Treasured Find (Royal Pride Book 1) (14 page)

Kade pulled out a phone and headed to the shed on the rear of the property. Rafe shifted his gaze to the second floor where a curtain was parted enough for a pair of brown eyes to peek out. Levi. She’d know his curious expression anywhere. She smiled and waved to him, but the drape fell. He hadn’t acknowledged her. She bit her lip.

Rafe ran a hand over her hair to settle at her lower back. “They’re afraid of me.”

“I’ve warned them to let me know if they ever sense another shifter. That they’re dangerous and we need to run from them.” She glanced at the window again, but the curtain remained closed. “Seeing me with you has probably confused them.”

He curled his fingers around the back of her neck. “They’ll get used to me. They’ll have to. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Aren’t you?”

He bent close but didn’t kiss her. He pressed his lips to hers, a sweet expression of affection that left her trembling inside. Just as his silent staring with his brother meant something, so did Rafe’s chaste kiss. She didn’t know what, but after a moment, she didn’t care. She liked the way he looked at her, as if she were the most precious and desirable woman in the world.

“No, I’m not walking away from you.” He breathed the words against her parted lips.

“Oh.” She didn’t know what else to say.

He tilted his head slightly and kissed her. The slow strokes of his tongue against hers stripped her of her tension and left her needy. She slipped her hand around his lower back and returned his passion. It didn’t burn out of control. He fanned it, guaranteeing she’d rip his clothes off the moment they were alone.

“There’s definitely no option of leaving. I’m keeping you, Jasmine.”

“Keeping me?” It made her sound like a treasure he’d found.

“Yes. You’re my female. No other male will touch you.” He eased back. The possessive glint to his expression matched his words. “Ever, Jasmine. I won’t allow it.”

“And how are you going to stop me?” It wasn’t like her to cause discontent, but she refused to sit back and allow Rafe to simply
claim
her.

He has to convince me. Make me want to be owned by him. To obey him. Exactly as he did last night.

Oh, yeah, she’d been his willing slave then. She wouldn’t mind a repeat performance.

He dragged his finger down the length of her throat and across her shoulder, pulling on the edge of her top. Her heart rate kicked up a notch at the look of raw lust in his eyes as he focused on her exposed skin. He nibbled at the crook of her neck, and her breath rushed out. Desire hit hard and fast. She cupped the back of his head, holding him in place while he teased her.

After another nip, he stepped back, breaking the line of their bodies. The loss of his touch sent a chill through her.

“I have my ways. Don’t worry. You’ll be my willing”—he focused on her lips—“partner.”

He pivoted and strode away before she could respond.

She licked her lips. Dangerous. The man was dangerous. She shook her head to clear it of the image of Rafe’s tight backside in the jeans he wore and how good his ass had looked against the white sheets of the bed they’d shared.

“Seems you got a man focused on you, Jazz.”

She glanced at Mr. Wilkins. He stood a few feet away with his two older dogs at his side.

“Rafe’s not important, just a guy who likes me.” The fib landed hard in her gut. It’d been her automatic reaction whenever the subject of men came up. None were important. She didn’t need anyone in her life, and made a point of telling everyone that. She didn’t know if what she’d always proclaimed was true anymore, not with Rafe in the picture.

“Uh-huh, if that’s what you say.” He moved closer, his dogs shadowing every step. “Kade told me about the accident. Are you okay?”

“Yes. How are my boys?”

“Safe but scared shitless. I ain’t never seen them so upset. They really don’t like that one.” He pointed at Kade. “But I’m not worried. The young man seems nice enough to me.”

She snorted. “He doesn’t look it.”

With his free hand, he stroked Peggy Sue’s head. “Dogs like him.” He shrugged. “So he must be okay.”

She tipped her head toward where the other Rotties sat under the shelter of the swing. “They don’t.”

Mr. Wilkins waved at them and spat on the ground. “Damn sissies is what they are. But they’re only pups. Got lots of growing to do.” He reached toward Bobby Rae, and the dog nudged his head into Mr. Wilkins’ hand to receive the little scratch between his ears. “These two I trust. I’d bet my life on their judgment.”

She nodded, knowing he spoke the truth. He loved his dogs.

