Alpha Pack 4 - Hunters Heart (18 page)

“I can’t deny he wanted to claim you—we both did—

but I wouldn’t lie to you. I honestly could not have done

anything differently. Not unless I—”

“Save it.” Her voice was cold as a winter’s day. “Tell

me about this bond I feel. It’s not my imagination, is it?

Now your possessive Neanderthal side when we were

discussing Ben makes sense.”

“No, it’s not your imagination. We’re bonded for life,”

he said, heart aching. “We won’t be able to stand being

apart for long. We can each feel the other’s emotions,

physical pain. I felt yours when you shifted, and that’s how

I knew to turn back. The white wolf led me to you.”

She ignored the last bit of information. “That’s just

great, mate. I’m bound to a man I barely know. I didn’t get

a say. Maybe I would have chosen you, but now we’ll

never know.”

“We won’t?” Fear seized his chest. “Daria—”

“I can’t handle this right now. I thought I could take

about anything after what I’ve seen, after almost being

killed and then recovering at warp speed.” She laughed

without humor. “But this? I don’t know anything except I

need for you to stay away from me right now.”

Faster than he would’ve believed possible, she began to

shift. It still took far longer than it would after she’d

gained more experience, but she did an impressive job. It

broke his heart that she was using her new skills to get

away from him as fast as possible.

His mate turned and began to walk away. Her steps

were a bit drunken as she figured out the use of her legs,

but she did an admirable job.

“Daria!” he called “Please? I had to do it! I would

have . . .” But she wasn’t listening, or stopping.

Remaining on the ground, he sat with his head bowed

for the longest time. Stared at the ground with his soul

bleeding out.

“I would have died,” he said to no one.

But he could fix that, sooner or later. There was always

one more monster to fight. If his mate left him . . .

He’d just have to make damned sure he didn’t win the

next fight.

Eight

Daria walked back to the compound, anger and

confusion riding her hard.

Sadness, too. Ryon’s as well as her own. Every harsh

word she’d spoken to him had hit his soul like a hammer

blow and reverberated in her own chest. When she had

walked away, she had left him devastated.

He had no choice but to bite her. She knew in her heart

that was the truth, but that didn’t make it any easier to deal

with the fact that her life had changed forever.

Would that be so bad?

No. Contrary to what he or his friends might think, she

wasn’t angry about the actual mating itself—she could

think of worse things than to be tied to the blond god of her

dreams—or the fact that she’d been turned into a shifter.

The crux of her frustration was that she didn’t get a say in

her own destiny. It had been served up without her

consent, and presented after the fact with a big bow.

Congratulations. You can turn furry and you’re tied for

life to a man you don’t really know. What if he leaves the

toilet seat up? Leaves his dirty underwear on the floor? Is

lying and has ten girlfriends, one in each part of the

world? Too bad! He’s yours.

Thank God no one was around when she approached the

back of the building. The wing where her quarters was

located seemed quiet, and she trotted to the private yard,

glad she hadn’t taken time to latch her sliding patio door.

On the porch, she concentrated on her human form and

shifted back, then hurried inside before anyone spotted

her.

Padding to the bathroom, she decided on a much-needed

shower. But when she got under the hot spray, the soothing

effect of the water pounding down was eclipsed by how

much she hated that Ryon’s scent was being washed away.

Her wolf wasn’t pleased, either, and was becoming more

vocal by the minute.

Out of the shower, she toweled off and dressed. After

she’d dried her hair she felt human again—and she tried

not to laugh hysterically at that expression that used to

mean nothing. She was sitting on the sofa contemplating

the waning light outside when there was a knock at the

door.

Immediately her pulse started hammering, and she

wondered what she’d say to Ryon. She should have known

he wouldn’t give up so easily. Secretly, she was glad. But

when she opened the door, it wasn’t Ryon who’d come to

see her.

Two women stood there with warm smiles, one a small

blonde she knew as Kira, Jax’s mate, the other Rowan,

Aric’s mate. Trying not to show her disappointment, she

let them in.

“Hello,” she said. “Come inside.”

“We’re your welcoming committee since the guys are

too dense to be social. I’m Kira Locke.”

The other woman snorted. “They’re not dense. Ryon

scared them off, the possessive bastard.” The tall, built

brunette stuck out her hand. “Rowan Chase.”

Daria shook it, then waved a hand at the kitchen. “I’m

afraid I don’t have anything to offer you guys to drink. I

haven’t gotten into town, or anywhere else for that matter.”

“Not a problem,” Rowan replied. “We just wanted to

say hello, see if you’re settling in, if you need anything.”

“Other than a manual for how to deal with wolf

shifters? Can’t think of anything.”

The other women chuckled as they followed her into the

living room. “If any man should come with a manual, it’s

one of the Pack,” Kira said. “Jax about drove me out of my

mind before I really got him or his world.”

“This whole thing is so hard for me to accept,” Daria

told them, taking a seat on the sofa. Rowan sat next to her.

“I don’t know how you managed to get used to it.”

Rowan shook her head. “I was skeptical when I first

met Nick and he started spouting shit about being a PreCog

and how they were battling an evil Unseelie who was

trying to create a race of super-soldier shifters. I thought

he was about one delusion from a nice, long stay at the

county asylum.”

“Exactly!” The woman understood. “So how did you

accept it?”

Rowan shrugged. “I’m a former LAPD cop. I grew up

there on the east side, in one of the toughest barrios in the

city. I’ve seen the weirdest stuff you can imagine, and I’ve

handled plenty of dangerous criminals. For my part,

present me with irrefutable evidence and I have to believe

you.”

“You’re a
show me facts
kind of girl.”

“Right. Kind of hard to refute a bunch of guys turning

into wolves right in front of you, not to mention witnessing

them battle demons from the Unseelie Court. Since I’m not

crazy, it had to be true.”

