Claiming His Chance (4 page)

“So,” he said, all long and leading, his eyes locked on mine once more. “Piers?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”

“That the guy who was hanging all over you last night?”

I looked toward the river, unable to hold his gaze a moment longer. I’d known this would come up, but I wasn’t ready. I didn’t know what to say yet. So I dodged the question. “Was he hanging? I hadn’t noticed.”

He made an irritated sound like a wolf chuff but in human form. I bit my lip, watching the water float by as a lead ball took up residence in my stomach. I hated not being truthful, but I couldn’t tell him anything about Piers. Not yet. He may have been
my
mate, but that didn’t mean I could trust him with Piers’ life. We’d be done with this place soon enough, and then we could move on to other things. Safer things. Things that involved this new mate I’d come across.

“If not hanging, then what would you call it?” Cahill asked, his tone softer, the words spoken in a way that made them mean so much more than a simple question. I allowed myself a moment to look him over. There was a vulnerability underneath all that muscle, a soft spot. Having been a pack wolf my whole life, I knew how much power I wielded over him. As his mate, I could choose to refuse him. I could deny the fates. He knew that law, and from the look of him, he feared it.

I cocked my head, desperate to tell him the truth but knowing it was a bad idea. So I gave him what I could. “I’d call it protecting.”

That made his head whip up. “Protecting you from what?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Who said he was the one doing the protecting?”

He stared. Seemingly unable to form words. I held his gaze, keeping mine firm.

“Okay then, no hanging.” He crept closer, barely even blinking. “The trainer called you his mate.”

I bit my lip. “He did.”

An inquisitive look that made my heart race crossed his handsome face. “You’re not going to elaborate on that?”

“I can’t,” I whispered, my hands shaking.

He gave me a nod and crept forward a few more inches. “You protect each other.”

“Very much so.”

“And yet you’re out here alone.”

I leaned forward, lifting onto my knees, wanting him closer. Needing it. “The fighters aren’t allowed to leave the building, and the early-morning training sessions keep everyone busy. You should be inside, not out here pretending to want to know about my friend.”

“Is that what you are to each other?” Cahill drawled, the words all soft and sensual as they rolled off his tongue. As his knees came to rest against mine. “Just friends?”

I licked my lips, his proximity making me anxious in the best way. Making my defenses weaken.

“No. He’s very important to me.”

Cahill bristled, looking ready to fight. Looking ready to kill the one person in my life I could rely on.
Shit.

A
growl slipped
through my lips at her casual mention of this Piers guy being important. Fuck. I didn’t need trouble right off the bat at this place, but she was my mate.
Mine.
I wanted to be the one protecting her. Wanted to claim her, mark her, keep her to myself. I wanted her with a passion I’d never experienced.

She was my one and only chance at having a life enhanced by my soul mate, and I was willing to do whatever it took to keep her by my side. I would fight, kill, die…just to make her happy. But I couldn’t be impulsive, couldn’t risk my chance at getting what I wanted. What I needed.

I coughed back my wolf’s warning, having no idea what to say. She acted as if she didn’t realize we were mates, as if she didn’t feel the pull. Or maybe she did but was fighting it for some reason. Maybe she—

She leaned closer, snatching my attention back from my spiraling thoughts. I watched her closely, noting every breath, every shiver. Every inch of pale skin exposed to my eyes. Her breath washed over me, her flowery, fresh-water scent a total tease to my senses. So clean…so purifying…like a rain. My own personal raindrop. A raindrop I’d already scared once when I lost control.

“Your wolf sounds strong,” she said, her voice low, a murmur on the wind. “Mine is very intrigued by him. She’s practically panting to get her chance to meet you, but we can’t shift here. It’s against the rules.”

My wolf rushed forward, making my eyesight sharper as he tried to push my human side out of the way. I sank my claws into the earth, fighting back the urge to grab her and pull her closer. Pull her against me. Instead, I growled, pushing words past the rumbling sound as best I could.

“I’ve never really been one to follow the rules.”

Her lips turned up in a sarcastic sort of smile. “No? But you’re a pack wolf…right?”

“Yes,” I hissed, the smell of her making me crazy. “I’m the head of security for my pack.”

