Rick

by Dana Archer

  I’m out of the car in the next second. I run, drawing on my wolf’s strength to propel myself faster. A floodlight turns on, giving me a good look at Mya’s assaulter. He’s a shifter, a wolf shifter, and a powerful one at that.

  The front door of her apartment opens. The guy leaning aggressively over Mya takes off into the woods. I want to go after him, hurt him. He might be powerful, but so am I. Concern for my true mate overrules my instinct to punish, for now.

  “Mya!” I yell at the same moment as an older human female rushes out the front door.

  Mya looks in my direction. Her eyes widen. She turns to the human and says something before frantically shooing her back inside. The female gives me a questioning look but complies.

  I hunker down next to Mya. The scent of her attacker clings to her. It’s the same stench she’d carried the last two times I’ve been close to her. Not strong, but enough to make me gag. My chest expands on my rougher breaths. Why has he been touching Mya? It’s obvious she doesn’t want him near her. She’d ordered him to leave. Instead, he shoved her.

  The rage building within me is close to bringing my wolf. I focus on Mya’s face. She’s more important than my possessiveness. Heart racing, I cover her hands with mine. “Are you okay?”

  Mya closes her eyes. A few seconds pass before she smiles. “Yes, fine.”

  She moves to stand. I grasp her elbow and support her back, helping her even though she doesn’t need it. A shifter’s body can take a lot of damage. That shove might’ve been hard enough to knock Mya back a few feet, but it was nowhere near violent enough to cause any lasting damage. Maybe a bruise. That’s it. The knowledge doesn’t stop me.

  With a hand still on her belly, she studies my face. “What are you doing here?”

  “I was driving by and saw that guy arguing with you. Who is he?”

  Her brows turn down. “What were you doing driving by here? This is the edge of town. There’s nothing out this way.”

  I hesitate. Truth or a lie? I don’t know how Mya will react to the news we’re true mates. She might not even believe in that sort of thing. Many younger shifters I’ve met think it’s a romanticized myth. They also don’t understand why anyone would want to soul-bond to another person. The ultimate mating bond is a risk. If one mate dies, so does the other. Most opt for a breeding bond where the male gives a piece of his soul to the female he wants to have babies with.

  Soul-bonding’s not an option in my and Mya’s case, unfortunately. Neither is becoming breeding partners. I already gave a piece of my soul away. All I have left is a hole and a boatload of regret. Doesn’t mean I can’t worship Mya until my dying breath, though. Which is what I plan on doing.

  Mya shakes off my hold and steps back. “Are you stalking me, Rick Lyall?”

  Shock stills my body. “You know my name.”

  “Yes.” She frowns. “I called you Rick back at the bar.”

  My name in her husky voice left me hard too. Crazed with the need to touch her. I didn’t stop to think how she knew it. Or what else she knows about me. Maybe that I’m a widower and can’t give her babies. Can’t soul-bond to her. Can’t love her the way she deserves. Those are things I wanted to tell her. Guess it doesn’t much matter. Soon, she’ll learn every detail.

  “You didn’t tell me your name.” I close the space she’d put between us but I don’t reach for her. After the way that jerk knocked her around, she might be a bit skittish. I don’t want her escaping inside. “I asked for your name. Twice.”

  Mya glances over her shoulder at where I left my rental car, door wide open, in the road.

  “You found out what it is. And where I live.” She whips her head to glare at me. “Why did you come out here? Did you expect me to invite you inside just because your kiss made me feel things I never have before?”

  The confirmation she feels our connection, even if she might not understand it, should make me happy, but her accusatory tone sets me on edge. I’m treading on thin ice. She’s acting like a woman who’s been hurt. Maybe used and tossed away. She needs to know I won’t do the same.

  “I admit I couldn’t stop thinking about you.” I lower my voice, letting the lust bleed through. “You’ve triggered my instincts. Nothing was going to stop me from finding you and watching over your place tonight. You’re mine to protect now.”

  Panic settles over her features. She shakes her head, making her hair dance around her face. “No, no. You’ve got to be mistaken. You’re probably horny. It’s close to the full moon. It’s natural.”

  “It is natural.”