“My head knows that, but . . .”

“Your heart is having trouble catching up?” Kira

guessed.

“Yeah. It’s not even that I can’t accept Ryon’s world,

it’s just that I was thrust into this by fate, if you will,

without any say in the matter.”

“That’s how it happened with us, too,” Kira put in with

a laugh. “You’re not alone.”

“Ryon’s world?” Rowan asked. “So it’s true, you and

him are together?”

“I—I suppose. I mean, when he bit me to save my life,

he mated with me.” She couldn’t help the bitterness in her

tone. “He knew biting me would bond us together for life,

but he did it anyway. I hate not having a say in the outcome

of my own existence.”

“Let me ask you, what would you have done differently

if you could? Would you have said no, told him to let you

die?”

“Well, no. But that’s not the issue!” she said

defensively. Didn’t they get it?

“Isn’t it?”

Daria stared at the brunette. “What are you trying to get

at? Because I’m not following.”

Rowan sighed as she and Kira exchanged a knowing

look. “Did Ryon tell you much about Bondmates?”

“Not a lot, except he
had
to bite me, and now we’re

bound forever.”

“So, he didn’t tell you what happens to a shifter if he

meets his true mate and doesn’t bite her?”

“No, he didn’t.” She thought back to earlier, when she’d

been upset. “I think he was trying to tell me something

else, but I wasn’t listening at the time. I guess I should

have.”

“Yes, you should’ve.” Kira’s voice was soft, no hint of

accusation in her tone. Only understanding. “Once a shifter

meets his mate, scents her, it’s all over for him. He can’t

become physically aroused by another potential sexual

partner, ever. If he doesn’t bite his mate, and claim her,

within a certain amount of time, usually a couple of weeks,

he becomes ill with flulike symptoms.”

She scrambled to process what Kira was saying. “He

becomes impotent for anyone else, and he’ll get sick?”

“Exactly. “

“So, if Ryon hadn’t bitten me?”

“Within two or three weeks, he would’ve been dead.”

Daria reeled from the revelation. “No.”

“I’m afraid so.” Kira took her hand. “When Ryon told

you that he had no choice, he wasn’t just talking about

saving your life. He saved his, too.”

She had to know. “What if my injuries hadn’t been life-

threatening? Would he have turned me without my

consent?”

Rowan shook her head. “Ryon is one of the most

honorable men I know. He never would’ve taken that

course of action unless it was to save his mate. If you

hadn’t wanted him, he would’ve let you go without saying

a word.”

“He would rather have died than force me,” she

whispered.

“Any of them would.”

“That’s probably how he feels now. Like I don’t want

him.” She looked between the women in shame. “What

happens to a mated shifter who feels rejected?”

“Eventually, he’d lose his will to live, I imagine,” Kira

said. “But don’t worry about Ryon. He’s made of stronger

stuff than that. He won’t give up easily.”

“Take tonight for yourself,” Rowan advised. “Give both

of you the night to cool off. Then talk to him when he gets

back from their search mission tomorrow.”

She thought about that, then nodded. “Sounds like a

good idea.”

“Now, why don’t I go back to our place and fetch stuff

to make mojitos?” Kira suggested.

Rowan smiled. “Girl, I think that’s the best idea I’ve

heard all day.”

Daria couldn’t agree more.

• • •

“Jesse? This is Nick.”

“If this is bad news, I’m hanging up,” the man said

gruffly. “I’m up to my dick in piranha.”

“Don’t get testy, I just have a question. You know that

missing criminal attorney from Missouri that Daria’s

father called you about when he was trying to find her?”

“Yep. The guy’s her ex-fiancé.”

“What did you say the man’s name was?”

“Hang on.” A shuffling of papers sounded on the other

end. Nick didn’t have to be a PreCog to see the mess.

“Here it is. His name is Benjamin Cantrell.”

“Oh,
fuck
.” Pinching the bridge of his nose, he stared at

the piece of paper on his desk.

“Why? What does that mean?”

“It means we’ve got a huge goddamned problem, and

now I have to ask a favor. I need something containing

Cantrell’s DNA and I need it here yesterday. A strand of

hair from his bathtub, his toothbrush, anything.”

“What the hell is going on, Nicky? If you got a body, tell

me.”

“Oh, we’ve got something far, far worse than that. And

if my information is correct, we’ve got an ID on our beast

that’s ripping up campers.”

Bring the wolf to OR-4. I want to try to splice his DNA

with human subject 356 again. I’m on the verge of a

breakthrough.

Human subject 356—a missing human named Benjamin

Cantrell.

• • •

Ryon suited up, pulling on his fatigues, slamming a clip

loaded with silver bullets into his pistol, sheathing a

wicked knife in his boot. If those human weapons weren’t

enough, he had his wolf. If he couldn’t beat the beast, in

wolf form he could hopefully outrun the bastard.

Ryon’s group consisted of Jax, Aric, and Micah. The

others had split up as well, covering other quadrants.

Ryon’s group focused on the area where the husband had

been found, two miles from his wife. They would work

their way outward in widening circles, looking for any

sign that something large had come that way. Ryon wished

his group had Kalen in it, so the Sorcerer could simply do

his magical thing and shrivel the creature to nothing like

he’d done with Malik’s batlike Sluagh. But Aric could

always torch him if things got bad.

Or he could if Nick hadn’t given the order to take the

thing alive if at all possible. Nothing worse than searching

for the Incredible Hulk of paranormal beasts, except

attempting to subdue it with a
no kill
order over your

head. There were hopes that the man trapped inside his

beastly counterpart could be saved.

He wasn’t holding his breath.

Ryon parked the Range Rover as close as he could to