Ava looked back and forth between her relatives, confused. “What are you talking about?” she asked.
Trent turned grim eyes on her. “The shifters. They crossed the northern property line again early this morning. I warned them what would happen if they didn’t stay on their own land.”
Ava felt cold suddenly. “But, aren’t there laws against hunting shifters?”
Trent stood from the couch, giving Ava space that she was suddenly very grateful for. “There aren’t any laws that keep a man from defending his own property against wildlife.”
Ava glanced at Pearle. The small woman had become very quiet, her face oddly blank. Did she feel as uncomfortable as Ava did? She didn’t remember her uncle being so outspoken against shifters, even referring to them as lesser beings than humans. The thought of laying out traps to catch creatures that took the form of humans deeply unsettled her.
“Well, I’m back to work on that southern fence. See you soon, darling.” He leaned over and gave his wife a peck on the cheek. Pearle didn’t refuse it, but she didn’t return it either. Trent turned to Ava one last time. “We’re so glad you’re here, Ava. I hope you will learn to love it here as much as we all do.” He gave a kind, wrinkled smile, then turned and left the way he had come.
The room was briefly silent. Ava sat still, watching Pearle, wondering what her aunt was thinking.
Pearle took a sudden breath like she was waking up from a trance. She seemed to remember Ava was in the room with her and smiled. “I’ll get my purse.”
Chapter 9
The ride into town was a blur for Ava. She offered automatic replies to Pearle’s peppy conversation and watched the endless trees speed by. At some point the trees transformed into buildings and Pearle was pulling into the parking lot of a large hardware store.
Ava glanced around as she unbuckled. “It looks like half the town is here.”
Pearle chuckled. “Bit different from the hot spots in California, isn’t it?”
Ava followed Pearle inside. It was, as Pearle had said, a hot spot. Customers milled about, some with shopping baskets, some seemingly there just to chat with their neighbors.
They passed a display housing animal traps of various sizes. Her eyes caught on a bear trap. She thought of the uncomfortable conversation her aunt and uncle had had.
Ava swallowed and looked up, but Pearle was nowhere in sight. She blew a strand of hair out of her eyes, annoyed. Really, Ava? Losing your mom at the store? I thought you were past this.
She froze at the thought of mom. Pearle was not her mom. Sure, the woman was kind and open, but Ava was sick at the thought of trying to find some substitute to fill the place in her heart where her mom had been for so long. How could she betray her mother’s memory like that?
Wetness dripped off her chin. Surprised, Ava touched her cheek and felt tears. How long had she been standing there crying? She looked around and caught an older woman staring at her as she wheeled her shopping cart past. Ava turned away, hunching her shoulders and swatting at her tears as she hurried down the aisle in the opposite direction. Her face was hot with embarrassment. Maybe she should have waited in the car while Pearle did her shopping. Maybe she should never have come to Colorado at all. She didn’t want anyone, especially not her relatives, to see her in this damaged, vulnerable state. As much as she wanted to hide her pain, the tears wouldn’t stop coming.
I have to get out of here, she thought. She walked faster. Then she was jogging. Get outside. Get a hold of yourself. Pearle doesn’t need to know about this.
Ava rounded a corner, not bothering to slow down and see if anyone was coming from the opposite direction.
Someone was. A tall, broad someone carrying an armload of boxes. A someone whose enormous black boots she promptly tripped over. Ava heard herself yelp as she pitched forward, arms stretched out to catch herself before she faceplanted into the floor.
A long, thickly muscled arm snaked around her waist and caught her before she and the floor had a chance to become acquainted. A dull crash sounded from behind her. Intuition told her that the stranger had abandoned his cargo in order to catch her. She felt immediate guilt that only piled onto the embarrassment that already burned in her cheeks.
“Are you alright?” a deep, male voice said into her ear.