She hummed a single note softly, almost as if she were thinking over something. “I’m not sure whether to be terrified or impressed.”

I huffed an almost whiny sound, fighting to keep control. “Never terrified. Not of me. Not of my pack.”

She inched closer, her lips almost on my skin. “Packs have rules. Lots of them. They kicked Piers out when he couldn’t follow them.”

I stared into her eyes, pieces of a puzzle falling into place but still leaving massive holes in the overall picture. So Piers had gotten kicked out of his pack, probably when he came of age, like most male shifters under weak Alphas. But that didn’t tell me about her…about why she was with him. About what their relationship was like.

“The only thing that can get you kicked out of the Southern Appalachia pack is to do harm to another member. We don’t force our males to leave.”

She blinked, almost looking surprised. “And your women? Do your rules say they must be subservient to their male mates?”

My shoulders shook with the force of the laugh I coughed out. “The only way a woman in our pack is subservient is if she wants to be. Our Alpha’s sister helped run the pack, and she made sure the males in our pack knew from the start that any woman brought onto our mountain would be well aware of the power they held over us.”

She grew quiet, thoughtful, staring at a spot over my shoulder. I watched her silently as I waited for her next question. For the next roadblock her mind seemed to be throwing up against us.

Finally, her wide eyes met mine once more. “It sounds too good to be true.”

“It’s not. You could be happy there with me. You’d be loved and respected as a woman of the pack, but also as my ma—”

“Don’t.” She placed her finger over my lips, silencing me. Her eyes were wide, almost fearful. Aw, fuck. I would
not
scare her again. But the scent of her swamped me, the warmth of her skin making my cock so hard it hurt. Had we been in the building with its pheromone-filled air, I’d probably have her on her back already with my teeth in her neck. Thank fuck we were outside. I could control myself here…mostly. Still, my chest vibrated with the strength of my growl, my eyesight sharpening as my wolf side tried to take control.

And this girl, this beautiful woman, sat before me and played with fire. She smiled up at me, all wide eyes and simple beauty, rubbing her finger along my lips like a treat. Like she had to touch me, to explore my features. Like she wanted me. I could smell her arousal on the air, hear the way her breathing had picked up. Something between us had turned hot and needful, a moment of desire hampered by fears I had yet to understand. But I would…and soon. I’d do anything to make her feel safe with me, to show her how much I was willing to do for her. To prove I was a good man to have as a mate. I’d made enough mistakes over the past year; I wouldn’t make any more, especially not where she was concerned.

With shaking fingers and a ball of arousal burning hot and heavy in my gut, I grabbed her hand as she dragged her thumb across my bottom lip, breathing hard, fighting every animal instinct I had, desperate to remain a gentleman. Mindful of the precipice we stood upon when it came to our relationship.

“What’s your name?” My words came out rushed, breathy. Probably not at all what she was expecting from me, but I had to know. I needed to learn everything about her. Starting with the basics.

She slid her hand out of my hold, her movements slow and almost hesitant. “Is that really all you want to know?”

“No, but it’s a start.”

She leaned closer, her arm brushing mine. “My name’s Trinity.”

I practically whimpered, fingers buried in the soil, holding tightly to the ground, still resisting the urge to grab her. To yank her to me. To kiss her until she couldn’t see straight. Her tongue flashed against her lips, and I nearly howled. Every inch of me hurt, all my focus on locking my muscles down so I didn’t do anything stupid. So I stayed in control.

“You’re not as scary as I thought,” she whispered. Such a simple phrase, barely a handful of words, and yet too powerful to pass over. My growl stopped, my body froze in place. Every flame of desire for her went cold, every need disappearing into nothing.

“You thought I was scary?”

“That…the way you hit that man in the ring.” She shrugged as if it wasn’t important, as if the idea of her being afraid of me wasn’t one of my biggest fears. “It was a little more than I expected to see.”

“I don’t—” I shook my head, memories of that hit blending with pictures of our pack after the attack. Of my dead sisters lying in the dirt in front of their cabin. Of teeth and claws and screams and bodies falling. A shifter…a witch…a friend. So much violence and death in such a short time. So many moments I could have done things differently.

Moments I couldn’t change, unlike the one I found myself in right then.

