Desperately Seeking Shapeshifter (12 page)

Ambassador?
Pointers?
Like they were going to swap shape-changing stories over burgers and hot dogs? My sister had a strange idea of what this barbeque would be about. The queasiness in my stomach grew. “You sure you and Beau don’t want to come?”

“Can’t,” she said with a small grimace, typing at her desk. “We weren’t invited. Beau says it’s a major faux pas if we invite ourselves to a non-Alliance function.”

From what I knew of shifters, he was right. More like all-out war if they decided to interfere again. I sighed. I would have felt so much better with my sister at my side.

I cast a brief look over at Connor, who continued to file diligently. I pulled up my files on the Midnight Liaisons database. On a whim, I clicked on Ramsey’s profile again. He looked so surly. Big and surly. Was it a wonder the man didn’t date? I pulled
up an instant message window to my sister, now curious.

How long has Beau known Ramsey?

Twelve years. His family took Ramsey in when he was exiled from his clan.

Why was he exiled?

Don’t know. Want me to ask Beau?

No, it’s okay.
I didn’t want him to know I was asking questions about Ramsey. It would look like I was more interested than I should have been. I typed,
Beau ever say anything about Ramsey’s dating habits?

Just that he doesn’t really date,
she wrote back.
Everyone is scared of him.

I couldn’t blame them.

He hasn’t threatened you, has he?
my sister asked.

Of course not,
I typed back.
I was just curious about him.

I looked at his profile again. Member of the alliance for twelve years. He was twenty-seven now. He’d been in the Alliance since he was fifteen? I pictured him as a gruff teenager, hair in his face and a chip on his shoulder, hands shoved in his pockets. Why had he been exiled? He’d been so young.

I flipped around on his profile, studying it for missing clues. Something was off. The big
Mated
link still glared at the top of the profile, and I felt a flash of guilt. I clicked on the link to Ramsey’s mate almost idly, waiting for it to pull my profile through, since we were linked.

The front door of the agency banged open. In
walked a fey prince, all smiles and smelling like flowers. The only way I could tell a fey from a regular human was the scent of fresh, clean, growing things. This one’s glamour was of a man who looked a lot like George Clooney in glasses. Glamours were convincing, if not particularly original. They usually just copied out of the latest celebrity tabloid. All those Elvis sightings back in the day? Fey princes having a bit of fun. I was willing to bet that half the tabloid stories in Hollywood were the direct result of a fey prince’s glamour-shifting. They usually didn’t wear the same face for long.

Grateful for the distraction, I stood to greet him. “Hi, welcome to Midnight Liaisons. May I help you?”

He handed me his Alliance card with a smile. “I was here a few days ago. I need a dinner companion for an important banquet next week.”

I ushered him to the chair in front of my desk. A fey in the office meant I didn’t have to think about wolves or shifters for a while. Nice reprieve.

The fey adjusted his profile, and we discussed the kinds of people he’d like to date. He had no particular gender preference, so I suggested he consider our doppelganger. Jean always had a hard time finding dates, but the fey looked intrigued, and I passed him one of the bright orange flyers my sister had created for the upcoming barn dance. “I would suggest a glamour of someone low-key if you want to blend in,” I added helpfully. “An A-list actor might be a little distracting.”

He gave a long-suffering sigh. “I suppose I can
study up on my Pre-Raphaelite portraiture and pick a new face.”

“Sounds wonderful,” I agreed. I saved his profile on the computer and exited out.

As soon as the fey lord vacated the seat in front of my desk, Connor slid back into it and gave me a slow smile. Connor touched the edge of my monitor and nudged it back toward him again, looking at the screen. “Friend of yours?”

I looked up from the stack of paperwork I was flipping through, confused. “Huh?”

Connor nodded at the monitor. “Client?”

I had no idea what he was talking about. I stared at him, then at the computer screen. An unfamiliar profile stared back at me—a blond woman with long hair, big hoop earrings, and a colorful scarf. How did I get on that page? I turned the monitor away from Connor. “Did you want to date her?”

