Harvest Moon (21 page)

“You think Sebastian knows?”

“Yes.” I gripped the armrest on my seat as we gained altitude. “He didn’t admit anything, but he was the one who brought us a flash drive with the breeding experiment Lana’s mother participated in. When he delivered the information, he conveniently left out the identity of her father, but he told us he was alive and still working for Nero.”

“Her mother?”

“Eliminated.” Just like they’d been ordered to handle Kilani. Silenced forever.

Over my fucking dead body.

“Why would Sebastian want to keep that a secret?”

I shrugged. “No clue, but the more I think about it, it makes sense. After Sebastian stole that file, he stopped pursuing the mission to bring Lana back to Nero. They ended up bringing in Sasha to finish the job.”

“Sasha? As in Nadya’s sister the police detective?”

“She wasn’t a detective at the time. Long story.” I took another swallow of my Coke. “But if I’m right and Damian is Lana’s fraternal twin, then Sebastian is her older brother…he’s related to her twins, too.” I raked a hand through my hair. “Jesus. Malcolm and Madeleine are Severino’s grandchildren. Shit.”

“Maybe you’re wrong.”

I sucked in a slow breath and met her eyes. “I’m not. I can feel it. I need to warn Adam.”

I struggled to calm my mind. If I was right, and I’d bet everything I was, then my Alpha’s mate and their twin toddlers were in more danger than we realized. Nero wanted Lana because she’d been the first female-born shifter, and now she’d passed that along to her daughter, and somehow, even though Lana was a jaguar, her son was born a werewolf like his father. The secrets in their DNA could change Nero’s breeding program forever, making their supply of shape-shifting assassins never-ending.

Did Sebastian give his father that information? That was the million-dollar question.

I passed my empty cup to the flight attendant and did my best to box up my concern. There was nothing I could do while we were 35,000 feet above the ocean.

Leaning over, I brushed my lips to Kilani’s temple. The fresh scent of her hair, her skin, calmed the tempest twisting inside me. “So, your turn. What’s been keeping you so quiet?”

Chapter Twenty

K
ILANI

H
e made it sound so simple. But my thoughts had been running in circles for hours, and I couldn’t keep up anymore. I was going back to Hawaii to find my grandmother who hadn’t spoken to me in more than ten years, I’d seen Jason’s death in a vision, and then there were the mercenaries from Nero after us.

At this point, I was clinging to calm by a thin thread greased with butter.

“I’m not sure where to start.” That about covered it.

“The beginning?”

I nudged him with my elbow. Somehow, in spite of my near panic, Jason could still make me smile. “The beginning. Okay…I’ve never been back home for a reason. When I left for Brightwood, I made the trip without my grandmother’s consent, and she never contacted me, so I didn’t reach out to her, either. Now it’s been years, and I have no idea what to expect. I assume she’s still angry with me, but…” I cleared my throat and gazed past Jason, out the window. “Deep down…I’m scared she just doesn’t care.”

Jason took my hand, drawing my attention back to him. The setting sun coming through the jet’s window made his hazel eyes brighter, fiery, and the set of his jaw, the cut healing on his eyebrow, they all came together into a masculine package that stole my breath. Why couldn’t we be going to Hawaii for a romantic getaway?

Because life was anything but fair. I’d learned that lesson firsthand more than once.

“Whatever kept your grandmother from contacting you doesn’t really make a difference anymore. It’s time to let it go and start over. You’ve both lost time you’ll never get back.” He kissed my knuckles. Watching his lips caress my skin was a welcome distraction from the dread and worry. “No matter what the future holds, I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be here for you.”

God, had anyone ever “been there” for me? It was like he offered cool water after I’d been lost in the desert. A little voice whispered,
Too good to be true
, but I did my best to ignore it.

I’d already given him my trust and my body, but my heart remained locked away, and I forgot where I hid the key.

“Easy to say that now. You haven’t met my family yet. It’s not neat and tidy like yours.”

“Really?” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Is that what you think? Our Pack is a lot of things, but neat and tidy? No way. Love isn’t always pretty, and it’s usually during the ugliest moments when you discover just how strong it can be.”

I wanted to believe him. “We should get some rest.”