  “See?” Relief wipes the panic from her face. She blows out a breath and points toward town. “If you’re horny, there’s an alley a few blocks from the Black Widow where prostitutes hang out. You can pick up a hooker there pretty cheap.”

  As if I’d ever be able to touch another woman. When I commit to a female, it’s exclusive. With Mya, it’ll be forever.

  “Sex isn’t my reason for coming here.” I brush my knuckles along her jaw. “You are. Not what we can do together in bed.” I grin. “But I wouldn’t turn it down if the night leads us to that point.”

  A look of wonder turns her eyes into gemstones. She skims her delicate fingers along her jaw, the same path I’d traced. “What are you, Rick Lyall?”

  It’s an odd question. She knows what I am: a wolf shifter. I have a better answer for her, however.

  I slip my arm around her waist and pull her body against me. The moment her curves touch mine, my wolf lays its head on its paws and calms. So do I. This is where I’m supposed to be. I’ll fight with everything I have to stay here.

  With my chin, I brush her hair from her neck and press my lips to the spot right below her ear. She shivers and clutches my shirt, holding on to me. “I’m yours, Mya. And you’re mine.”

  A wolf’s howl cuts through the night. In my human form, I can’t tell if it’s a shifter or not. My wolf doesn’t stir, lending me to believe it’s nothing to worry about. Mya does, however.

  She pushes away from me and points to my car. Her hand shakes. “You need to leave. Now.”

  I glance from her trembling fingers to her face. Protective instincts flare. “You don’t need to worry about that guy. He won’t hurt you anymore.”

  She looks in the direction the other shifter had run. The tremor in her hand worsens. Seeing her fear stabs me in the gut. I clasp her hand and hold her cold fingers against my chest. “Who is he? Tell me. I’ll make sure he never comes near you again.”

  She tugs her hand free. “You need to leave. Don’t come back here.”

  What did this guy do to Mya to make her so afraid?

  “I smelled him on you yesterday and the day before. He’s been coming around here harassing you, hasn’t he?” His scent wasn’t strong either time. It reminded me of the lingering smell a shifter carries after they’ve hugged someone. That she carried it both days means this guy has been around often. Touching my true mate. That I have a problem with.

  Mya swallows hard. She flicks her gaze to the woods, then hurries to her apartment building. “It’s late. I need to go in.”

  I want to follow her. It’d be a mistake. She’s too skittish right now, and she won’t accept my comfort. There is one thing I can do for her. “What’s his name?”

  She shakes her head. The door closes, blocking her from view.

  The rage I’d experienced moments ago flares. Primal instincts rise. My wolf gains ground. I feel him moving just under my skin. I ball my hands, hiding the tips of my claws, but I don’t shove my wolf back. Our target is in the woods. We both want his blood for hurting our true mate. There’s nothing stopping us now.

  Without another wasted breath, I jog far enough into the woods where I won’t be seen by humans and strip. I leave my scattered clothes on the ground and embrace my wolf’s form. The change flows over me. No pain or grotesque distortion accompanies my transformation. It’s simply a flip of images, mine abating and my wolf’s rising.

&nb
sp; On four legs, I look at the world through my wolf’s eyes just as he looks through my human eyes when I allow him close. I’m still in charge of our shared body. I never give my wolf free rein. Despite being bonded to me, he’s an animal, driven by primal instincts that don’t always have a place in this world. He understands that, even if he doesn’t always appreciate being restrained.

  In this instance, we have a common goal. This shifter who has some hold over Mya, who thinks he can push her around, who makes her fearful. He needs to learn his place. I won’t stand for him ever coming around Mya again.

  Ears perked to catch any sounds, I sniff the breeze. Thousands of scents reach me. My wolf processes them, saving my human mind from being overwhelmed. He focuses on one—the offending stench of the male who shoved Mya.

  Excitement thrums through me. My prey was here. He, too, is in his wolf’s form, running toward the Tanner pack’s lands. No, not Tanner. It’s the Jager pack now. My dead breeding partner’s dad was ousted. I’m glad. He’s a coldhearted prick who cared as little for his pack members as he did for his kids.

