Carnal Secrets

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Shaya woke to the feel of a hot mouth kissing her nape and a large hand sliding up and down her bare thigh. Images of last night flashed in front of her eyes, feeding the need that was building in her system. A moan slipped out of her when Nick’s hand dipped between her legs and his finger slid between her folds. But when she shifted to try to take that finger inside her, he withdrew his hand—a message that he was leading here. Cheeky shit had done stuff like that all night.

When an impish idea whispered into her mind, she smiled. “God, that feels so good, Kade,” she rasped. Instantly she was flipped onto her back and there was an extremely pissed male draped over her.

As she laughed uncontrollably beneath him, realization dawned on Nick. He narrowed his eyes. “That was sneaky. And who the fuck is Kade?”

“No idea. I was just paying you back for teasing me—again.”

He spoke against her lips. “You like it when I tease you.” There was a twinge in his chest as he thought of how much time they’d missed together, how he could have had her with him, laughing and bantering with him like she was now, if he’d only claimed her when he first saw her.

Seeing the light in his eyes dim, Shaya was about to comment when his cell phone rang.

Having retrieved his cell from the pocket of his jacket, Nick saw it was Derren. “What?”

“You have visitors.” Derren sounded slightly amused.

“Well then tell them to go away.” He had a mate to explore, taste, bite, and fuck all over again.

“I think you might want to speak to them.”

“Is it a matter of life and death?” Nick gritted out.

“Possibly.” The smile in Derren’s voice had him and his wolf intrigued.

“I’ll be down in a minute.”

As Nick ended the call and began pulling on his clothes, Shaya decided to do the same. She’d heard his phone call, and she wasn’t reassured by Derren’s apparent amusement—she’d come to learn that he had an offbeat sense of humor. If it was Logan, she wanted to be with Nick to ensure he didn’t let the human provoke him.

Dressed, Nick landed a kiss on her lips. “Stay here for me, baby.”

“Oh no. If someone’s here, I want to know who it is.” Seeing that he was about to object, she added, “This is my home. If shit comes to my doorstep, it’s my right to be part of dealing with it.”

Fair point, thought Nick with a sigh. Neither he nor his wolf was worried about her coming along because both he and his wolf knew that if there was any true danger, Derren would have warned Nick about it. “Fine. But if, for any reason, I need you to go inside, don’t ignore that.” Only when she nodded did he take her hand in his and lead her out of the room and down the stairs.

Keeping Shaya slightly behind him, Nick opened the front door…and almost gaped. Derren and the rebels were standing on the doorstep. But the rebels weren’t the visitors. No, the rebels appeared to be joining Derren against the visitors. Visitors who had his wolf on alert, growling and ready to pounce.

At the sight of Taryn, Trey, Tao, and Dominic all scowling at Nick, Shaya gawked. “What are you guys doing here?” Oh shit.

“No, what’s he doing here?” demanded Taryn, though she didn’t look surprised to see Nick, simply pissed—Shaya could only assume Taryn had also seen the news footage that featured Nick and Shaya together in the background. Great. The members of the Phoenix Pack all briefly moved their gaze to Shaya, shot her a teeny smile, and went back to scowling at her mate. Shaya’s wolf didn’t like that. Oh God, oh God, this could get really, really bad.

“If you’re here to take her,” began Nick, his voice a deadly growl, “you’ve had a wasted journey.” His wolf growled, backing Nick up on that. No one was taking Shaya anywhere.

“I already explained that.” Derren sounded a mixture of bored and amused.

Taryn snarled at Nick, clenching her fists. “I told you to stay away from her.”

“You knew I wouldn’t,” said Nick, his voice deceptively patient. “She’s my mate. Nothing’s going to keep me away from her.”

Tao snorted. “Really? Strange. Because you stayed away from her for months of your own accord.”

“Leaving us to care for her and comfort her,” added Dominic, which made Nick growl—he really would like to kill that wolf. “Call us odd, but we don’t want you around her when there’s every chance you’ll upset her again.”

“And you will upset her again,” maintained Taryn, glaring hard at Nick. “Because you’re a cruel, insensitive shithead—something you’ve proven by even thinking of coming here! You lost the right to see her when you ignored her instead of claiming her! Don’t you think it’s a little late to come knocking now?”

Nick raised a brow. “Don’t you think that’s up to Shaya to decide, who I’m sure isn’t liking that everyone’s speaking on her behalf?”

