by Lynn Howard
Okay. So two things happened at her statement. His eyes involuntarily dropped to her chest again, because obviously, they were fucking magnets to his eyeballs. And a wave of jealousy burned his gut at the thought of another man looking at her.
He had to get the fuck out of the house and away from her. Now.
“She’s not even as big as you. But she’s a Shifter and strong. And she can text any of us if shit goes down. Someone can be here within five minutes.”
Shawnee was going to be pissed that she couldn’t go to work. If she had her way, she’d work seven days a week right along with Noah. Everyone had given him shit for years, telling him to hire someone else so he could take a day off every once in a while. He’d hired Shawnee, but she waited tables. And no fucking way would he leave her alone all day with a bunch of drunk Shifter idiots.
He held his phone in his hand, thumb poised over the letters, but he was having a hell of a time typing anything. He hated the thought of leaving Hollyn behind. Which made zero fucking sense. Up until about twenty minutes ago, he didn’t even know she existed. He knew Shawnee could keep her safe in the time it would take one of the bears or wolves to get to her if there was any trouble.
Then there was another thought: Why the fuck did the traffickers want her so badly Aron thought they’d travel across the state to find her?
“You’re not human,” he said, dropping his arm back to his side. She continued to stare at him, but he could smell the fear coming from her. “What are you? Why does Aron think those fuckers will keep looking for you?”
Again, she didn’t answer, just kept staring at him until her eyes flicked to the door behind him then back. She was thinking of running. No way. He was supposed to keep her safe. And he sure as fuck wouldn’t let her run away without a few answers. Was her presence going to put the people he loved in danger?
Noah took a step toward her and she lifted her hand. Her sapphire eyes swirled until they were closer to onyx with specks of silver.
“What – "
Her hand turned over as if she were cupping something and a ball of flame grew and danced, the flames licking the air as if looking for something to destroy.
She was a fucking Fairy. Not just any Fairy, but an Elemental Fairy. She had a strong ass blood line if she was able to call on her talent so easily.
So then how the hell did anyone get their hands on her to begin with?
The flame began to die until she balled her hand in a fist, closing the rest of it off from sight. “I was walking home from work. By the time I heard someone behind me, they stuck me with a needle. And then I woke up on a stained, nasty, stinky bed in a room I didn’t know.”
That explained how they’d captured someone so powerful. The drugs had probably kept her too weak to fight once she’d woken.
“Does Aron know?”
She nodded once, distrust evident in those oddly beautiful swirling eyes.
“You’re safe here, Hollyn. I swear to you, no one will hurt you. I’d give my own life before I allowed that.” His bear stretched in his head, finally waking up enough to pay attention. His statement about protecting her with his life felt right, natural, as if there had never been a doubt about it, even before he’d spoken the words.
Hollyn crossed her arms and nodded as if finally believing him. “You said you had to go to work,” she said.
Steps sounded on his porch seconds before Shawnee knocked on the door. She was used to him being the one to call for her to get outside. She was probably confused as to why he wasn’t ready.
Hollyn’s eyes darted to the front door.
“It’s just Shawnee. The lion I told you about.”
Returning her attention to Noah, her eyes faded back to their sapphire color and Noah could swear she was beckoning him closer. It felt like she’d tied a rope around his dick and was reeling him in.
She’s Fae. It’s just her magic, he had to remind himself. His dick, however, didn’t get the memo.
He’d heard the rumors of the Fae magic, of their pull. Unfortunately, that pull worked against them now that so many of them stayed in hiding. And, after finding out what happened to Hollyn, they had damn good reason to.
Hollyn inhaled sharply, dropped her eyes to the side and took a step back. She must’ve felt her magic tugging at him, too. Stepping through the living room, he pulled open the door and let Shawnee inside.
Her eyes immediately moved to Hollyn, then she looked at Noah with a confused frown.
How much should he tell Shawnee? He’d been freaked out about leaving her alone and unprotected, but by her small show of power, it was evident she could protect herself if she wasn’t outnumbered. Or fucking drugged.
