Alpha Pack 4 - Hunters Heart (9 page)

“Why silver? Wait— How are you even out of your

hospital bed two days after being stabbed and having your

throat ripped out?” She sat upright, heart beating wildly in

her chest. “I saw it! And now there’s nothing but some

pink scars on your neck!”

“You’re right, you did see me torn and stabbed. But I

heal fast. All of my kind does.”

“What kind is that?” She was almost afraid to know.

“The type that doesn’t react well to silver, so that much

of the legends is true.” He gave her a sad smile. “You

might as well know . . . we’re wolf shifters, Daria.”

• • •

Ben Cantrell fell to his knees in the undergrowth, sick and

exhausted.

What had happened? Where had he been this time?

His confused mind finally registered the blood. His

hands were coated in the vile stuff. His arms, chest, some

splattered on his legs. Reaching up, he felt his face, and

recoiled in horror. Blood, on his mouth.

“Oh, no.
No
.”

Not again. Please, not again.

But to his lawyer’s mind, the evidence was irrefutable.

He laughed at that, a mad, hysterical sound. Because he’d

never work as an attorney again. Would never be human.

His life had been stolen from him and he would never get

it back.

Unless he found the ones who could help. He’d set out

searching for them, but now struggled to recall who he

was supposed to find. But he’d remember. He would. And

they
would
help him.

They had to. Or soon, Benjamin Cantrell would be lost

forever.

Four

Ryon’s guts clenched as he studied Daria’s reaction.

The woman paled under her tan, her lips parting in

shock. Then she dropped her gaze to the sheets. “I can’t

buy that.”

“I know it’s a lot to take in, but it’s true. I wouldn’t lie

to you.”

She looked up. “I believe you
think
you’re telling the

truth, but—”

“You can perform astral projection,” he pointed out.

“You know about Psy gifts, and you saw the vampires

with your own eyes.”

“There have been documented case studies of people

who have psychic abilities and can do or see all sorts of

things they shouldn’t be able to,” she said. “Some can

predict the future, read an object to see the past, move

items with their minds, find missing people. You name it.

But you’re asking me to believe you can change forms?

I’m sorry, Ryon. You’re delusional.”

“I expected you to react like that,” he said, trying to

hide his disappointment. “I can’t blame you. But I
can

prove it.”

“You can change into a wolf, here and now.” Her tone

was flat.

“Yes.”

She flicked her good hand at him. “Okay, so do it.”

“I don’t think so. Not yet.”

Some of the hardness left her expression, and her tone

became kind. “Have you sought help for this fantasy?

There are some really good doctors who can treat that sort

of thing.”

He stood. “I don’t need a doctor. Not for being

delusional, anyway. I’m going to let you rest because you

have a lot to take in, and this is enough for the time being.”

“Will you be back?”

She sounded hopeful, and that eased some of his anxiety

—and his wolf’s. But not all. The beast paced inside him,

not happy at being doubted. It was much too close to

rejection.

“Yeah.” Leaning over, he kissed her cheek, then

straightened. “I’ll be back soon, no worries. Sleep.”

“All right, I’ll try.” She didn’t look convinced, though.

Giving her a reassuring smile, he turned and walked out

while he still had the strength to leave. He’d pushed far

enough, and her scientist’s mind needed precious time to

absorb the truth of his words. She wasn’t ready to see him

change into his wolf, but she would be. As a biologist, and

his mate, though she didn’t know that part yet, she

wouldn’t be able to help her curiosity. She would continue

to be drawn to him.

He hoped.

Leaving the infirmary, he headed for Nick’s office. The

door was cracked when he got there, and he heard his

commander inside, talking. Guessing the door wouldn’t be

open if the boss didn’t want to be disturbed, he knocked

lightly and waited.

“Come in.”

Pushing inside, he saw Nick sitting behind his desk,

Sheriff Deveraux reclining in a chair across from him.

Deveraux was about Nick’s age, and Ryon supposed

women would find him good-looking in a rugged,

outdoorsy way. Ryon stuck his hand out to the visitor.

“Sheriff,” he said politely. “I’ve seen you a couple of

times, but we’ve never been introduced. I’m Ryon

Hunter.”

The other man grasped it briefly, his gaze sharp but not

unkind. “You’re part of the Alpha Pack that Nick has been

telling me about?”

Ryon looked at his boss, who gave a slight nod. The

sheriff had been unwittingly pulled into the Sluaghs’ attack

on a local family several weeks ago, and rudely made

aware that the paranormal really existed. Since then, the

commander had obviously been easing the lawman into

their world, and so it was okay to talk freely in front of

him.

“Yes, I am. I don’t mean to interrupt, but I just came

from visiting Daria, and I thought Nick would like to hear

what she said about yesterday’s events. You too, Sheriff,

since you’re here.”

They listened intently as he described the great

screeching noise Daria heard, and how it frightened her

into breaking camp. If they’d expected Ryon to tell them

that the culprit who chased her from the scene of the body

and pushed her over the ledge was a Sluagh, or some

previously unheard-of creature, they were wrong.

“It was a white wolf?” Nick repeated, going still.

“She’s certain?”

Ryon rolled his eyes. “Of course she’s sure. She’s got a

broken arm, not brain damage. On top of that, she says the

wolf is female.”

The commander’s face paled, and he stared at the top of

his desk. “I haven’t had any visions at all about any of this,

just a sense of wrongness. Danger. I’m not sure what any

of it means, and I’m hesitant to guess.”

“But you
do
have one,” Deveraux pressed.

