Seven Years (17 page)

Wes had been his best friend since they were tying sheets to their shirt collars and pretending to be superheroes. He considered him a brother, because Shifters bonded that way and blood made no difference in who you considered family. As attracted as he was to Lexi, friends didn’t do that to each other. So Austin had kept a respectful distance from his best friend’s little sister. Wes did a great job keeping the boys away from her, but he also kept a close eye on Austin. He looked out for Lexi because her father didn’t.

What a bastard he was too. Austin had never seen a man less compassionate toward his daughter, but he had all the affection in the world for Wes. It should have made sense back then, but Austin just figured Nelson—their dad—didn’t relate to girls.

One night after a party, Wes lost his keys and they had to sneak in through Lexi’s bedroom window. She had tagged along with them, but they hadn’t let her have anything to drink; she just had the giggles. Nelson was waiting for them, and he was drunk. He threw Austin and Wes into the hallway and locked himself in the bedroom with Lexi. Austin never knew what happened in that room, but he’d heard a smack.

That was the night Wes discovered what Austin really was. Rage funneled through his body and caused him to shift uncontrollably in the hallway. He was ready to tear her father apart.

Austin had some explaining to do. After that, Wes became obsessed with their world and wanted to be a part of it.

Lexi had become a handful when she started dating. That didn’t sit well with either of them. Especially in high school when some of the boys started calling her Sexy Lexi and then Austin found out why. One of her best friends revealed to him that Michael Hudson had deflowered her. He went after Michael’s group and did some damage to their faces.

Rage didn’t quite encapsulate the feeling that coursed through Austin’s veins. Michael was evasive and hard to find, but Austin knew he had all the time in the world.

That’s how deep his respect for Lexi went; that’s how much he revered this girl who didn’t have a clue how he felt about her. She never had. Each time she entered a room, he tensed and felt a thrill move through his body as well as a fighting instinct to protect her.

A mockingbird sang in the distance and the night air called out to his wolf. Austin’s eyes never left hers as she bravely stared him down in wolf form. It was a proud moment watching her shift for the first time, even though she destroyed her bedroom and tried to take a chunk out of his arm. Man, what a fierce heart, and that’s something you never break.

“Come on, Lexi,” he coaxed. “You got these woods to run in and no one will hurt you. I need you to trust me.”

No longer baring her teeth, she snorted and stepped forward—tail high and proud.

Not a good sign.

He stiffened his shoulders and leaned forward on his knuckles, staring at her intensely. She whined a little and her tail went lower.

“I’ve known you for years, and this is how it’s gonna be?” he asked, a little playfulness in his voice.

Lexi’s wolf cautiously took another step, her silver-and-white coat even more exquisite in the moonlight. Recognition flashed in her brown eyes the closer she got to him. Maybe she knew his smell, but Lexi began to submit. She stretched out her neck and nuzzled below his chin. Just a few taps before backing off.

He smiled and sat back, hands on his legs, watching her nose lift in the air.

“Wanna go for a run?”

Her eyes glittered with excitement, fear, and all the wonder one would expect to see in a new wolf.

Austin stood up and stripped away his shirt. If you were careful shifting, it wouldn’t become tangled around your head, but he didn’t feel like worrying about things like clothes right now. He smirked when Lexi’s wolf turned away and howled a haunting note that stilled every living creature within earshot.

The alpha power pumped through his veins, and a heat ignited his senses and made him hunger for life. Lexi was going to see his wolf for the first time, and now that he’d gained the upper hand, he was confident the two of them would mix well.

In the short time they’d spent together, it had been a struggle to suppress a primal urge to claim her in the Shifter way. It was a territorial feeling an alpha possessed in the presence of a worthy female. Feeling her body curled up beside his in Jericho’s bed had awakened those instincts because he was protecting one of his own as a Packmaster should. But it also ignited other unexpected feelings, sending his blood in new directions.

Coupling with Lexi wouldn’t be right, and maybe some of those old feelings were getting all mixed up. It would take something pivotal to force him to make that kind of decision. Only then would he know if she was someone he wanted to pursue as his mate. They’d both changed over the years, and he felt an obligation to watch over Lexi and her family. Messing it up with alpha lust wasn’t the plan.

One of the most important lessons a Packmaster learned was control. He’d seen far too many packs led by the wrong wolf, one who used the old ways of mating by taking the female while they were both in wolf form in front of the pack to not only make her submissive, but to demonstrate to the men who she belonged to. He knew at some point women would come into his pack through his brothers, but he’d never considered how he’d feel about it if one joined their pack unmated.

Her wolf ensnared him. Austin shifted and they ran through the night.

Together.

I released a long, embarrassing moan as I stretched out my aching legs
. I blinked my eyes open and felt my body tucked inside a warm sleeping bag. The sun hadn’t risen yet and darkness swelled inside the tent. Albeit summer, sleeping outside in the deep woods was not always a warm experience. I think I shivered more with my voice than my body.

A zipper cut through the silence and someone stepped inside the tent, a chilly breeze floating in behind him. “I hear someone’s awake. You feeling okay?” Austin asked in a tired voice.

