Alpha Pack 4 - Hunters Heart (23 page)

Before he could form an answer, her lips captured his.

Gentle, urging. Her tongue found his, rasping. She sucked

the breath from his lungs, the reason from his brain. He

loved the taste of her, the wonderful feeling of her lithe

form sprawled across him. Tender kisses nibbled his jaw,

the base of his throat, and his chest. Her hot tongue

worked its magic, circling each nipple in turn, teeth

grazing them.

He had planned to be the one in charge, but he liked

this. A lot.

She slid down his body, palm skimming his stomach as

her tongue blazed a fiery path to his navel. Her hand

dipped lower, fingers lightly stroking the hard ridge of his

erection, and he nearly came undone.

“Ohh.” He lifted his hips, seeking more.

“I see only you, my mate,” she whispered. “Nobody

else.” Her hand slid down his belly, lower, finally

encircling his shaft. Rubbing, stoking the fire.

“Daria,” he breathed. His fingers dug into the blanket

underneath him. He burned to touch her, to bury himself in

her sweetness.

“Relax, let yourself go,” she whispered. Her breath

fanned against his groin. “You’re mine and I’m yours.”

Ryon was nearly robbed of speech. “For as long as you

want. Anything you want.”

She bent to him, long hair trailing across his lap, and

rocked his world. With gentle strokes and kisses, laving

him until he was mindless. Bodiless. She owned him, and

he surrendered willingly.

“Daria, yesss!” He cupped the back of her head, near to

losing control.

She pulled back, moved up his body. Captured his face

in her hands and kissed him, the hardened tips of her

nipples branding his chest. Blood pounded in his ears as

his arms came around her. He smoothed her naked skin.

Her bare back, the flare of her hips, and her small, firm

round buttocks. She rolled to her back, pulling him with

her. He took her mouth, licking his way inside. Their

combined flavors maddened him, and he craved more.

Ryon kissed his way down the slender column of her

throat to her breasts, returning the attention she’d given to

him. He cupped them, enjoying her softness and how the

perfect globes seemed to be made to fill his hands. He

took the taut nipples between his thumbs and forefingers,

not pinching too hard, but just enough to give that tiny

electric shock that borders pleasure and pain.

“Oh, yes.” She arched under his touch, inviting him.

He bent his head, suckling them, nibbling until his name

became a murmur on her lips. Not nearly enough.
More
.

He inched downward, parting her thighs. He skimmed her

flat stomach, fingers delving into the curly thatch nestled

below.

Daria’s legs opened wider. He slipped a finger into her

slick heat, and she moaned. With a feral smile, he began to

work it in and out. Slow, agonizing. He wanted to make

her as crazy as she’d made him, send her flying apart. His

cock throbbed, begging to be buried inside her. Not yet.

“Ohh! Oh, yeah.”

God, she was hot and wet. Ready. His tongue joined his

finger, tasting the soft skin. Reveling in her sweet honey.

She bucked beneath him, pulling at his shoulders.

“Ryon, make love to me,
please.
”

Trembling with need, he covered Daria, bracing his

arms on either side of her head. Settling them together

intimately, he sank into his mate. Grinding his hips, he

filled her as deeply as possible. Their collective gasps

rang in his ears, and she gripped his shoulders, urging him.

Ryon began to move, loving her. Never, never anything

but this. She surrounded him with warmth, fitting to him

perfectly. Never anything so fine, so right as burying

himself in this woman.
My mate. Mine.

“Baby.”

Daria buried her fingers in his hair, rising to meet him.

He pumped faster, harder, sealing them so tight he couldn’t

tell where his flesh ended and hers began. They were

joined completely, one soul. One mind.

“Ryon!”

She wrapped her legs around his waist and met his

thrusts with wild abandon, shredding him. He drove into

her again and again, sending them spiraling into space. She

stiffened with a cry, clinging to him, and he let go.

Shudders racked them, gradually subsiding to a gentle

rocking, like a ripple in a pond.

Ryon cradled her as the throes faded, and basked in

contentment. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, then

collapsed to his back, pulling her into his arms. She

snuggled in, resting her head on his chest.

She sighed. “You’re the one I want.”

Contentment spread through his heart. Daria was his.

And he would never let her go.

Ten

That afternoon, Nick called Ryon and Daria into his

office.

He was as serious as Ryon had ever seen him, and got

swiftly down to business. “I wanted to talk to you both

before I brief the others. I spent quite a bit of time after

our conference the other day searching through the lab’s

files on test subject 356.”

“The one Kalen mentioned,” Ryon said.

“The same. What I discovered is not what I expected.

But it answers a lot of questions, starting with the

creature’s human identity and why he’s here, in the

Shoshone.”

Ryon exchanged a glance with Daria. “I was going to

come and tell you on my own, but Daria and I saw the

creature earlier today when we were on our run. Actually,

we saw him as a man first and then he changed into the

creature.”

Nick leaned forward, brows furrowed. “Tell me what

happened.”

Quickly, Ryon related how they’d been on their run and

encountered the white wolf. That she’d led them to the

man, and how they’d watched him change into the beast.

“Were you close enough to identify him as a human?”

“No. I’m glad we weren’t that close, because that was

some scary shit and we weren’t equipped to fight him.”

“Just as well. Because I know who he is.”

Neither of them had a clue where he was going. It sure

wasn’t where Ryon imagined.

“In the files, test subject 356’s real name was recorded

on a single document that took forever to find, and I almost

missed it.” He looked at Ryon’s mate. “The name

wouldn’t have meant much if Jesse hadn’t called the other

day, telling me your dad had been trying to reach you.”

Daria swallowed, growing dread on her face. “Please

don’t say what I think you are.”