  I push forward, running full-out. I want to catch this shifter before he reaches his pack’s lands, no matter what they’re called now. Without an invitation to visit, I would need permission from the current alpha. Since Ethan Jager has yet to return my call, I don’t have the clearance to step foot there.

  As the miles fall behind me, it becomes apparent that I’ll have to enter the Jager pack lands without the rightful approval. My prey has fled home. I don’t hesitate at the edge of the Jager’s territory. The lack of permission won’t stop me from protecting Mya. I simply have to make sure I don’t get caught.

  * * *

  Daybreak brightens the sky by the time I reach my prey’s home, a run-down but somewhat neat cabin on the other side of the Jager territory, miles from Mya’s place. A rusted truck and a small, bright yellow car sit in the driveway. My prey is home, and he has company.

  In a crouch, I approach the cabin. A woman’s low moan reaches me. Another female’s pleasured moan follows. Both are muffled. I move slowly, but the rhythmic thumping of something hitting the wall and the occasional metal squeak hints at what’s happening inside the cabin.

  With my front paws on the windowsill, I peer into the bedroom. The guy who shoved Mya is balls-deep inside a female. A second female who’s kissing my prey is sitting on the face of the woman who’s getting used.

  Confusion settles over me. If this shifter already has a couple of lovers, why is he bothering Mya? No answer comes to me. At least not any I want to consider.

  Leaving the ménage to finish their fun, I trot behind the truck and memorize the license plate. There’s more than one way to take down prey. Luckily, I have the means to do so, thanks to Shifter Affairs. Once I know every detail about this shifter’s life, I’ll find his weakness and exploit it.

  Nobody is allowed to hurt my true mate. Ever.

  Seven

  Rick

  Armed with the information I pulled up on Todd Silverman, the shifter who shoved Mya, I park my rental car behind Todd’s truck. The bright yellow car is nowhere in sight. My guess is Todd’s playthings are gone. Doesn’t necessarily mean he’s alone. The background check listed him as mated.

  Legally, a mate can be a soul-bonded female such as Riley is to Nic or a breeding partner like I once had. I’m going to take a wild guess and assume Todd’s mate is only a breeding partner. It’s darn hard to cheat when your mate is sharing your soul and knows exactly what you’re doing. Just another reason some males avoid forming soul-bonds.

  Monogamy isn’t viewed as important among male shifters. Some packs even frown upon it, saying monogamy makes a male look weak. To me, sleeping around means you’re an asshole.

  I never cheated on a girl, human or shifter. Never even looked at another female while my breeding partner lived. It’s about respect. Once you lose that, it all goes downhill. The sex is usually the first to suffer, as hurt feelings and resentment taint interactions. Considering I enjoy my lovers focused completely on pleasuring me, it’s not a risk I like to take. To each their own.

  Todd’s sex life can’t justify my visit today. His criminal history does. It helps that Shifter Affairs is cracking down on shifters whose behaviors threaten to expose our existence to the general populace.

  With my gun in plain sight and my official Shifter Affairs shirt on, I head to the house.

  The front door opens before I get there. Wearing an unbuttoned pair of jeans, no shirt, Todd steps onto the small stoop. “You better have a good reason for being here.”

  I hold out my badge. In my previous position with Shifter Affairs, I never flashed it. My unit worked on retrieval and undercover work. Now I’m a field agent, the equivalent of a human police officer. I’m supposed to show my ugly mug around this area, letting the locals know I’m going to be the one to bring them to justice if they cross the line. It’s the new directive of Shifter Affairs—more involvement, more action, less crime. Hopefully, anyway.

  “I’m assuming Ethan Jager informed his pack of the new Shifter Affairs office located on the Kagan pack lands.”

  Disgust slips over Todd’s face. “Yeah, he told us.”

  Eyes widened in mock surprise, I study Todd. “Not a fan of Shifter Affairs? We do risk our lives to keep lay shifters and humans safe.”

  “My personal opinions don’t matter. My alpha says we are to cooperate. That’s what I’m doing. If it was up to me, I would’ve attacked you the second you got out of your car for stepping foot on my property.”

  I make a point of glancing around me.