“I don’t remember what happened,” I grumbled. “And I’m naked again.”

“It’s normal.”

“Did you sleep outside?” I asked.

“I didn’t sleep.”

“Is
that
normal?”

He chuckled and I sat up, rubbing my eyes. “I feel good though. Rested. My feet kind of hurt.”

“You ran hard. Why don’t you get dressed and we’ll head out.”

I fell on my back and disappeared inside the sleeping bag, shivering. “It’s too cold. Wait until the sun comes up.”

Austin crawled down to my feet and then I felt his hands on either side of me. I wrapped my arms around my naked body and froze when the zipper was slowly pulled down.

“What are you doing?”

“I can’t see a thing, Lexi. I want you to trust me.”

I believed him whenever he said “trust me.” I’d never had a reason not to trust Austin. So I lay there, fully exposed, and Austin Cole lifted my legs and placed my cold feet against his warm stomach.

He hissed and then quickly covered my toes with his large hands.

“Oh my God, that’s heaven,” I moaned with a sigh of relief.

“I run on hot,” he said in a thick voice.

My nipples immediately hardened, and while I knew it was from the draft, I began to have serious doubts about how true that was. I could only imagine what we looked like—me lying nude in front of him with my feet on his…

“Austin? Are you naked?”

His stomach rocked and his whole body began to shake. A low laugh built up until he opened his mouth and puffed out my fire with his laughter. I smiled and wiggled my toes against his firm abs.

“I put on pants an hour ago,” he said. “Today we’re going to see Ivan of the Kizer pack.”

“What’s your pack’s name? Cole Pack?” I snorted. “Sounds like a compress.”

He squeezed my ankles and I moved my feet around to a warmer spot, mostly so I could hear him hiss again from the chill of my icy toes.

“It would usually go that way, but if the name is already in use, we have to choose another. Cole is an active pack in Houston, so I could either come up with a new name, or have one assigned. The Council was going to give us Skinner,” he grumbled. “I didn’t like that.”

“Is it a big deal or something?”

His voice was low and raspy—that bedroom voice that made me shiver. “It should mean something. We’re the Weston pack.”

I scarcely breathed. The silence became so deafening that sunrise would have sounded like a volcanic eruption. After a few smooth strokes of his hand that warmed my skin, Austin crawled outside to allow me to get dressed. I rolled to my side and felt around for the lantern as he zipped up the tent. When the light switched on, it threw my shadow against the smooth lining, piercing my eyes. I fumbled around in my small bag for some clothes.

If we were meeting a Packmaster today, he was just going to have to accept me in a pair of jeans and my strapless shirt. It was undeniably a cute top with elastic around the edges and turquoise patterns mixed with black flowers. Summertime in the South was nothing to mess around with; I’d just thought we’d be sleeping in a hotel with room service and movie channels.

I didn’t pack for
BFE at four in the morning
weather.

The hollow note of a wolf’s howl sounded in the distance and goose bumps rippled up my arms. “Austin?”

The tent zipped open quickly. “Get out. Come on, let’s go,” he said hurriedly, grabbing my bag and hauling ass.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, hopping in place and slipping on my sneaker.

“I marked the property and some sonofabitch is on it. There are too many rogue Shifters around these parts, so I’m not about to go after him and leave you sitting in my car by yourself. Lexi,
dammit
,” he chastised, yanking my arm so hard I stumbled. My left shoe wasn’t all the way on, but I managed to make it to the car in record time.

Once the doors shut, he rubbed his face and I looked around, noticing how quickly the yellow and lavender colors filtered through the branches overhead. The sublime beauty of early morning could rarely be matched in my eyes. I preferred mornings over sunsets because beginnings are always better than endings, even if you don’t know what the day will bring.

His bright eyes were sharp and alert, but more relaxed. “You hungry?”

“Now that you mention it, I’m starving.” My stomach gave an angry growl as if to agree.

He reached in the back seat and handed me a stick of jerky. I tore off the plastic wrapper and nibbled on the end. It wasn’t half bad, although it was a little greasy.

Austin frowned.

“What’s wrong? There’s plenty if you want some,” I offered.

“That’s not what you’re craving, is it?”

I held his glance and his crystal-blue eyes captivated me in the morning light. “No, but it’ll tide me over until breakfast.”

“Why did you buy so much of it?”

I shrugged.
Who knew why I bought anything edible from a gas station?
“At the time, it sounded really good. What’s the big deal?”

“You’ll know when you figure it out,” he said with a frustrated sigh. “Try to think of what it is you’re craving and I’ll have it for you next time. You’ve got a picky wolf.”

“Tradition? Or does the wolf like a little snack after walkies?”

He cut me a hard glare. “This isn’t a joke. Being a Shifter is an honor. We get enough shit from some of the other Breeds, I don’t want to hear it coming from you. There are a lot of prejudices, and many of ’em treat us like we’re the lower end of the totem pole. Someday I’ll tell you what they used us for.”

“Sled dogs?”

He leaned over and restrained every spark of anger until it only glimmered in his eyes. Austin was nose to cheek with me and I lowered my eyes, feeling immediate guilt for my predawn sense of humor, not to mention his alpha power flowing over me like a punishment.