He shrugged and leaned back in his chair, suddenly all casual. “Nah. I was just curious why you were looking at her profile.”

Had I been? I didn’t remember what I’d been looking at before the fey lord had come in. I studied her profile for a moment—Nikolina Aasen—but it didn’t ring a bell. I clicked the Back button, and to my surprise, the browser returned to Ramsey’s profile. I studied his again, trying to remember what I’d clicked on to get to Nikolina’s profile.

Then a cold, hard knot formed in my stomach. I clicked on the
Mated
link at the top of Ramsey’s profile.

Nikolina’s profile pulled up again.

The two profiles were linked. I studied Nikolina’s information. Profile—inactive. Race—were-bear. Status—mated.

The reason why Ramsey’s profile showed no activity was because my fake mate already had a real one.

I didn’t know what to think.

I couldn’t be angry, right? I mean, how could I be angry that he had a real mate on the side? This wasn’t about feelings—this was about my safety.

So why did it bother me so very much that he’d never mentioned her to me? That when he kissed me and looked at me with smoldering eyes, that she wasn’t on his mind? Were we cheating? Was it cheating if our relationship was all pretend? I felt sick.

This wasn’t a real mating, but . . . I needed to know what it
was
.

By the time Ramsey arrived to pick me up, the fey lord was long gone, my sister had left for the day, and I was alone with a very bored Connor, who played solitaire on a nearby computer. I tried to ignore him as I worked, but he was always there, his scent in my nostrils.

Ramsey hadn’t changed out of his work clothes to pick me up—his T-shirt had the Russell Security logo branded above one pec, and his skin looked browned from the sun. I wondered what he did all day—follow clients? Separate shifters from angry erstwhile
mates? Or just throw around people that didn’t do what Beau wanted? Was Russell Security just a fancy name for the Alliance version of the mafia?

The three of us piled in the truck again, and Connor gave Ramsey instructions as I tried to calm my racing heart. I didn’t want to see the wolves. What if this was a trap? Roy had been sneaky like that. He’d promise me one thing and blindside me with another, to the point that anytime I smelled wolf, I immediately distrusted it. Even my own scent.

We pulled up to a sprawling ranch-style house with several acres around it. It didn’t surprise me to see a half dozen trucks in front of the house and the circular gravel drive packed full. We parked on the side of the road, and Ramsey threw on the parking brake. I smelled barbeque and smoke when the wind shifted, and the overwhelming smell of wolf. Even from here I could catch breaths of conversation. Every nerve in my body sang in alarm, and I clutched Ramsey’s arm.

“I don’t want to go,” I whispered.

Connor gave me a look of annoyance, and I knew he was revolted at my whining. “Don’t be scared. No one’s going to eat you.”

Ramsey’s big arm went around my shoulders and he pulled me against him. I heard the low growling rumble start in his chest again. “If Sara wants to leave, I’m not going to force her to stay.”

“Uncle Levi wants to see how she’s doing,” Connor said. “He won’t be happy if she doesn’t show up.”

“Don’t care,” Ramsey rumbled. “She’s not his concern.”

“Just because you deny it doesn’t make it true.” Connor’s teeth bared and he slid out of the truck, slamming the door behind him.

Ramsey turned to me. “Do you want to go?”

Connor was right—Levi would be furious if I didn’t show up. And then the wolves would think I was a coward. They’d eat me alive after that. My stomach twisted in an unhappy knot at the prospect of pissing off the wolves. “No, it’s all right. We’ll go for a bit.”

Ramsey’s scowling expression didn’t change, and I had the strangest thought that I’d somehow let him down. “Very well.”

When we got out of the truck, he pocketed his keys and then extended one massive hand toward me.

I slipped my hand in his and leaned close to him. He was warm and smelled faintly of sweat, as if he’d been out in the heat all day. I liked it, as well as the faint scent of bear that clung to his skin. It was a welcome change in the sea of dog fur that assailed my nostrils. If I lived to be a hundred years, I’d never get used to the smell of wolves.