“I didn’t want to hit him like that,” I said, trying my hardest to make sure she understood. To show her I could be honest and open with her. “I didn’t mean to scare you, and I didn’t hit him like that to show off. My reaction was about protection. He crept up while I was focused on you, and I thought he was a threat.”

She sat silent for many seconds, time slow and heavy as it passed. I wished with everything I had that she believed me, that she’d understand how a threat to her would send me into a rage. That my need to keep her safe outweighed everything else.

That she wouldn’t think I was a lunatic.

After an eternity that probably only lasted ten seconds, she inched closer, bringing her face directly in front of mine. “Why did you want to protect me?”

“Because…” I licked my lips, the fire within flaring brightly once more by her proximity. The taste of her skin on my flesh had me shuddering, the memory of her touch on my lips something visceral and incendiary. My God, she was sweet. I wanted more of her. Lots more. I didn’t want to fight the pull anymore. Not for another second.

“Tell me,” she whispered, her breath washing over my lips. “Don’t say the word, but tell me. I need to hear it.”

With little more than a breath, I whispered the only truth I could. “Because you’re mine.”

She sagged against me. All I knew was her, all I felt was her body pressing to mine. My raindrop had become my world. And when she sighed, when she closed her eyes and smiled so soft and pretty, I knew I was done. That flame of desire exploded, burning everything in its path. Every obstacle, every barrier…gone. There was nothing but her and me and the beating of our hearts as one.

Until the explosion of sweetness on my lips.

O
h God
, his lips. Firm and demanding, but with a hidden softness to them. Just like the man himself. We came together in a rush, neither person making that first move. Was I kissing him or was he kissing me? As his tongue brushed against my lips, I opened for him and quit wondering. It didn’t matter who made the first move, who leaned in first, who started the fire. We were blazing, nearly out of control, and that burn was the best feeling in the entire world. Kissing Cahill was a much different experience than kissing the random shifter men I’d grown up with in the pack. Those boys were like placeholders, teachers who never got close enough to take more than the physical. Cahill was mine, my mate, someone to whom I could give my entire heart. Someone I worried I would never find. Someone I couldn’t technically have. Yet.

But for one moment, for one brief, glorious minute, I pretended none of those things mattered. I imagined we were truly alone, safe somewhere far away from this hell, with no obligations to the rest of the world. And when his hands grabbed my hips, I didn’t resist him. I let him tug me closer because I wanted him to. I wanted to feel his body against mine. I wanted one more minute in the fantasy. I deserved that much, didn’t I? And he deserved the same. Deserved more than me. More than a mate who kept secrets from him.

Piers.

I pulled away, gasping for air, my hands shaking as they clutched at his shoulders.

“We can’t.”

“Can’t what?” His tongue peeked out, and he licked his lips in a most obscene way. I nearly attacked him. What I wouldn’t give to be kissing him again. To feel those lips on mine. On me.

I shivered. “Cahill, we can’t do this.”

“Do what? Kiss? Because I’m pretty sure we were doing a bang-up job of it just a few seconds ago.”

I untangled myself from his arms, hating myself for having to let go, ducking my head to hide the desire in my eyes. “No, we can’t do this. Any of this.”

One finger slid under my chin, gently lifting my face. I nearly whimpered when my eyes met his. He looked at me as if I held the key to his world, as if I was more than just a pack wolf with a secret or ten. He looked at me as if I mattered.

“Why not? What’s going on?”

I swallowed hard, knowing how much this would hurt him. Readying myself for the rebound heartache. “I can’t betray my…Piers like that.”

“Piers.” His back stiffened, eyes hardening. “Who is Piers to you?”

I wrung my hands as I stood up, refusing to lie. I couldn’t, not to him. Not to my mate. But I couldn’t tell the truth, either. “I…I don’t want to say. But he only has a handful of fights left.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Please,” I whispered as my heart cracked slowly, painfully deep. “I know it’s confusing. But I can’t tell you. I can’t risk it. Once he’s done fighting, we can leave here. Everything will work out then.”

“Trinity, really, I don’t understand. What can’t you risk?”

I bit my lip, facing him. Terrified. “Piers. I can’t risk him.”