Her mate knew her well. As his arm lifted in invitation, Shaya let him tug her to his side. He wasn’t forcing her to remain behind him—he was treating her like an equal. She hadn’t expected that. Sensing that Taryn’s anger was increasing, which in turn was increasing the anger of the Phoenix wolves—of course, all of that was feeding Nick’s anger and putting his wolf on edge—Shaya decided it was past time to defuse the situation.

Petting Nick’s chest to calm him, Shaya smiled at her best friend. “Taryn, I really appreciate your concern for me—it was the same concern I showed for you when you first mated with Trey.” Ignoring Trey’s affronted look, Shaya continued, “But I’m asking you to give me the same support I gave you.” When both Dominic’s and Tao’s mouths opened, Shaya gave them a dark look that made their mouths snap shut. “You’ve made your opinions clear. I don’t need to hear them again.” She swept her gaze over all of them as she said, “This isn’t a negotiation. If you’re not willing to give Nick the same chance I’m giving him, you need to leave.”

When Trey’s eyes moved to her neck and narrowed, Shaya knew he’d seen one of Nick’s many marks. “You haven’t officially claimed her,” noted Trey, studying Nick curiously.

“Yet,” Nick quickly said. “When Shaya’s ready, I will.”

Lips pursed, Trey considered that for a moment, and then nodded in satisfaction. Tao did the same while Dominic shrugged.

Taryn gawked at her mate. “You’re okay with this?” she practically screeched.

“Baby, you knew this would happen.” Trey ran a hand through the various shades of blonde that made up his mate’s hair, clearly trying to calm her down. “Nothing in this world could keep me away from you, and nothing was going to keep him away from Shaya.”

“He should have claimed her when he had the chance!”

“Yes, but he didn’t.” Trey gestured to Shaya’s neck. “And look, he still hasn’t. He’s waiting for her to be ready. That’s more than a lot of shifters would do, and we all know it.”

After a thoughtful pause, Taryn turned to Nick again. “I want to talk to Shaya alone.” Her eyes dared him to say no.

“Then you need to ask Shaya,” said Nick. “I’m her mate, not her boss.”

Taryn’s brows rose in surprise, and Shaya saw a hint of approval in her eyes.

“Why don’t you all wait inside while Taryn and I talk out here?” When Nick tensed almost imperceptibly beside her, Shaya knew he didn’t like the idea of her being completely out of his sight with Taryn when it was clear that the Alpha female wanted her away from Nick. She laid a reassuring hand on his chest and rubbed her jaw against his side. That easily, the tension left him. Looking up at him, she said, “I’ll just be a few minutes.”

Common sense told Nick that Taryn wouldn’t attempt to sneak away with Shaya because that would mean leaving without her mate and pack members. Common sense also told him that Taryn was too brazen to do “sneaky”; she’d do it right in front of him and expect him to deal with it. But he couldn’t help being anxious. It was one thing for the two females to talk where he could see them. It was another for him to wait inside. But as he looked down into gray-blue eyes that were begging for the same trust she was trying to give him, there was no way he could object.

Dropping his arm, Nick nodded. Shaya’s beaming smile was reward enough for him. “Don’t leave the yard unless you want our little followers to hear your conversation.” As Shaya nodded and then went to the Alpha female, he caught the blonde’s eye and held her gaze. “Try to take my mate from me, and I’ll take yours from you.”

The blonde just blinked at him, before asking Shaya, “Is he always delusional?” Nick tracked their movements as they went to stand at the bottom of the yard, satisfied when they didn’t walk any farther.

“Who are the people watching the house?”

At Trey’s question, Nick sighed. “I guess you’d better come in.”

As Nick, Derren, and the Phoenix wolves went inside the house, the rebels insisted on waiting outside. The trio stood monitoring Taryn and Shaya, and she had the feeling that they intended to ensure on Nick’s behalf that Taryn didn’t attempt to kidnap her. It was kind of touching. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

“We saw you and Nick on the news,” said Taryn, arms folded across her chest. “We left Dante and Jaime to hold the fort while we came here. The reporter said there’s some kind of shifter war going on, but that made no sense to me—every shifter in the world is on their best behavior right now, not wanting to give the human extremists anything to work with.”

Shaya sighed. “You can thank those extremists for what happened. They did it to get a reaction from Nick. It turns out that the guy running the local extremist group was one of the prison guards when Nick was in juvie.” When Taryn showed no surprise about Nick having been in juvie, Shaya frowned in confusion. “You knew about his past?”