  “You own this place?” I know for a fact Todd’s uncle, Wyatt, paid for it. And Todd’s truck. Working part-time at the Jager lumber mills, Todd’s a paycheck-to-paycheck guy. No shame in that, but it means he won’t be able to afford any place on his own.

  “Don’t you concern yourself with my business. I live here. You don’t. Tell me why you came out here, or I’m kicking you off my place.”

  Apparently, Todd doesn’t like admitting he got a handout. Interesting. I can’t help but wonder why. Family takes care of each other. Or at least they should. “Technically, the owner of a house on pack lands is the shifter who paid for it or inherited it from his father upon his death.”

  Todd crosses his arms over his chest and leans against the doorframe. His eyes narrow, and a calculating look settles over him. “By shifter law, that’s true. Is that why you’re out here? Did Wyatt send you? Say I didn’t pay my rent or something?”

  Rent, huh? According to the records I pulled, this place was a mating gift. “Did you?”

  Todd drops balled fists at his side. “I paid him everything I owed him this morning. If that prick couldn’t wait a couple of extra hours, he needs to be given a lesson in patience.”

  “By you?”

  “Yeah, by me.” Todd steps off the stoop. “Now go back and tell him to bring his sorry self out here.”

  Todd’s relationship with his uncle wasn’t my reason for coming here, but my instincts have been triggered. “Why did you make him wait?”

  “That’s none of your goddamn business.”

  “Don’t you think it’s Wyatt’s?”

  Todd takes another step toward me. My wolf, who’s been quietly assessing our prey, bares his teeth. A low growl escapes him. He’s prepared to fight, but he’s deflecting the decision to me. That’s a first. It’s got to be Mya’s presence in our lives. My wolf and I have a common goal now—this jerk who shoved Mya.

  “I needed to burn off my aggression first.” Body vibrating, Todd moves closer to me and lowers his voice. “Wyatt doesn’t understand the shit I have to put up with.”

  “What do you have to deal with that makes you so angry?”

  Todd points to my car. “Get out of here. Shifter Affairs doesn’t need to know my personal affairs.”

  “I get that.” I nod, giving my best empathetic look. “If you don’t want to talk about Wyatt in front of
your mate, we can—”

  “She is my problem! Wyatt knows that. Knows how much she pisses me off! Knows how much I hate her!”

  Rage distorted Todd’s face when he pushed Mya. She also smells like Todd.

  No! It can’t be. His scent on Mya isn’t strong enough to have resulted from licking and healing the bite required in order for a male to give a female a piece of his soul. The scent clinging to those bites are overpowering and meant to be that way. The strong claim is a deterrent to other males, and a constant reminder of whom she belongs to for the female. No words needed. Shifters instinctually understand and obey the boundaries and obligations of mating law.

  If a male hates his chosen female, however, the best way to shame her is to allow her mating bite to heal naturally. She’d still be able to conceive his babies, but that’s it. She wouldn’t bear his visible claim or his scent. Or, if he was a sadist, he’d rub salt into the bite, searing it into her skin. I met one female who suffered that fate. She described the pain as being horrendous. She was also only a teenager.

  The bastard who hurt her died at my hands. Then I walked away from my life as an agent. I was called before the Shifter Council and told I should’ve stayed out of it. The coward I killed was a prominent member of our society and more important than the female he mated.

  If Todd hurt Mya the same way… I will my body to stay calm. Assuming is the worst thing an agent can do. I need more information before I jump to conclusions. “Why do you hate your mate?”

  Todd rakes his fingers through his hair. He turns toward the house. “Tell Wyatt to go screw himself. I’m done talking.”

  “She’s in there, isn’t she? Your mate.” I jerk my chin toward the house. “That’s why you don’t want to talk.”

  Todd looks toward the house and laughs. “She’s never been out here. Neither have our little brats. She can deal with their tantrums and shit. I never wanted her or them. Don’t want the babies she’s carrying now either.”

  “Really?” Studying Todd, I look for some sign he’s lying. Every father I’ve met has been intensely protective of his children. It’s instinctual. Todd appears sincere in his insistence that he doesn’t want them, however. “Why have any children then?”