Ava’s skin prickled at the voice. It was rough and low, and something about it made her aware of every part of her body. Of her belly, where she could feel the tendons of the man’s arm tensed around her. Of her back, where her shoulder blades were pressed into the broad expanse of a warm chest. Of her legs, which had become tangled in the stranger’s much longer ones. The man’s other arm circled underneath the first, gripping her hips. Ava swallowed. The stranger straightened, setting them both back on her feet. As soon as they had each regained balance, the arms fell away from Ava. She moved away from him like she’d been touching a hot surface and turned, a hasty apology ready on her lips.
“Oh my God, I am so, so…” Ava stopped. I really was touching a hot surface, she thought, flushing an even deeper shade of red.
The man standing before her was tall and beautiful and absolutely feral. She had experienced firsthand the corded muscles in his arms and saw that the rest of him followed suit. Powerful though he was, there was a sharp leanness to him that made her think of hunger and long hours of hard work. His dirty blond hair was shaved close to his head, showing off a small tribal tattoo behind his left ear. His right ear was covered in a white bandage.
Ava processed all of this in the split second before their eyes locked together. He stared down at her with eyes that were a deep, burning gold. Her breath caught in her throat. A shifter. This is a shifter standing in front of me right now. Her lips parted, but she had no idea what to say.
The shifter’s gleaming eyes followed the movement of her mouth, then kept travelling down and back up again until he had encompassed her from head to toe with his gaze. Ava felt her cheeks heat again.
The man’s eyes returned to hers. “Are you alright?” he asked.
Ava realized dumbly that she had not answered the same question from earlier. She cleared her throat, determined not to make a complete fool of herself in front of the first shifter she’d ever met. “I’m fine. Yes. Um…” Her eyes fell to the scattered boxes the man had been carrying. “Oh God, I’m so sorry.” She stooped and reached for a box, expecting the man to join her and reach for one, too.
Instead, he caught Ava by the shoulder and pulled her upright again. She froze when she saw the intense, almost angry gaze he pinned on her. In a quiet, course voice he said, “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
“What?” Ava stared stupidly for a moment. Then she remembered that she’d been crying when she ran into him. Her eyes must look all red and swollen. Damn. She rubbed the sleeve of her jacket against each of her cheeks and avoided the man’s eyes. “It’s nothing,” she muttered. Desperate to change the situation, she spewed out, “Look, I’m really sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going, and—”
“Ava?” Pearle’s shocked voice made Ava turn. Her aunt stood with her shopping basket a few feet away, an ashy look on her face. Her eyes were locked on the man beside Ava.
Ava opened her mouth to speak, but it was the shifter who said, “Hello, Mrs. Randolph.”
Ava whirled back to him in time to see a cocky smile flash across his face. She turned back to Pearle. “Do you two know each other?”
Pearle’s lips pressed together, but she now seemed more annoyed than afraid. “This is our neighbor, Candor Hayes. Candor, my niece Ava.”
Ava glanced Candor’s way to find his eyes on her once again. The concern from a moment ago had disappeared as soon as Pearle had entered the scene, but she could still detect intrigue in his gaze. “Ava,” he said. “A pleasure.”
Ava fought the urge to swallow at the sound of her name in his mouth. “You too.” The words felt clumsy and wrong as soon as she said them. Was that even a proper response to what he had said
?
“Are you in town to visit the family?” Candor asked, surprising her. Attractive men usually glazed over her in search of finer quarry. She rarely got past the pleasantries with men as good looking as Candor.
“Um… That’s about the size of it. Yeah,” she said, tucking her hands into her back pockets. It was a nervous habit she thought she’d left behind in high school.
“I see.” Candor nodded. Somehow Ava knew that he was completely aware of her nervousness but was choosing to ignore it. “Planning to stay long?”
Ava shrugged, praying the casual gesture would mask her unease. “I haven’t solidified my plans yet.”
Candor nodded again. He never looked away from her as she spoke. It was as though he was content to stand there all day and listen to whatever meaningless things she wanted to say. On the other side of that coin, Ava could have become lost in those bright amber eyes for hours. No one had ever looked at her like she was the only person in the world.
No one except her mom.