He didn’t prod or push, surprising me. Instead, he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. Settled in against his chest, I tried to forget about assassins, past hurts, and even the new ones waiting for me when we got to the islands.

In the steady beat of Jason’s heart, I found peace.

W
e landed in Honolulu. The scent of fresh flowers on the cool evening breeze swamped me, drowning me in a wave of unwelcome memories. My mother teaching me to weave leis and find sand dollars on the beach. And the afternoon my grandmother wiped my tears and promised me she’d take care of me after my mom walked out of our lives.

Jason squeezed my hand. “I’ve never been to Hawaii before. Does it always smell so…”

“Yes.” I nodded, shoving my childhood into a dark corner. “I never realized how amazing the air smelled here until I went to New York. I took it for granted.”

We collected our bags and caught a cab to the hotel. We planned to spend the night in Honolulu and catch the first plane to Maui in the morning. Jason checked us in under Lana’s reservation. Nero would be looking for Jason or me, so hopefully Lana’s name would fly under the radar. For all we knew, Damian and his men were already over on Maui anyway.

“It’s late, but I need some food.” He handed me a room key. “Probably a substantial amount of food.”

I chuckled in spite of my mood. Jason had a knack for sensing when I needed to get out of my own head or something. Supposedly I was the psychic, but maybe there was more to the mate thing than I realized.

“Is this big appetite a werewolf thing?”

He nodded, leaving our things at the bell desk. “Yeah, our metabolism runs fast, so we need food and plenty of it. The perk is, we never gain a spare tire around our middles.”

“I bet Weight Watchers hates you guys.”

“Now you understand why secrecy is so important for us.”

I laughed and slid my arm around his waist. “What are you in the mood for?”

He glanced down at me with hunger in his eyes, a decidedly sexy hunger that had nothing to do with food. My body warmed. I wet my lips and he tightened his hold around my waist, his voice low, almost a growl.

“Maybe we should go to the room first.”

There was a delicious power in witnessing the effect I had on him, in seeing his desire. He didn’t hide it from me. That honesty turned me on even more than his chiseled body.

“While that’s tempting…” I took his hand. “I’d like to see the water.”

He nodded and kissed my forehead. “Sounds good to me.”

We made our way through the lobby area and outside. The Sheraton was right on the water, and with the bright, nearly full moon, the froth on the waves glowed in the silvery light. My breath caught in my throat as the waves crashed onto the sand.

Home.

I tugged Jason out to the beach. We pulled off our shoes and rolled up our pant legs while the local band playing poolside belted out “Louie Louie.”

“I have shorts in my bag.” Jason laced his fingers with mine. “I should’ve changed.”

I chuckled. “If we’d gone to the room, we would’ve stayed there.”

“Definitely.” He grinned and my blood warmed.

We walked down to the water. The cool water rushed around our ankles and a giggle bubbled up from my throat. “Oh, it’s colder than I remember.”

“You probably splashed around during the day.”

I nodded. “I used to collect sand dollars with my mom. She’d tell me stories about how mermaids used them for money.”

“This must have been a great place to grow up.”

“Yeah. For a while it was…” The moonlight sparkled on the water, and for the first time, I realized thinking about my mom hadn’t made me angry.

Another wave came in hard, splashing up our pant legs. Jason jumped back, laughing. “Shit. That one surprised me.”

Behind us, the band broke into a cover of “Hungry Like the Wolf.” I smiled up at mine. He was sexy even in soaking-wet blue jeans. “Dance with me.”

He chuckled, glancing down the beach. “I’m not much of a dancer.”

“You can’t listen to this song and not move to the beat.” I let my hips sway to the pulsing drumbeat as I took his hand. “There’s no one out here to see. Just feel it.”

He rolled his eyes but gradually started to move with me. The waves crashed and raced toward us, but I barely noticed. I couldn’t take my eyes off of Jason. Once he got over being self-conscious, he could move. I danced around him slowly, enjoying the hunger in his gaze.

As the band finished and started a new song, Jason pulled me close, my breasts pressed tight to his chest. “This wolf is very hungry.”

I ran my hands up his chest. “Dancing can tell you a lot about a person.”