Yet, his beast rumbled in his head at the thought of Hollyn alone. And he wasn’t sure she’d want to hang out at a bar all fucking day.
“You mind hanging out here today?” Noah asked, glancing over his shoulder at Hollyn. She hadn’t moved, but she was watching them both closely and listening to every word they said.
“Why?” Shawnee asked, her eyes flicking over to Hollyn again. “Who is that?” she whispered low enough that a human wouldn’t be able to hear. Hollyn was no human, but he had no idea how keen her hearing was.
Lowering his voice to barely above a whisper, Noah explained who she was and why she was there. With each word he said to Shawnee, her eyes widened, and her breath came in quick pants. She was pissed.
“They’re still looking for her?” Shawnee asked, her voice a little louder.
“You two realize I can still hear you, right?” Hollyn said, answering Noah’s internal question as to whether she had supernatural hearing or not.
Noah turned and shrugged. “Wasn’t sure you’d want me to rehash all that shit or not.”
“So you whispered it? You still rehashed it.”
For some reason, her smart ass reply made him smile. She was kind of funny. And sassy as hell. Even through fear and whatever trauma she’d dealt with before Aron had found her, she still carried so much strength and still had her dignity.
And then a thought crossed his mind – had any of those fuckers touched her? Had they sexually assaulted her?
A rage burned hot in his gut and made his bear scratch at his skin to get out. His beast wanted to seek out whoever the fuck dared touch what belonged to him and kill him.
Noah’s breath caught in his lungs. Belonged to him? Where the fuck had that come from? Hollyn didn’t belong to him. She didn’t belong to anyone.
“I just need you to hang out for a while until the rest of the guys get home.”
“You’re not letting me work today?” Shawnee pouted, slapping her hands on her hips.
“Just today. You realize you don’t have to work every fucking day, right?”
“Why not? You do,” she said with a smirk and one raised brow.
At least the banter with Shawnee calmed the rage simmering just below the surface. No way would he do anything to freak either of these women out, including an uncontrolled Shift.
“You cool with Shawnee hanging out? I promise she won’t eat you or try to sell you off,” Noah said.
“Not funny,” Shawnee muttered under her breath.
“Eh. It was a little funny,” Hollyn said.
“Seriously, though. I promise not to go all furry on you or anything. Most of us aren’t psychos,” Shawnee said with a smile.
“It’s fine. I know the drill. Stay inside, lock the doors. Don’t open it for anyone,” Hollyn said, still standing in the kitchen with the cold cup of coffee clutched between her hands.
“Help yourself to whatever if you get hungry. Do you have a phone?” Hollyn shook her head. “Shawnee does. Either of you text me if you need me. Any of us can get to you within a few minutes.”
“We’ll be fine,” Shawnee assured him with another wide smile for Hollyn.
“Why do you look so insane right now?” Noah grumbled.
“What?”
He imitated her wide, Joker-like
grin.
“I was trying to look nice.” Shawnee playfully slapped Noah’s arm. “Jerk.”
“One of these days, I’m going to fire you,” Noah teased back as he made his way through the door.
“No, you won’t,” Shawnee called after him as he pulled the door shut behind him.
He fucking hated leaving Hollyn with just Shawnee. But she had gifts and could probably burn a fucker alive if they came after her. And he had to remember she wasn’t his. He was just keeping her safe until Aron came and got her and took her back to her life.
Where did she live before all this? Was it Kansas City? Was that why Aron had found her there? Or had she been taken there? And did she have a family, a job, friends? A boyfriend?
Noah pushed that last thought aside. He didn’t like the feeling that slithered through his gut again at the thought of another man touching her, even if she wanted him to. But he couldn’t help but wonder if anyone was looking for her. He knew if Hollyn was his, he’d burn the planet down to find her and bring her home.
The further Noah drove his truck from his cabin, the more anxious he grew. His chest felt tight and his heart was beating too fast. Could Shifters have heart attacks? Because he was pretty sure that was what he was feeling.
He glanced in his rearview mirror as the edge of his cabin disappeared behind the trees and he had to fight both himself and his bear from turning the truck around.