Pearle cleared her throat. “Well, now that the introductions are out of the way,” she said, raising her eyebrows ever so slightly at Ava, “I think we’d best be headed out. We still need to stop by the grocery store for that sugar.”
Candor raised his eyebrows in return, but the gesture had an entirely different effect than Pearle’s. “If you needed a cup of sugar,” he said, “all you had to do was come by and ask. Isn’t that what neighbors are for?”
Pearle sighed like it was a line she’d heard once too often. “You have a good day too, Candor.”
Candor grinned. “Give my best to Trent,” he said. Ava couldn’t tell whether he was being serious.
Pearle began pushing her cart in the direction of the checkout counter. Ava moved to follow her, keeping her eyes on the ground to prevent herself from staring at Candor.
“Ava.”
She whirled like she’d heard a gunshot. “Yes?” Her own voice sounded breathless to her. Damn. Why couldn’t she get a hold of herself?
Candor still wore a faint smile. “It was a pleasure meeting you. Welcome to cougar country.”
Ava managed a nod and a smile. “Thanks. I guess I’ll see you around.” She turned and double timed to catch up with Pearle, her face heating once again.
Candor had used masked words, but Ava had heard his message loud and clear.
Watch your step, little girl. You’re in my territory now.
Chapter 10
The drive from Candor’s house to town usually took about half an hour. Sometimes he listened to the radio or planned which area of the territory he and his brothers would go re-mark next. But today, all he thought about was his run-in with the new arrival in town.
He had been distracted at the hardware store, thoughts of grief and revenge still thundering in his head. He hadn’t noticed the petite brunette until she was on her way to ground level. Catching her had been pure reflex, but Candor had thanked his instincts as soon as his arm wrapped around that slim waist. The scents from her hair had hit him like a tidal wave: old paper and burnt coffee, acetone and the waxy smells from a thousand different candles. And something else, something sharp and saline.
The first thing he’d seen when she turned to face him were the tears. He’d been shocked by how deeply they affected him. The urge to protect this small, delicate woman had been instant and almost overwhelming. He’d wanted to take her in his arms again and promise her that everything would be fine.
And you didn’t even know her name at that point, dumbass, Candor growled at himself. He tried shaking the thoughts away as he pulled up the gravel driveway in front of his family’s house, but Ava’s face kept resurfacing in his mind. It was the oddest thing; she wasn’t especially beautiful. In fact, she was pretty plain compared to some of the women Candor had dated. And yet, he’d found himself wanting to memorize every curve and contour of her soft, wide-eyed face. For that matter, there were other curves he wouldn’t mind getting familiar with.
And that was the most confusing thing. Ava was human. Candor had never looked at a human woman twice. He’d been searching for a mate among the females of the territory for years now, but none of them had set his senses on fire the way Ava had. What did that mean? Was there something wrong with him?
He shook his head and sighed, unbuckling his seat belt and opening the door to climb out.
“Candor!”
Candor looked up to see Lani running down the front porch steps of the house. Her face was drawn and panicked. Candor jumped down from the truck and hurried over to her. “Lani, what’s wrong?” he demanded.
Lani grabbed his sleeve and pulled him toward the house. “Quick, it’s Destin.”
Candor felt all the blood drain out of his face. Images of Xander’s mutilated body flashed grotesquely through his mind. And now Destin, the youngest of their brotherhood?
Hot rage bristled through him as he and Lani bolted toward the house. As soon as he stepped over the threshold, the metallic scent of blood filled his nostrils.
“The kitchen,” Lani said, almost choking on a sob.
Candor burst into the kitchen to find his youngest brother, Destin, sprawled on his back on the dining table. He was naked, giving Candor a clear view of the deep gashes and puncture wounds covering his body. There was blood everywhere.
Candor’s cousin Luke stood over Destin with a wet cloth pressed against his bleeding chest. The tips of his dark hair were damp with sweat and the long-sleeved shirt he wore was soaked with both sweat and blood. He glanced up once when Candor came in, then his eyes went back to his patient.