He raised a brow. “I’m afraid of what I just told you.”

I laughed as another wave drenched us. “You like to be in control, but the second you allowed your body to respond to the beat, your instincts took over and you danced. You surrendered.” Kissing his chest, I whispered, “You have an artist’s passion trapped inside your analytical mind.”

Jason lifted me up, and I wrapped my legs around his waist. His forehead rested against mine. “I’ve never liked dancing.” He started to sway with the music and the tide, turning us slowly. “But maybe I just never had the right partner.”

His lips claimed mine as the waves broke around us. My pulse raced, my body warmed, and gradually he broke the kiss. “You make me feel invincible.”

But he wasn’t invincible. None of us were, and my vision of him bleeding from a gunshot wound was never far from my consciousness.

“Tell me what it’s like out here through your eyes and ears, with your wolf senses.”

He slowly lowered me to the ground and took my hand. Together we walked down the shoreline. “We’re walking into the wind, so not only can I smell all the food, but if I concentrate, I can tell you one of the band members forgot deodorant. The waves make it tough to hear conversations.”

“And how do you know they’re not out here watching us right now?”

“After my fight with Damian, I’d recognize his scent in a heartbeat. He’s not on this beach. I didn’t pick up his scent in the airport, either, but with all the people coming and going, his scent was probably gone by the time we got there.”

“So he couldn’t sneak up on you?”

Jason shrugged. “It’d be tough. Maybe if he was downwind he could take a shot?” He looked down at me. “Can I ask you a question now?”

“Sure.”

“Is this about your vision? Because I don’t see it as set in stone. We’re being cautious, and we can change the outcome.”

I sighed and swallowed the lump in my throat. “I made a pact with myself to never get involved with another doctor, but that night at Adam’s ranch, when I found out your first-aid kit was Bactine and Band-Aids and your first love was art, not science…” I shook my head and stared out at the waves. “You’re a good guy, Jason, and all I bring to the table is danger.”

He came around in front of me and lifted my chin to meet his eyes. “Here’s what you bring to the table. You’re smart and strong. I’ve never seen anyone so calm under pressure. The day my dad was attacked, he would’ve died without your help, and when Damian met us in the parking lot, you were cool enough to call my brother for backup. You probably saved us both.” He started to smile. “And you saved me from cracking my head open in my shower even though I’m a terrible patient.”

I laughed, remembering the way he groaned about the Bactine stinging. “You really are a bad patient.”

“And tonight you got me to dance.” He pointed to his chest. “Me. The non-dancer. And you know what?” I shook my head. “I sort of liked it.”

I grinned. “So when this is over, you might take me dancing?”

He kissed my lips. “Definitely.” He pulled back, smile fading. “I need to tell you something.”

My pulse jumped a little. “Okay.”

“If things go bad here, I need you to know that…” His voice was raw with emotion. “Somewhere in this crazy mess, I fell for you. And if that vision you had comes true, I want—”

“I want you to bite me and make me like you.”

His eyes widened at my interruption. “What?”

“It’s the only way I can help you and not be a hindrance. I see that now.”

He frowned. “You don’t have to do that. Not yet.” He took my hand. “Being changed by your mate is a commitment. Lifelong commitment. I’d be lying through my teeth if I told you I didn’t want that with all my being, but before you interrupted I was trying to say…I love you. And I’m willing to wait twenty years if that’s what it takes for you to see that those aren’t empty words like you’ve heard in the past. When you need me, I’ll be there. You don’t need to change a thing.”

A tear spilled down my cheek as I rose up on my toes to kiss him. His strong arms held me tight as our lips parted. My tongue tangled slowly with his while my mind reeled, replaying his words over and over. This wasn’t an “I love you” gasped after sex, or a manipulation. He hadn’t asked for anything in return.

What could I give? All I brought to the table was trouble and danger. Unless he changed me. If I had the senses he did, combined with my visions, I could save him. Was I ready for a lifelong commitment? Was he? Some small part of myself, the little lost girl, reminded me that my own mother walked out on me and never came back. What if Jason discovered the flaw inside me that sent her away?

My chest tightened as I pulled back, aching to escape the doubt and fear roiling inside me. “You’re probably starving.”