Nick sighed. “I don’t think the wolf is responsible for

the killing, but we won’t know for sure until Kira and

Melina finish testing that DNA sample of the victim they

liberated from the crime scene.”

“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that.” The sheriff scowled.

“No offense, Jesse, but I have a hunch your medical

examiner is going to come up with some very strange

findings on that body and isn’t going to know what to make

of them. Which is for the best. But my lab people will

know what the results indicate, or at least have a good

head start.”

“You might be right, but I don’t like it,” the man

muttered. “You’ll keep me in the loop.”

“You bet.”

Mollified somewhat, the sheriff stood to leave.

“Nothing to do for now but wait and see. Search and

Rescue is still looking for the couple that vanished—or the

husband at least. I’m betting the mutilated woman is the

wife.”

“You’re probably right.”

Deveraux shook hands with both of them again, and then

saw himself out. Ryon waited until the lawman was gone

before he spoke.

“You sure we can trust him?”

“Absolutely,” Nick said. His mouth curved into a wry

smile. “He’s so old-school, all this paranormal stuff is

about to burst a blood vessel in his brain, but he’s a good

man. He’s on our side, for all the bitching he does.”

“Good to know.”

“How’s Daria?”

“Unsettled,” he admitted. “Just because she has a Psy

gift that she acknowledges doesn’t mean she’s ready to

accept that we’re shifters or that other creatures exist. She

wanted me to change and prove I’m a wolf, but I could tell

she wasn’t really ready for that. I don’t want her to push

me away.”

“She’s had enough to deal with,” Nick agreed. “You did

the right thing giving her some time.”

“Thanks.”

“But don’t take too long to tell her the rest. It’s a

delicate balance between giving her time to adjust and

coming across as though you were hiding the truth.”

“Yeah, I know.” Hanging his head, he studied his shoes.

He was so damned tired, his body still healing, and yet he

hadn’t been able to rest for worrying about her.

“You’re about to fall over. Go crash for a while, or

you’re not going to be any good to the team or your mate.”

“I think I’ll do that.”

He’d try, anyway. Back in his quarters, he tossed on the

bed and fantasized about a striking, raven-haired woman

who might not want a thing to do with him. He thought only

of kissing those plump lips, caressing toned, soft, honey

brown skin. His lids grew heavy and yearnings followed

him into his dreams where she tormented him endlessly,

leading him to the edge, so in danger of falling. Only to

pull back and leave him hurt, confused.

God, her lips were soft. His tongue slipped inside and

he explored her mouth, groaning at her sweet taste. His

fingers dipped into the swell between her breasts and

stroked the creamy mounds. Sought lower, skimming

down her flat stomach . . . until she caught his hand.

“Ryon.”

“Baby, please. I need you.”

“I can’t.” She shook her head.

“Why not?” Pulling back, he studied her expression.

He saw fear, confusion. Not the ideal emotions to inspire

in his mate.

“This is too soon,” she said softly. “I don’t know how

I feel about this. About whether there’s an us.”

His wolf howled inside and a bubble of panic lodged

in his throat. “Of course there is. Don’t you feel

something growing between us?” he asked hoarsely. “I

already care about you, Daria.”

She shook her head. “I cared about someone else not

too long ago, and he broke my heart. I thought what he

and I had was real, but it wasn’t. How can I trust

again?”

“Let me show you.” He was begging shamelessly, and

he couldn’t help himself. “Let me prove how good it can

be with the right man.”

“I don’t think I can. I’m sorry.” She gave him the

saddest smile.

Then turned and walked away.

“Daria, no! Don’t leave me!”

Ryon bolted upright in bed, heart hammering in his

chest. Not a vision—that wasn’t his gift. Just a dream

turned nightmare, he realized. A horrible, stupid nightmare

with no basis in reality. God, he wanted her so much.

As proof, his unsatisfied cock was hard and aching,

pointing at the ceiling. He needed relief or he was going to

die of blue balls. Unzipping his jeans, he pushed them

down far enough to free his tackle, and cupped a hand,

squeezing the tight orbs. It felt so good he did it again,

manipulating the sac and teasing the perineum. One finger

trailed down to his hole, giving it a naughty rimming and

stimulating his arousal to near pain.

Taking himself in hand, he gripped the hot, hard flesh

and began to stroke. Up and down, hissing in pleasure at

the little shocks of sensation that skittered from his nerve

endings to heat his groin. The feeling was awesome, but it

was nothing compared to what happened when he

imagined Daria crouched between his thighs, jet-black

hair spilling over his lap as she sucked him down her

throat.

“Oh, shit.”

That tripped his trigger, and his hips bucked as he

worked his rod with abandon and just let himself go. In

seconds that familiar buzz started at the base of his spine,

signaling orgasm. His release exploded like a shot from a

gun, creamy white ropes of cum squirting to land on his

stomach and chest. On and on he spurted until his balls had

emptied and he was jerking with aftershocks, wishing it

hadn’t ended so fast.

“Damn,” he rasped. “Time for a shower.”

Now that the high had ended, he felt empty. Sort of lost.

With a sigh, he rose and padded to the bathroom, turning

on the water to let it get hot. As he stepped into the steamy

spray, he groaned and tried to shut the nightmare out of his

mind.

But now that it was stuck in his brain, he couldn’t

dislodge it.

Getting to know Daria, much less winning her over,

might be his biggest challenge yet.

• • •

On the second day of her stay, Daria awoke feeling much

better. So much, in fact, she was suspicious of exactly why

she wasn’t hurting beyond a twinge or two. And why in the

hell the scratches on her body weren’t more than pink,

healing lines that looked a few weeks old instead of two