Candor rushed over, grabbing clean cloths from a pile on a nearby chair. He located the wounds that were bleeding the most and applied pressure.
Lani had disappeared into the kitchen, but she reappeared now with the first aid kit. Her face was pale but set with determination. She opened the kit and began cleaning the smaller wounds with alcohol swabs.
Destin hissed and arched his back in pain. His eyelids fluttered, but Candor only saw whiteness beneath them.
“Hey, Destin,” Candor said in as calm a voice as he could. “Can you hear me?”
Destin coughed wetly. His eyes didn’t open.
Candor turned to Luke. “How is he?”
“Not good,” Luke said, “but he’ll be a hell of a lot better once we stop all this bleeding.”
Candor ground his teeth. It infuriated him that the only thing he could do for his brother was shove a flimsy cloth against his open flesh to try and keep the life from draining out of him.
“I found him a couple miles north of here,” Luke said. “It looked like he’d been making his way here before he collapsed.”
Candor barely heard him over the rush of his own hot blood in his ears. His beast roared, screaming to get out so he could hunt down the bastard who had done this and tear him to shreds. But he couldn’t afford to give in to that primal call, not now. “Did you scent anyone else?” he growled.
Luke shook his head, eyes stony. “Son of a bitch is doing a damn good job keeping his scent out of the wind.”
“Or he was wearing scent suppressant,” Candor ground out.
“Candor.” Destin’s voice was feeble and dry, but it made Candor whip around instantly. Destin’s eyes were slits, the eyelids coated in blood.
Candor grabbed a fresh cloth and wiped the blood off his brother’s face. “I’m right here, Des. How you doing?”
Destin breathed raggedly. “I don’t know who it was, Candor. I’m sorry. I…” His eyes drifted closed.
Candor held his face gently. “Hey, hey. Don’t do that. Eyes on me, Des.” Destin’s lids peeled back again with great effort, showing his bloodshot golden eyes. “This is not your fault,” Candor said almost harshly. “Forget the hell about trying to take all the blame for this, got it? Just focus on keeping your guts in.”
Destin blinked slowly, and Candor knew he was about to go under again. “It’s not your fault either,” he whispered. “You kn
ow that, right?”
Candor grew very still. Somehow those words hurt more than all the physical injuries he’d sustained over the past few days. Because he did blame himself for everything that was happening. “Destin,” he choked out, but his brother’s eyes rolled back and he lay still.
Candor looked over at Lani. She had bandaged and duct taped the largest of the wounds and was applying smaller bandages to the rest. She met Candor’s eyes but said nothing. It was the same with Luke. They were waiting on him. They recognized his authority as leader of the territory, and they would follow whatever course of action he decided to take.
It was a humbling and terrible burden. How had Xander borne it all those years?
Candor straightened slowly, reigning in the seething emotions that threatened to throw him out of control. Finally, he gave his first order. “You two stay here and take care of Destin.” He turned and made for the entryway.
“Where are you going?” Luke asked.
“To rally the Grangers and the Smiths,” he answered, naming two other cougar families who had been loyal to Xander. He hoped that loyalty would transfer over to him. “We’re going to hunt these bastards down like we should have the night they killed Xander.”
Luke tightened his fists. “I’ll go with you.”
“No,” Candor said. “We can’t be sure they won’t attack the house.” He reached the front door and opened it. Turning, he saw that Luke had followed him into the entryway. Giving him a pointed look, he said, “Stay here and hold down the fort with Lani.”
Luke nodded, though Candor could see the hunger for the hunt in his eyes. “Be safe.”
“You too,” Candor said, stepping out onto the porch. Over his shoulder he called, “And keep my brother alive!”
His rapid boot steps crunched on the gravel as he walked toward his truck. His thoughts strayed toward Ava of all things, and he couldn’t keep down a swell of guilt. He had no right to think about her, not when his territory was crawling with rogue shifters who wanted him and his family dead. He owed it to Destin and Lani and Luke and everyone else to put aside whatever fleeting attraction he felt towards her and deal with this mess.
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