Protective Instinct (2 page)

She eyed her cousin curiously. “For what?”

“Connor’s sending Rafael to look at some property not far from here. Just a couple hours north. This evening was the only time they could get the listing agent to show it this week before he goes out of town for a few days.”

“Why isn’t Liam going?” Connor’s brother normally did anything real estate-related for the pack.

She snorted. “December’s got one month to go before she pops and he’s acting like an overprotective father already.”

A grin tugged at Teresa’s lips, some of her own frustration fading. “I bet she just loves that.”

Ana shook her head, her dark eyes filled with amusement. “He tried to forbid her to go to work at the bookstore.
Forbid.
His word, not mine.”

Teresa’s mouth fell open. “I wish I’d been there for that conversation.”

“Right? So…why don’t you head out with Rafael? He’s leaving in an hour. Maybe sooner. I’m sure he’d love the company.” Rafael had been part of a pack out west but when their Alpha had been killed Connor had taken him and five of his packmates in at the request of Jayce. The two females were pregnant. One with twins.

The thought of staying cooped up on the ranch right now was enough to make her scream. “You think so?”

“Of course. Besides, he’s still getting to know everyone. It wouldn’t hurt to make him feel more included.”

“Okay, that sounds great. Is it an overnight thing?”

Ana nodded. “Yeah. Connor wants him to look at some more properties tomorrow but he really wants him to check out this place.”

“I’m surprised your mate isn’t going.”

Ana just snorted again. “He’s as bad as Liam, worrying about December. It’s kinda sweet, though I don’t think he wants to leave Liam right now when he’s all freaked out.”

Yeah, the two brothers were close. And Connor was a good Alpha. “I’m going to go. Thanks for this, I need it.” Did she ever. After talking with her cousin for a few more minutes and snagging some cookies for herself, she headed back to her place.

Getting away right now was the best idea ever. If she didn’t have to see or even scent Ryan maybe she could actually think straight for a little while. And just maybe, a little distance would help him to pull his head out of his ass.

* * *

Connor waited until Teresa was gone before stepping into the kitchen. “What are you up to?” he murmured, stalking toward his mate.

Ana gave him a look she probably thought made her appear innocent. But he could see the mischievous glint in her dark eyes. Needing to touch her, he slid his hands down over her hips and pulled her close, inhaling her sweet scent that always made him think of raspberries. Shit, if he even smelled the fruit he got aroused. It was messed up, he thought, as he ran his nose along her neck.

She arched into him, letting out a soft groan as she linked her fingers behind his neck. “What are you talking about?”

He nipped at her earlobe as he hoisted her up onto one of the counters. “Answering a question with a question. A sure sign my sexy mate is holding something back.”

Ana spread her thighs wider as he slid in between them. “Ryan is going to lose his mind when he learns Teresa’s gone off with Rafael, a single sexy wolf.” She let out a low laugh that sounded a little evil. And was a lot fucking hot.

Except… “You think Rafael’s sexy?” he asked, pulling his head back to look down at her. Even sitting on the counter she was a lot shorter than him. He’d never understood how males could get so insanely jealous until he’d met Ana. He knew she loved him, was completely committed to him, but to hear her call another male sexy made something dark inside him scrape against the surface.

Rolling her eyes, she playfully smacked his chest. “Don’t change the subject. Trust me, this is for the best. Those two just need to mate and get it over with. I thought for sure Ryan would pounce after what happened a few months ago. He’s got more patience than I gave him credit for. Once Teresa gets back, he’ll be ready to mate. I give it two days.”

He narrowed his gaze at her as he heard the front door opening. He immediately scented half a dozen packmates. Probably here for food. “Did you place a bet on them?”

To his surprise, her cheeks flushed pink. “Yeah. I picked two days from now. It’s a pretty big pool and I want to win.”