There was a lot of conversation coming from the back of the house, so we cut through the yard. A radio played country hits, and I could hear the lazy chatter of multiple voices, Levi’s laugh rising occasionally above the others.

The tables were set up in a half circle around a massive central grill. Men lounged there, and a
few played football in the yard. At the grill, Levi drank a sweating beer and poked at the meat with his tongs.

Everyone quieted when Ramsey’s scent touched the air, and all heads turned.

I gave an awkward wave. “Hi.”

All eyes immediately went to me, and I felt my skin prickle. They couldn’t have been more attuned to me if I’d shown up naked. Their eyes were ravenous as they devoured me, and I stepped closer to Ramsey, my hand clammy in his.

“Glad to see you make it,” one Anderson drawled. His gaze swept over me, pausing on my flat chest. The pocket of his shirt said Maynard. “Connor told us you’d chicken out. He thinks you don’t like us. Imagine that.”

I flushed. “I never said that.” At least not to Connor’s face.

Maynard’s gaze swung to Connor. “You hear that, boy? She does like us. You’re just causing trouble, ain’t ya? Or maybe you’re trying to keep the little woman all to yourself.”

Connor ignored Maynard’s comments and moved to the back door of the house. “I’m gonna say hi to Gracie.”

“You do that,” Maynard said, his possessive gaze still on me. Once Connor left, the other men cast a few looks among themselves, and conversation picked up again.

My skin prickled. They were acting as if Ramsey hadn’t even been there. I didn’t know what to do,
and Ramsey wasn’t moving, so I simply stood there and held his hand, trying not to tremble. I didn’t know what they expected of me. Mingling? Introducing myself to all seven Andersons? I’d seen them all naked and turned on at the thought of getting me away from the Russell cougars. The thought of trying to socialize with them made me cold. Maynard had already given me the creeps. I had nothing to say to them.

Levi waved at me with the tongs. “Come here, girl.”

A ripple of fear brushed down my skin, stirring my wolf. The fear warred with the need to please the alpha, a disturbing feeling I didn’t think I’d ever get used to. I bit the inside of my cheek hard, chasing it away. When I moved forward, Ramsey’s grip tightened on my hand, but he didn’t step forward, instead waiting and letting me take the lead. I wouldn’t have to go to Levi alone, and I was grateful.

Levi didn’t look pleased when I showed up with my mate in tow. He glared at me over his beer, then looked at Ramsey when I stood awkwardly next to the grill. “Why don’t you go inside and grab your little lady a beer?” he said to Ramsey.

I froze. Was this a trick to separate us? A trap of some kind? As soon as Ramsey left, would they hold me down and kidnap me? Drag me off to some cabin in the woods like Savannah, and never let me leave?

Ramsey’s hand left mine and he put a hand on my shoulders, tugging me close to him in a half hug, burying my face in his massive chest. “I’m here.”

“She looks like she could use a beer to calm her nerves,” Levi said. “I can hear her heart hammering a mile a minute.”

“She’s fine.”

I curled my toes in my sneakers, flexing my feet and praying to God I wouldn’t pop claws.
A fucking disgusting sight,
Levi had said at the sight of me changing. If I changed uncontrollably in front of them again, they’d do their best to separate Ramsey from me for good.

Levi gave me a narrow-eyed look. “Girl, if we wanted to kill you both, we’d have done so already. We invited you for barbeque. Ain’t nothing more than that.”

“We’re here because you demanded it,” I said, stating the obvious. “If you wanted to kill us both, we wouldn’t be standing here.”

He grunted. Studied the grill for a moment longer, then glanced back at the two of us. “Can’t talk to you with your man hovering. He should go get you a beer,” the alpha said pointedly. “There’s some inside the house.”

Obviously Levi wanted to talk to me without Ramsey around. That was the last thing I wanted, but the desire to please the alpha was eating away at my good sense. I pulled my cheek away from Ramsey’s chest, turning to face Levi and gathering the shreds of my courage. “How do I know this isn’t a trap?”