“I’m sorry. But subject 356’s name was Ben Cantrell.”

“Oh, God,” she rasped. “Are you sure?”

“Unfortunately, yes. Jesse called in some favors, got us

a DNA sample from hair in Cantrell’s bathroom. Our own

lab performed the DNA test, cross-referencing it with

samples of the creature’s saliva that was found on the

victims.”

“No.”

“The creature is Cantrell,” he said gently. “Daria, I’m

very sorry.”

Her voice wobbled. “I scented him today, in my wolf

form. It
was
Ben, all along.”

Part of Ryon hated that she was so upset over the ex-

boyfriend. But she had cared for the man at one time, and

she had a good heart. It couldn’t be easy to hear this about

someone she knew, so he forced down his irritation.

Besides, he reminded himself, his mate had just spent an

afternoon loving on him. Showing Ryon that she was his.

“Can anything be done to help him?”

“I think so, but it’s going to be damned difficult to pull

off.” Opening a file, he slid it across the desk to her and

Ryon. “I took the liberty of calling your father. I wanted

some insight into Ben from his point of view, and I found

out something interesting. Did you know that Cantrell once

defended your dad’s brother, August, in a criminal case?”

“Of course,” she said, brows drawing together. “It was

right after we started dating. But what does his defending

Uncle August have to do with anything?”

“Plenty. I don’t mean to be indelicate, but you do

realize that your uncle was not innocent of the charges

Cantrell got dismissed, that he’s involved in a lot of

nefarious dealings, correct?”

“That’s why our visits to his estate tapered off over the

years. He and my dad could never see eye to eye on that

part of August’s life. As interesting as this trip down

dysfunctional family memory lane is . . .”

“Did you also know your uncle had dealings with a rich

entrepreneur by the name of Evan Kerrigan?”

Ryon groaned. “Fuck, no. Say it ain’t so, boss.”

“Wish I could.”

“Someone clue me in? Who’s Evan Kerrigan?”

Nick answered. “Kerrigan was an alias used by Malik,

the Unseelie King, in his human disguise.”

It clicked, and Daria’s eyes widened. “You’re saying

my uncle was in on all of that sick experimentation on the

shifters? That—that he’s somehow to blame for what’s

been done to Ben?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Nick told her. “When

I delved deeper into your uncle’s history, I learned that

Dr. Gene Bowman was a good friend of his. Your uncle

was a financial benefactor of his, along with Malik.”

Ryon digested that. “So, you think her uncle had his eye

on Ben as a test subject, bided his time, and then, when

Ben and Daria broke up, he took the opportunity to snatch

the poor bastard?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s exactly how it happened. Now,

what I’ve been able to learn is that August Bradford keeps

all of his files on his computer at home. Never trusted

leaving them at an office somewhere. They’re much safer

with him.” He looked at Daria, who was nodding. “Tell

Ryon why.”

“Nobody who doesn’t know the layout of my uncle’s

place could possibly hope to steal his files. His estate is

only accessible by helicopter. There’s no road in or out,

and it’s situated smack in the middle of fifty or so miles of

forest in northern Virginia. The Shenandoah River isn’t far

from his place.”

“How close are you to your uncle?” Nick asked.

“Not at all. And if he’s behind what happened to Ben

and so many others, I want to do whatever it takes to bring

him down,” she said fiercely.

“I’m glad you feel that way, because I have an

assignment for Ryon. And the catch is, he’s going to need

you to accompany him.”

Ryon bolted upright. “No way. My mate does not go

with me on any mission. Ever.”

“Um, hello. Your mate is right here, and she can make

her own decisions,” she hissed angrily.

“Daria—”

“We’ll hear Nick out, but it’s
my
decision.”

She was not going to be swayed. His heart sank as he

realized that winning this battle would cost him in the long

run. If he left her behind, he’d damage important trust

between them. Son of a bitch.

“Fine.”

Nick went on. “I believe your uncle has in his

possession a lot of important documents about more test

subjects, shipments of designer drugs used on shifters, and

lists of who’s been in business with him. But I also

believe that he never would have allowed these

experiments without a fail-safe.”

“An antidote,” Ryon said. “Of course!”

“I believe it’s on his computer with everything else

we’ll need. But we need Daria to get you two in and out.

She knows the layout of her uncle’s estate, his habits. She

knows
him
.”

“Just us? None of the others will go with us?”

“No. This has to be a quiet op. Aric and Jax will drop

you off. You both get in, access the files, get out

undetected. They pick you up again and we have the lab

work on the serum. The next time you guys find the

creature, he’ll get dosed.”

“That’s a tall order.” Ryon shook his head. “I don’t like

it. I want her to stay here.”

“I’ll make this simple—without
both
of you, the op will

fail. You know I don’t interfere with free will, but I’m

stating the facts. The decision is up to you two.”

“If we don’t go?” Ryon asked.

“Maybe one day we’ll get another shot at the antidote,

and the rest of the files, but that day will be far into the

future. In the meantime, lives will be lost without that

information—some of them close to us.”

“Jesus. You play hardball.”

“Again, your choice.”

He met Daria’s gaze, read the determination there. She

was fit, knew the outdoors, could handle herself in that

environment as well as he could, probably better. If he left

her behind, put their lives before others, it would cause a

rift that might never heal.

“We’ll do it.”

The relief and gratitude on her face was his reward. He

just hoped that information was there, as it was supposed

to be. That putting his mate at risk was worth it when they

saved lives.

“Thank you,” she said quietly. “I won’t let you down.”

“I’m not worried about that. It’s me letting
you
down

that has me afraid. Stick with me all the way, okay?”

“You bet.”