Was this just a remnant of her Fae appeal? The glamour, that energy that attracted others to her kind? And how the fuck did she hide that shit in public?
As if she was speaking in his mind, Noah had the answer. She stayed hidden amongst humans. They’d feel that pull, but they’d just think it was her charisma, or blame it on her beauty for the reason they wanted to be near her.
But he really didn’t think that was what was happening at that moment. He was too far for it to affect him. Yet, he felt like a rubber band was being stretched until he was uncomfortable.
As intriguing and hot as Hollyn was, he really hoped Aron came and got her soon. Because if she stayed in his house too long…he’d end up falling hard for her.
Already, his gums ached with the need to Shift his teeth and mark her as his forever.
Chapter Two
Hollyn watched the short redhead move around Noah’s cabin. There was a tiny crease as she wrinkled her nose.
“I’ve never been in here before,” Shawnee said when Hollyn frowned at her. “He’s kind of a slob.”
“You’ve never been in Noah’s house?” Hollyn asked. Warring emotions surprised the crap out of Hollyn. She was surprised someone who was part of his family had never seen the inside of his house. And she was relieved another woman hadn’t been in there. At least not the beautiful woman checking out the clothes and empty pizza boxes everywhere.
“So, um, does Noah have a girlfriend? Is she going to be jealous I’m here?”
Hollyn turned to set the coffee mug down and squeezed her eyes shut. How freaking pathetic could she sound? There was no denying her attraction toward Noah, even if he was a Shifter. There was something about him that made her want to just climb him like a tree, wrap her legs around him, and enjoy the ride.
As heat rushed her cheeks, she pressed her cool hands to them before turning back around.
“Noah doesn’t have a girlfriend,” Shawnee said. She didn’t sound suspicious or teasing.
When Hollyn looked back at the woman Noah had said was a lion, she smiled when she realized Shawnee was tidying up. She’d collected a few shirts and piled them on the arm of the chair. Raising one to her nose, she yanked the shirt back and grimaced.
“Don’t suppose you know where his laundry room is,” Shawnee said, holding the cotton in her finger and thumb and well away from her face.
“I know where the living room and kitchen is,” Hollyn said with a shrug.
She’d been too scared to move when she’d first gotten there. She’d grown to trust Aron and the rest of the panther men in the two weeks she’d been with them. But it had taken almost the full two weeks for that trust to grow. She’d just met Noah. And the dude was huge. And intense. And had a thick, dark beard that just begged to be touched. No wait. That wasn’t right. It was scary. Yeah. She was scared of him.
Shit.
She wasn’t scared of him. Not now. Not after about ten minutes of him doing everything he could to put her at ease. She hadn’t missed how Noah had kept distance between them, or how he’d made her coffee and set it on the counter for her to take when she wanted. He’d even left her alone in his home while he showered. He’d trusted her not to touch anything or run through the door.
All that, and he was gorgeous. And he called to her gift and made her want to wrap them in a cocoon of flames. That was the part that scared her. The dude wasn’t even human.
Then again, neither was she. She was one of the few remaining pure-blood Elemental Fae. Which was why she was worth so much damn money.
Thirty-three years she’d been able to stay under the radar. Thirty-three years of staying anonymous and off the paranormal map. And not only had she been found and kidnapped, she’d been thrust nose deep into the same world she’d tried to hide from her whole life.
“How can he live like this?” Shawnee said as she grabbed a stack of pizza boxes taller than her and carried them outside.
Well damn. She couldn’t just stand around and watch Shawnee clean. She should help. Yet, she felt weird touching Noah’s stuff. For some reason, it felt overly intimate as she piled Noah’s clothes in her arms and sought out his washer and dryer.
When she found the laundry room off the kitchen, she stood in awe. It was spotless. Of course it was; it was obviously never used.
Throwing a stack of dark shirts and jeans into the wash, she started a load of clothes and headed into the kitchen. He had a dishwasher. Why the hell didn’t he use it? The entire sink was filled with dirty dishes. She had a feeling him washing her coffee mug was the first time he’d washed a dish in a while.