God he loved this female. Laughing, he leaned down and brushed his lips over the woman who had completely stolen his heart. For the past eight or so months their pack had been dealing with one issue after another from violent anti-paranormal maniacs to crazy vampires. It was nice that the only thing they had on their plate now was a bet for how soon two of their packmates would finally get together.

As old as he was he knew this peace wouldn’t last. It never did. So he was going to take full advantage of the calm while he could, and spend every waking second possible with his perfect mate.

Chapter 2

Feeling like a giant stalker, Ryan knocked on the door of Teresa’s home.

“Come in,” a male voice called out.

For a brief moment, he tensed, his wolf clawing at him, wanting to know who the hell was in his female’s home. Just as quickly he realized who the male was and opened the door. In a few steps he was in the living room and found Aldric in front of the fireplace, working on getting a fire going. The room was a mix of modern and country, or country chic as Teresa’s sister Natalia said. Whatever the hell that was.

Ryan nodded at the male, not surprised to find him there since he’d been spending a lot of time with Natalia the past few months—which meant he was at the sisters’ home all the time. As far as anyone knew they weren’t actually seeing each other, but they were clearly close friends. “Where’s Natalia?”

“Right here, cowboy,” she said, stepping back into the room with two beers in hand. “We’ve got beer in the fridge if you want one.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Nah, but thanks.” On instinct he looked up, as if he could somehow see through the damn ceiling to Teresa’s room. She hadn’t answered his texts or calls and when he’d gone to the main house Ana had been cagey about her whereabouts. That wasn’t like Ana, so he’d come here to find her. He needed to see Teresa with a desperateness that didn’t exactly surprise him. The urge to simply touch her, to run his fingers through the waves of her long, dark hair and see her equally dark, amber-flecked eyes flash with whatever emotion she was feeling at the moment.

“So what’s up?” Natalia asked, collapsing on one of the leather couches closest to Aldric. She crossed her legs and took a sip of her beer as she watched him with an almost amused expression.

As if she didn’t know why he was here. “Where’s your sister?”

“Which one? I’ve got three.”

He gritted his teeth, but forced himself to remain calm. He knew she was just messing with him. “The one I plan to mate.”

“Mate? Hmm, doesn’t ring any bells. Can you be more specific?”

“She’s gone with Rafael to look at some property a couple hours north. They left not too long ago,” Aldric said without looking up from the fire.

“Damn it, Aldric.” Natalia nudged his back with a sock-clad foot. “Thanks for ruining my fun,” she muttered sulkily.

Ryan ignored her and pinned Aldric with his gaze. His wolf swiped at him as he tried to digest what Aldric had just said. Teresa was off site with an unmated male? She hadn’t called or texted him to tell him either. What the hell?

The male glanced over as a small fire started, then stood. “He’s a good male,” Aldric said. “She’ll be safe.”

Rafael was also a
single
, alpha male, and according to some of the females in the pack, ‘so pretty to look at’. Not to mention he’d seen the way Rafael had been sniffing around the sisters’ house lately. Maybe that fucker thought Teresa was free and now planned to make his move. Over Ryan’s dead body. His jaw tightened as he tried to find his voice. “Does Ana know about this?”

Natalia snorted. “It was her idea.”

His gaze snapped to hers and he knew his wolf must be in his eyes because a wave of tension rolled off her, the sensation sharp and stinging. As an empath he sensed emotions even when he didn’t want to. Normally he could lock it down pretty tight, but right now he was grasping at his control, trying to get his shit together.

Instead all he could do was picture that GQ-looking bastard with his female. “How long will they be gone?” he growled.

Now Aldric stepped forward, all protective wolf as he moved fluidly in front of Natalia. Ryan wanted to roll his eyes but couldn’t manage even that. It wasn’t like he’d ever hurt a female. “They’re staying the night. You want the details, ask your Alpha.” The underlying bite to his words had Ryan’s hackles rising but he tamped all his anger back down because it wasn’t aimed at either of them.