“Slaves. We were chained, whipped, beaten, slaughtered, raped, and the wolf packs were used as guards or bloodhounds. We were forced to kill and do other people’s dirty work. It was before our time, but there are many from that era who are still around. Ivan is one of those men, so be careful what you say around him. We’re not immortal, but some Shifters are hundreds of years old.” His voice softened, and he tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear.

“I’m sorry, Austin. You know I’d never be disrespectful if I knew all of that. I’ve just been having a hard time dealing with this and I didn’t think it was off-limits to make a few jokes.”

A grin slid up one cheek. “We joke all the time, Lexi. I just want you to keep your nose out of trouble when we’re around other packs,” he said, tapping my nose.

The engine growled to life and by the time we hit the highway, I’d put away three sticks of beef jerky.

***

After a quick breakfast detour for sausage biscuits and black coffee, we pulled up to a majestic ranch house. Ten acres of cleared land surrounded the property, and there was a red riding mower off to the right.

“Ivan’s living it up,” I said, admiring two bright red sports cars on the left side of the house.

Austin parked behind them and cut off the engine.

“How long is this going to take? I can wait out here.”

“No, you’re coming inside with me. You’re also going to hold my hand, and not because we’re dating, but because I don’t want you out of my sight for a minute. I trust Ivan; he’s been around a long time. But I don’t know his pack and in your condition…”

“Someone please explain what my condition is, because I feel perfectly normal. I thought only alphas could smell me?”

“We can pick up the scent when you first change over, but going into heat is something entirely different. It’s like a pheromone. It draws the males to you before it starts and once it does, the weak ones aren’t able to control themselves.”

“Maybe it’s my perfume.”

He clicked open his door. “Come on, smartass.”

Austin held my right hand and we walked up the steps to a winding porch. A small set of wind chimes tinkled in the breeze as we clomped across the hollow wood floor, announcing our arrival before any doorbell was ever rung. The door swung open, replaced by two men. One had a handlebar mustache and looked like he was short a Harley while the other was missing a surfboard and needed another bottle of bleach to touch up his roots.

“Ivan here?”

“Who’s asking?” Harley demanded, folding his hairy arms.

“Tell him Austin Cole is here. He’s expecting me.”

“Austin Cole,” a voice boomed. “Been a few years.”

Harley and the surfer parted like two lovers who were just not that into each other anymore.

Ivan’s presence made me grab Austin’s arm and curl up against him. The man had salt-and-pepper hair with about two inches of beard, but he sure as hell didn’t look like Santa Claus. More like the guy who slips into your house in the middle of the night, strings you up by your ankles, and cuts off your ears while telling a story about his time in a Mexican jail.

Austin stood his ground and made no move to coddle me in any way.

“You’ve sprouted up, Cole. Not quite the young pup I remember,” Ivan said in a gravelly, southern drawl. Not the good kind of southern drawl, but the kind you hear whenever you’re skating through those tiny towns and pull over into a truck stop to use the bathroom as fast as humanly possible.

“I’ve formed my own pack, Ivan. The Weston pack.”

“You don’t say?” Ivan put his hands on his waist and tapped his snakeskin boots against the floor. “Boys, leave us alone. Y’all come inside before the skeeters get you. Damn bloodsucking insects have been a nuisance around here since the last hard rain.”

The two men obediently disappeared. Ivan led us to a quiet sitting room full of musty old books and bizarre artifacts such as animal skulls and a tarantula in a glass orb. There were only two chairs and after Ivan sat in the red one, he began packing a pipe with a pinch of tobacco.

Austin hesitated. He still had hold of my hand and our palms were sweating.

Ivan struck a match and waited a moment before he lit up his pipe. After a few puffs that clouded his face, he extinguished the match and grinned slowly as he looked me up and down.

“Someone’s about to make you feel real good, Cole,” he said with a knowing chuckle. “Ever had one in heat? Ain’t nothing like it. Nothing in the world.” He took a few short puffs from the pipe and blew out the smoke, shifting his hips. “Have a seat.”

It wasn’t a suggestion.

Austin sat down in the chair and I jerked my hand free, wiping my sweaty palm on my shirt. He burned me with his glacier eyes, so I leaned on the back of his chair and that seemed to satisfy him.

“What brings you out here?” Ivan asked.

Austin sat forward with his elbows on his thighs. “You’ve got connections, Ivan, and I’ve got a situation. We have a woman missing—kidnapped—and I know you got men who can find her.”

Ivan listened to the details, including the fact my mother was human, which rubbed him the wrong way. Then Austin said he would be indebted to him and Ivan’s cloudy eyes lit up with interest.

He took another small puff from his pipe and set it down in a holder. “As it so happens, you can even out that debt today. I got a female I need you to take off my hands, and I’ve been knowing your family long enough that I trust she’ll be in good care with you. If she chooses to go with another pack, then you let her, but I want you to look out for her as one of your own.”

Austin rubbed his jaw and I listened to the bristly sound of his whiskers. “Who is she?”