As she filled the dishwasher until she couldn’t find anything else, she turned and looked for Shawnee. She was wiping down the coffee table. All this cleaning felt so domestic. And comfortable.
She should feel awkward cleaning a stranger’s house, touching his clothing, standing in his kitchen as if she’d done it a hundred times. But she didn’t. For a brief second, she felt at home.
Maybe staying with Noah wasn’t a good idea. Surely, Aron had other friends he trusted enough to keep her safe. The town they’d driven through to get to this place had been tiny. Mainly small mom and pop shops and a lot of trees and fields. She was pretty damn hidden in little bitty Cedar Hill, Missouri. Especially tucked away in the bears’ territory. Even if he’d deposited her in the middle of town, she’d still be pretty much off the radar. Everyone she’d seen looked like blue-collar workers, construction workers, farmers. And most importantly, human. None of them seemed the kind to sell living, breathing people for money.
“I think that’s the best we can do for now,” Shawnee said, tossing the dirty towel toward Hollyn as if they were old friends.
Hollyn carried the rag to the laundry room and threw it in the basket with the light-colored clothes. Then she joined Shawnee who stood with her hands on her hips surveying their effort.
“How does it not smell in here with all that crap?” Shawnee said, turning in a slow circle.
“It was messy. Not dirty,” Hollyn said, and realized how at ease she was around the female already.
Were the rest of their friends like them? Were Noah’s brothers as big and intimidating as him?
“How many of you live here?” Hollyn said, following Shawnee’s lead and sitting at the wooden table in the kitchen.
“There’s me and Colton. He’s my husband. Noah, Luke, and Carter.”
“You’re the only woman?” Hollyn asked. For some reason, the thought of only two women living amongst four big ass men spooked her a little.
“Yeah.
For now. I’m determined to get the rest of them paired up. I can’t wait until we have cubs running around here like Big River.”
“Big River are the wolves?”
“Yep. Well, there are wolves, a coyote mix, a lioness, and a male lion. Technically, though, the lion and his mate live up the hill.”
“What hill?”
Shawnee was rambling on as if Hollyn had a clue what she was talking about.
“Girl. There is so much to tell you,” Shawnee said, pushing a rogue curl out of her face. “There’s a whole Pride of lionesses living just up the hill from the wolves. Big River, Blackwater, and Ravenwood fought for their freedom. When Eli, that’s Emory’s mate –”
“I don’t know who Emory is,” Hollyn said.
“You will. You’ll meet all of them if you’re here long enough. They all like to hang out as much as possible. Anyway, when Eli left his Pride, he became the Alpha of Hope Pride. That’s the group of lionesses I told you about.”
Shawnee was chatty, but there was sadness in her eyes as she spoke of the lionesses. Hollyn opened her mouth to ask her if they’d been her friends, but her phone chirped a few times.
“Excuse me,” Shawnee said, lifting the phone to her ear. “Hey sexy,” she cooed over the line.
Hollyn looked away and gave Shawnee as much privacy as she could while still sitting at the same table. She tried to ignore the lovey-dovey talk until she heard her name mentioned.
“She’s a friend of Noah’s…no, I’ll tell you about it when you get home…well, then, hurry…I will…we’re fine,” Shawnee said with a chuckle. “I love you, too. Nope. I love you more. Oh, shut up. I’ll see you later.” She ended the call and set the phone on the table. “That was my husband.”
“I assumed,” Hollyn said with a genuine smile. That conversation had been a little cheesy but so sweet.
Shawnee gently ran a finger across the screen of her phone with a wistful smile and Noah’s mind flashed through Hollyn’s mind.
With a hard shake of her head, she tried to erase his face from her mind. Part of her knew exactly what was going on; her magic was trying to show her what Noah was meant to be to her. But he was a Shifter. Not human. Not Fae. Her life was supposed to be way different. And since she had no idea what kind of children they would have, not to mention the kind of life they’d lead, she refused to acknowledge her fate.