“Only what Dante told me: that he killed a human and injured two others while defending himself and his sister.”

Shaya inwardly sighed in relief. She was sure Nick wouldn’t like all his past to be common knowledge.

“You can’t seriously be thinking about mating with him, Shaya.”

“There was a lot I didn’t know about him.” Aware that Nick’s pride would balk at others knowing about his health issues, that Nick wouldn’t want to be viewed as having weaknesses to anyone, she didn’t elaborate. “And nobody can say he hasn’t earned a chance, Taryn. I put him through an alpha’s version of hell—rejected him, stomped on his pride, and even went on a date with another guy.”

“No way!” Taryn seemed pleased about it.

“But he’s still here. He’s apologized, he’s done sweet stuff for me, he’s bought me gifts, he’s fixed the little messes in my life, and he’s just generally been here for me. It’s like, wherever I look he’s there, just like—”

“A mate,” finished Taryn with a sigh. “Okay, I get it; he’s been a good Boy Scout. But how do you know that will last?”

“I don’t. I can only give him the chance he’s earned.”

“And if he messes it up?”

“I make a margarita with his balls.”

Taryn laughed. “I have to say I was impressed when I heard he’d given up his position for you. I’d expected him to return to his pack at some point. But he never did. He kept searching for you. What are you going to do about your living situation? You only took on the lone-wolf lifestyle to hide from Nick. Does this mean you’ll come home now?”

Shaya ran a hand through her curls. “I don’t know. Nick offered to join the Phoenix Pack.”

Taryn’s jaw almost hit the floor. “You’re shitting me. He hasn’t asked you to go back to his old pack?”

Shaya shook her head. “He knows his wolf would find it hard to obey someone less dominant than him, and he doesn’t want the position of Alpha, so he has no intention of returning. I’m just going to take things one step at a time. If things turn out badly, I’ll probably come home. But if they don’t…well, that’s a decision Nick and I would have to make together. But I couldn’t ask him to join the Phoenix Pack, Taryn. I couldn’t ask someone as powerful as him to serve and obey someone else.”

Taryn nodded in understanding. “It wouldn’t be right. Well, there’s no denying that he’s trying hard to win you over. I still don’t like him for how miserable he made you.”

“But you’ll give him a chance just like I am. You’ll wish me luck, like I did for you and Trey,” prodded Shaya.

Rolling her eyes, Taryn said, “Fine.”

Smiling, Shaya threw her arms around her best friend, who returned the hug. “I’ve missed you.” She pulled back. “And I’ve missed Kye. How is he?” Although the fact that she chatted with her pack over Skype at least once a week meant that Shaya had watched Kye grow, it wasn’t the same as being with him.

“You can find that out for yourself,” said Taryn, urging Shaya to follow her to the pack’s Toyota Highlander that was parked behind Nick’s Mercedes. “Now that I know there’s no chance of a fight breaking out and no blood will be shed, I can get him out of the SUV.” When Shaya’s face lit up, Taryn snorted. “I wouldn’t get so excited if I were you. Old Mother Hubbard, who has spent the past five hours driving me insane in the SUV, is waiting with him—she insisted on coming.” Taryn was referring to Trey’s grandmother, who was very possessive of Trey, Dante, Tao, and the enforcers and didn’t like females around them. “She hovers around him unhealthily like she does with Trey and her other ‘boys.’ It’s disturbing.”

As Taryn slid the side door open, Greta huffed at the Alpha female. “I heard that, hussy. No respect.” The arguing that went on between them happened daily.

Taryn gave Trey’s grandmother a sweet, mocking smile. “Oh, I’m sorry, was I supposed to break the habit of a lifetime and bring joy to your day?”

Cuddling a sleeping Kye to her chest, Greta huffed once more at Taryn before turning to Shaya and smiling fondly. “Shaya, sweetheart, how are you?”

“Oh, you’re nice to her because she’s not going to mate with one of your boys.” Taryn growled. “Give me my son before your old-lady breath bleaches his hair.” As Taryn took the adorable eight-month-old baby into her arms, his lids fluttered open to reveal a set of arctic-blue eyes exactly like his father’s. As Nick had once said, Kye was literally Trey with Taryn’s hair—which made him one absolutely gorgeous baby who would undoubtedly break many female hearts when he was older.

“Hey there,” whispered Shaya, playing with his hair. “Recognize me?”