“If Rafe looks for me, tell him I went in to see the boys.”

She hurried across the lawn, up the steps and into the house where she and her kids had spent many, many hours. Mr. Wilkins had been in the army with her pappy. They were close so after her pappy died, Mr. Wilkins had been the logical choice to confide in. He hadn’t let her down. She trusted him.

Geez, she was building a whole list of people to rely on. Mr. Wilkins, Josh, Rafe and his brothers. She paused with her hand on the door handle. It was nice. Almost made her feel as if she belonged to a real family.

With a heart that seemed a little lighter, she opened the door and jogged up the stairs. The floorboards squeaked, announcing her approach, but her boys didn’t open the door. She turned the handle and pushed. It didn’t budge.

“Seth, Levi, it’s me. Move the stuff away from the door so I can come in.”

“Is
he
with you?” Seth asked.

She dropped her forehead to the door and breathed through the annoyance. That tone would normally deserve a stern lecture and a few extra chores as punishment, but her kids were scared and unsure. She’d cut them some slack.
This time.

“Rafe is outside with his family. I don’t want you to be afraid of them. They’re here to protect us.”

“From what? Mr. Wilkins wouldn’t tell us,” Levi chimed in.

“Well, I will. Open up. We have a lot to talk about.” The man threatening them, the new shifters who’d be staying with them…and Rafe. Each of those topics were ones she’d rather not discuss, but being a mother wasn’t always easy. She only hoped she could come up with the right words.

The sound of scraping wood and a thump of something hitting the ground came from the other side of the door. It finally opened, and she slipped inside.

Chapter Twenty

“Everything good here last night?” Rafe asked once Kade slid his phone back into his pocket.

“For the most part. Kids were terrified of me this morning when I came up to the house.”

Jasmine’s boys would be instinctually fearful of all shifter males, especially feline shifters. In the animal world, killing a female’s cubs would force her into heat, but they weren’t animals, not completely. Except without an adult shifter in their lives, they wouldn’t know how to separate their animals’ instincts from theirs.

Rafe still struggled with the distinction between him and his cats at times. He was outnumbered. When his animals all shared the same desire, it was nearly impossible to ignore.

He rubbed a hand over his face. “Poor kids. It’s a good thing Mira is coming down. Any word on when she’ll get here?”

“A couple of hours. She was waiting on Xander. He had to meet with his brothers.”

Xander, the alpha of the Royal wolf shifter pack that lived near them, rarely left his pack lands. He hated being around humans and avoided them whenever possible.

“Why is Xander coming and not one of his brothers?”

“Devin insisted, said he wouldn’t allow Mira to travel with anyone else.”

Devin’s protective instincts toward his sister had grown over the past few months, not that Rafe blamed him for worrying about her. Word had it that she had become the object of discussion at the Shifter Council meetings. Or more specifically, the prophecy concerning her—the one where she’d be the catalyst for changing the world.

Rafe pushed away the concern over Mira to be dealt with later and focused on the issues he was intimately concerned with—the secret Jasmine harbored and the threat Jon posed.

“Did Devin tell you about Jon?”

A low growl rumbled Kade’s chest. “Yeah, he told me.”

“He held her, Kade. After I left my scent on her. Now he knows she’s important to me.”

“I’m sorry I was the reason she left you this morning. The older dog saw me. It stood there and waited for me to pet it. The human noticed. I had no choice but to go up and introduce myself.”

“What’s done is done, and at least we know who we’re up against. Had Devin not seen Jon’s animal form we might not have known about him until it was too late.”

“I want to know how Jon got his hands on the Royal’s drug. If the government or some human betrayed us, the scientists might stop making it. That’s not acceptable. Our women and kids need the protection it offers.”

Otherwise, they’d be in the same situation they’d faced for a millennium, covering the unique smell with perfumes, exactly as Jasmine had done, a practice that sometimes drew as much notice to the shifter as if they hadn’t.

“With all the regulations in place, I find that unlikely. Only a select few individuals have access to it, and those that do must pass strict background tests.” Rafe shook his head. “No. It’s more plausible he stole it, but even then, a report should’ve been filed. We see those come across the communications loop. I haven’t seen one in close to three years.”