His eyes went cold and dark before he turned away from me. “I see.”

“No.” I gasped at the pain in my chest, at the way my heart screamed for Cahill. I jumped toward him without thought, without plan, grabbing on to his arm, thumbing the edge of his scars and forcing him to look up at me. “You don’t know, and that’s my fault. But it’s not what you think.”

Cahill sighed, his hands coming to hold my elbows. To hold me in place. “Then tell me.”

The pain was excruciating, my heart ripped in jagged pieces. But there was nothing I could do. “I can’t.”

He growled again, this one softer, higher. More pain than aggression. “But you’re my—”

I pressed my finger against his lips again, silencing him before he dared to say the word. I wanted to hear it, wanted to yell it from the rooftop and let the whole world know he was mine, but we couldn’t. And that might have been the moment my heart fell apart, flayed open by the secrets I was sworn to keep.

Dropping to my knees before him, I dragged my cheek along his, nearly purring at the scruff as it scraped my sensitive skin. Giving him a brief taste of what he wanted, scenting him as mine. Higher still, just a bit, so I could whisper in his ear. So I could close the one door I desperately wanted to keep open.

“We can’t say it. Not here, not where the others can hear us. I know what we are, but we can’t say the word.”

Cahill grabbed my hips, his touch harsh and nearly painful. “Why? Please, tell me.”

“I can’t, but know this. Once Piers’ last fight is done, I can be yours completely. We’ll leave here; I’ll go wherever you do. Just…give me time.” I pressed my lips to his cheek and closed my eyes for one second, breathing him in, clinging to his warmth and his touch. And then I jumped up and ran.

The pain nearly brought me to my knees, but I still raced as fast as I could for the complex. I knew Cahill could catch me if he wanted to, if he chased me, but I hoped he’d stay put for a minute. Nothing good could come from him chasing me. I had to be ahead of him. If the other shifters knew, if they saw us together, it could destroy what we’d been working for. What Piers had been working for.

I slipped into the gym unnoticed, reeling from the pain and needing to hide in my room so I could finally release the tears. My lips tingled from Cahill’s kisses, a little memory of our few stolen moments something I loved. It was as if I had a secret.

That thought pulled me up short. A secret? I had plenty of those. Too many. They just kept piling on, dragging me down with the weight of the responsibilities they brought with them. Don’t tell this, act like this, never forget that. It was exhausting. And poor Cahill was stuck in the middle—knowing there was a secret but not knowing the details. I hated it, hated that the next few days could hurt him. I wanted to be with him, to get to know him, to explore our bond. But I couldn’t. Not here, not now.

Not until Piers won that last fight.

“Hey, Trin, where’ve you been?” Piers walked up with a smile on his face. Another fighter I recognized walked by his side, one who liked to leer at me a little too much.

I forced a returning smile. “Just went for a walk. It stinks of sweat and male in here.”

From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Cahill as he walked in the door. My wolf whined for her mate, but I fought the instinct to turn. I stayed focused on the men in front of me, not wanting to give anything away. Not wanting to give in to the need and the hurt and the ache for the one I couldn’t be with.

The shifter next to Piers gave me a lecherous smile and leaned closer, sniffing me in a way that made my inner wolf slink forward, ready to defend. “It may smell like sweat in here, but you smell like another shifter. You running around on our boy here? When’s my turn?”

Piers’ throaty growl rumbled loud enough to stop all the chatter in the area. “What did you just say to her?”

I lifted my chin, refusing to let this animal get under my skin. He may have smelled Cahill on me, but there were a million reasons for that. A million beyond him and me kissing by the river.

A crash from across the aisle stopped the fighter from saying anything else. We all turned toward the sound, watching as a metal table settled against the concrete, top side down. Cahill stormed away from the area without looking back.

“That guy’s going to kill someone,” the fighter beside Piers said.

“Yeah, he’s a definite hothead.” But Piers wasn’t watching Cahill, he was eyeing me. He cocked his head, looking at me with a question. I couldn’t lie to him, never had been able to, so I pinched my lips together and held his gaze. Holding my ground even though it felt like quicksand under my feet.

Knowing he’d get it out of me eventually and terrified of what he’d do when he found out Cahill was my mate.