“Of course he does,” said Taryn. “It’s so cute how he points to the laptop and waves—I know it means he wants to wave to you on Skype. Can you do it for Auntie Shaya again now?” Taryn waved her hand slightly, and Kye mirrored the move, flashing Shaya a huge smile. “Now that I can visit you without worrying that Nick will have people following me who will then know where you are, we can come see you whenever I want, and you can visit us whenever you want.”

A smile spread across Shaya’s face. She liked that idea. After only a minute of gentle coaxing, Kye went willingly into Shaya’s arms. “He’s such a sociable kid.”

“It’s only natural given that he’s part of a pack that spoils him rotten and treats him like he’s at the center of the entire universe,” said Taryn. “He’s used to being handled by different people.”

With Kye in her arms, Shaya led Taryn and Greta into the house. She found the guys all gathered in the dining area. Her eyes instantly went to Nick, who was sitting at the table. His smile had a hint of relief to it, and she realized just how worried he’d been that she might leave. As she entered the room, Dominic straightened from where he’d been leaning against the wall and came toward her wearing a devilish grin—yep, he had every intention of flirting with her to annoy Nick, just like he did to all the mated females to provoke their mates. Well, it wasn’t so much flirting as delivering cheesy lines, but it had the desired effect on the mated males.

She halted him with a look. “Dominic, if you value your life, you won’t aggravate him right now.” Not while Nick was being forced to cope with her being in the presence of a number of males, particularly when two of them were unmated. Possessiveness would be haunting him, just as it did her when Amber was around.

Dominic, to her surprise, raised his hands in surrender and dropped his smile. “Okay, fine, but I was just going to give you a little kiss. If you don’t like it, you can always return it.”

“Dominic.”

“Watch it, blondie,” warned Nick, his voice like a whip.

“You sure like to live dangerously, don’t you?” said Tao, shaking his head at his packmate.

Dominic just grinned. “There’s no better way to live.” Noticing Nick’s evil smile, he asked, “What?”

“I’m just thinking how much fun your pack is going to have when you meet your mate. I could be wrong, but I’m guessing the males will be getting some payback.”

Nodding, Trey said, “Damn right.” At that moment, his son held out his arms to him, and Trey took him gladly.

“Hey, I’m a breath of fresh air,” maintained Dominic. “Besides, why would I want a mate yet when there is such a wide variety of females out there to sample?”

Shaya wasn’t buying that act for one minute. Oh sure, Dominic loved women, and women loved Dominic—it was impossible not to love that wicked grin, his caramel skin, and those impressive abs—but he wasn’t quite the slut he pretended to be. She had yet to figure out what his act was all about, however. Just as she had yet to figure out why he bothered with lines, given how easily he reeled in females.

As Greta came to stand beside Shaya, the old woman scowled at Nick. “You I’m not in the least bit happy with,” she told him in her usual witchy voice. Nick’s brows rose in surprise. “It doesn’t matter that you had your reasons—you hurt our Shaya, and I don’t like it. You should be thankful that you have a mate as wonderful as Shaya and not a hussy like her!” She tipped her head at Taryn, who just smiled.

“You love me really, Greta.” Taryn elbowed her gently. “Admit it, I hold a place in your heart of solid concrete.”

Trey rolled his eyes and then turned to Shaya. “Nick and Derren have told us what’s been happening around here with the humans. It’s not safe.”

“Which is why I recommended that you take your pack and leave,” Nick told him.

Sensing his understandable tension, Shaya went to Nick. Without moving his gaze from Trey, Nick looped an arm around her waist and pulled her onto his lap.

“Shaya told me a little of what’s going on too.” Taryn went to stand beside Trey and their son. “If she’s in danger, we’re not leaving without her.”

Nick went to argue, but then he considered that for a moment. The idea of Shaya around Logan didn’t sit well with Nick any more than it did for Taryn. Looking at Shaya, he said, “Maybe you should leave.” Her eyes flashed with fury.

“No.”

“Shay—”

“All you have to do is keep a low profile until the court hearing. Then you can do whatever the hell you want.”

“But keeping a low profile will be hard to do if the guy is doing his best to provoke Nick,” Tao gently pointed out, shrugging.

“We could always head off in the motor home and lead the humans away,” Derren suggested to Nick.

“No,” insisted Shaya shakily, earning Nick’s instant and undivided attention. “You said you wouldn’t leave me again.”

“And I meant it.” He nipped her lip and ran a hand up and down her arm, knowing the source of her fear and hating it.