“Unless a report wasn’t filed. I can see Jon sending humans to target a Royal female. Steal her purse or something. If it was a human, she might not report it to Shifter Affairs. There’d be no point. A pickpocket wouldn’t have a clue what the drug was used for.”

It made sense. Many females carried at least one extra dose with them, just in case they had to eliminate their scent completely to escape the notice of a single shifter who might’ve figured out the truth. Not all Royals could pass easily for humans. Unless Devin and Mira dyed their hair and wore sunglasses or contacts, they’d stand out.

Rafe curled his fists. He hated that their kind had to fear other shifters on top of the worry over what humans would do if they learned of the other species living among them.

“No matter how he got it, we have to assume he has more.” Rafe scanned the woods around them. “I hate to say it, but the elders were right about the masking drug when they said it would destroy us.”

“No. Greed and hate will, and those were doing a damn good job before the drug was ever invented.”

Rafe couldn’t argue that.

Mr. Wilkins’ booming laugh drew Rafe’s attention back to the house. Megan knelt on the ground with five dogs around her, all with tails wagging. She was giggling as one of them gave her sloppy kisses.

“We have too many innocents to protect.” Kade crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not happy about the idea of keeping them here. They’d be safer back home.”

Rafe already knew Kade’s opinion. When Devin had called Kade earlier to fill him in on the plan, his bellowed curses had been easy to hear.

“I agree, but we’ve always done our best not to stress those we rescue.”

“We’ll have to have someone watch the older male until Jon is caught or we’re sure he’s moved on. I wouldn’t put it past Jon to kill him.”

“You’re right. We’ll ask Devin to stay until our brothers arrive.”

Silence descended. Finally, Kade cleared his throat. “Did you ask Jasmine how she came to be the mother of Royals?”

“She claims she found them behind a Dumpster.”

“A lie?”

Rafe glanced at the house where she was no doubt reconnecting with her kids, probably soothing their fears. “Yeah, the lie soured her scent but so did fear. Whatever she’s involved in has terrified her and made her fearful of shifters.”

“Do you think she stole them?”

“No. It doesn’t fit with her protectiveness of them. If she’d kidnapped them, she would’ve sold them, not raised them as her own.”

“True. She loves them. I saw that in her expression just now.”

Rafe motioned toward the older human with a jerk of his chin. “What’s your take on Mr. Wilkins? Any threat there?”

He doubted it’d be an intentional one, but a loose tongue could be just as devastating.

“Maybe, he was quite talkative after he learned I was a shifter, but once we stress the need to protect our secret, he’ll be trustworthy.”

“What did he have to say?”

“Seems he’s the only other person who knew about Seth and Levi. He also mentioned she’s had a rough time raising them.”

Rafe tensed. Had their lives been threatened? “What does that mean?”

“It means Jasmine has had some near misses with humans almost seeing her kids in their animal forms.”

One slip would’ve exposed not just her boys, but all shifters. Secrecy was a must. That was something both single shifters and Royals understood.

“He also said she’s struggled being both father and mother to her boys,” Kade added. “But I don’t know. From the way those kids treated Mr. Wilkins, I’d say she did a fine job.”

Rafe grinned. The sense of pride swelling his chest left him eager to get his hands back on
his
female—the one his cats had helped him find. Without their interest in her, he might’ve focused on the danger she posed and not taken the time to touch her. To learn she might just be the woman he’d been waiting his entire life for.

Of course, she might not be his perfect match. There was always the chance possessiveness had swayed his cats, but the more he interacted with her, the more he suspected she was his one true mate.

“Jasmine and I are going to head back to her place before the others arrive. If you don’t see us when you get there, keep the kids occupied and in the house.”

Kade chuckled. “Plans for your little human?”

“Lots. One night with her wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy me.”

Kade’s amused expression faded. “Careful, brother, or your fascination will turn into an obsession. They say that’s how it starts. Enthrallment. And once our instincts kick in, there’s no denying it. You’ll start thinking about mating her.”

Rafe already had. Actually, thoughts of mating her had crept into his mind within minutes of meeting her. He wasn’t ready to admit that to Kade. Or Jasmine. If Rafe did, there’d be no escaping the talk of just how dangerous loving a Royal could be.