“I’ll see you guys later.” He left without waiting for a response. As he stepped outside he headed straight for the main house only to find it empty. Next he went to December and Liam’s home. And hit the jackpot.

Ana and a very pregnant December sat at the center island, mugs of tea in their hands.

“Hey, Ryan.” December smiled warmly. What people said about pregnant females was definitely true because she was glowing. One hand rested gently on her protruding stomach. “Lucas isn’t here right now. He and Vivian headed over to Kat and Jayce’s. To bother Leila, I’m certain.”

He nodded politely at the female, simply unable to be rude to her. The human-turned-shifter because of her relationship with Liam was sweet and she liked to bake something fierce. He never wanted to get on her bad side. Ana, however, was on his shit list.

“I’m not here for him,” he murmured, shooting a dark glare at Ana.

Who studiously looked down into her mug.

“Damn it, Ana. Where is she?” he demanded.

“Where’s who?” December asked.

“Teresa.”

“Oh, she’s—”

Ana’s gaze snapped up and she glared at her sister-in-law. “Don’t tell him.” Then she focused on Ryan. “She needs some space from you. You’re making her crazy, Ryan. Either man up or give her the space she needs. It’s hurting her wolf right now. She just needs to find balance and she can’t do that with you around.” The truth rolling off her was sharp. Even without his empath senses, he could scent Ana’s concern. She was worried about her cousin.

It was all his fault too. He opened his mouth once, as he tried to find a response, but couldn’t come up with anything. Shit. He was hurting his future mate. Something he never, ever wanted to do. Hell, it was something he’d sworn
never
to do. He’d rather lose a limb. Feeling numb, he took a step back from the island. “Can you keep Lucas tonight?” he rasped out. The cub he’d adopted would gladly stay at Ana and Connor’s tonight because he’d get to play with Vivian. Those two were practically inseparable.

When Ana nodded he left, unable to stop the panic thrumming through him. In his quest to make certain he didn’t hurt a female the way his father had inadvertently hurt his mother, he was pushing away the one female who meant everything to him.

He’d almost lost Teresa once when she’d been poisoned with silver. He couldn’t lose her because of the past that had haunted him his entire life.

* * *

Natalia put her feet in Aldric’s lap as he sat on the couch next to her. The small fire started to blaze. Even though it was May, tonight was supposed to be cold and while they had higher body temperatures than humans, she’d never say no to a warm fire. It made her want to shift, curl up in front of it and sleep.

He took one of her feet in his hand and held it up a fraction. “Am I your footrest now?”

She had on black socks with pink flamingos wearing Christmas wreaths around their necks. It wasn’t even close to the holiday but she loved fun socks. She wiggled her toes. “No, but you ruined my fun with Ryan so you’re rubbing my feet.”

His dark eyebrows raised and she sensed something from him she couldn’t quite define. The male was alpha in nature, just like her, but he was a lot stronger and a bit more dominant. Definitely of the warrior class. And whenever she bossed him around he got this strange look on his face. She couldn’t quite place what it was, but she liked it.

“It’s cruel to mess with a male like that,” he murmured, picking up one foot and expertly starting to massage the arch.

“Then he shouldn’t be messing with my sister,” she snapped, a little harder than she’d intended. Okay, Ryan wasn’t actually messing with her in the sense that he was intentionally trying to hurt Teresa, but Natalia didn’t care. Teresa was her big sister and had been looking out for all of them forever, especially since their parents had been killed. No one upset her and got away with it. That was sister code 101.

“You know he’s not. Not on purpose, anyway.”

Natalia wondered if asking him to rub her feet hadn’t been the best idea. It felt so incredibly good, so sensual, she knew she wasn’t going to be able to hide her reaction much longer. She didn’t want Aldric to know how much she wanted him, how much she cared for him. The past few months had been some of the best of her life because she’d spent them getting to know him, but it was clear the male didn’t want anything else from her but friendship. Otherwise he’d have made a move by now. It was just how lupine shifters were.