“I’m not talking about leaving for good,” Derren assured her. “I’m talking about leading the humans on a merry chase.”

“Nick’s not leaving, and neither am I,” Shaya firmly stated with utmost authority, which seemed to amuse everyone in the room. Okay, she could admit she’d sounded every inch the Alpha female, but whatever.

“Then neither are we,” declared Taryn. “We’re sticking around until the court hearing—we need to be sure that Logan doesn’t manage to rile Nick or harm you. There’s strength in numbers.”

Familiar feminine voices outside were quickly followed by the entrance of Nick’s mother, Roni, and Amber. He had to assume that Jesse, Bracken, and Zander had let them pass. Although there was really no letting Kathy Axton do anything.

“We saw the Highlander outside and thought there might be trouble,” said Kathy, eying up the strange newcomers.

Shaya quickly introduced them. “Kathy, this is Taryn and Trey—my old Alpha pair. And these others here are members from their pack. Guys, this is Nick’s mom, Kathy; his sister, Roni; and their pack healer, Amber.” The latter word almost came out a growl.

Everyone froze as Taryn and Amber suddenly walked toward each other, looking like two cowgirls about to have a showdown. Great—a standoff between two healers. It was kind of like “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the most powerful of them all?” Both females considered themselves to be quite powerful healers and had reputations that backed that up. But there was an ongoing debate about which of the two females was the most gifted among wolf shifters.

“Taryn Warner, I presume,” drawled Amber.

The Alpha female studied the other healer from head to toe. “I’m guessing you’re Amber Lyons.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Amber’s smile couldn’t have been more false.

Taryn’s smile was even more unpleasant. “No, the honor’s all mine.”

Shaya exchanged an amused look with Nick.

“Shaya didn’t introduce us all properly, did she?” Greta said to Kathy, coming forward to shake her hand. She was the picture of courtesy. “I’m Trey’s grandmother, Greta.” She said it like it made her the president or something. Kathy shook her hand gladly, totally falling for the gracious act. “And these are two of my other boys here, Tao and Dominic.”

“Oh, so they’re all your grandsons?” asked Kathy, giving both males a sweet smile.

“In my heart they are.” Greta placed a hand over her chest, wearing a proud smile. “I’ve always looked out for them, always been there for them. They think the world of me.” She sighed wistfully. “Of course, I wish Trey and Dante, our Beta, had chosen better mates, but you’ve got to let them make their own mistakes, haven’t you?” Kathy’s smile said, “I know what you mean.”

Taryn rolled her eyes. “If you’re done with the dramatics, Mother Goose, we’ll—”

“Nick,” called Jesse from outside, “there’s someone here to see you.”

“Who is it this time?” Nick growled.

“The Nazi and some of his wolves.”

Nick groaned. “Great.” All he wanted was to be alone with Shaya. Instead of people leaving, more and more kept appearing.

Dominic cocked his head. “Who?”

“The Alpha of the local pack,” replied Nick.

Dominic’s forehead creased. “Why is his nickname the Nazi?”

“Because he’s a Nazi.” Was it really that confusing?

Standing, Shaya took Nick’s hand in hers. “Come on, let’s go deal with this.” She waited for him to tell her to remain inside, to let him speak to the Alpha alone and be extremely overprotective due to her submissive status…but he didn’t. Instead, he walked with her to the door, willing to present a united front despite that his overprotective streak would be screaming at him to do otherwise. That delighted both Shaya and her wolf.

Conscious that everyone other than Kathy and Greta had followed him and Shaya to the front door, Nick shook his head. Nosy bastards. “If you don’t want what you say to be heard by the humans in the van across the road, you might want to talk quietly,” he told Hadley.

The Alpha ran his eyes along Nick, Shaya, and the crowd behind them. “My wolves informed me that you’ve been gathering some of your alliances together. I had nothing to do with the destruction of the salon, if it’s me you’re intending to war with.”

“I have no issues with you. I’m aware that the human extremists are responsible for what happened to the salon, but I can’t do shit about that right now.”

“But you will do something at some point,” Hadley surmised. “There are many more to their group than what you’ve seen. Although a certain number of them actively support their argument, there are still many more. If it came to a confrontation, their number will well exceed the number you have here.”

“I suspected as much.”

“Have your contacts uncovered any information about the game preserve?”

“Game preserve?” repeated Shaya.

Nick cursed silently. Now his mate was going to be extremely pissed at him for not telling her about it. Worse, he’d have to worry her with this shit. He really wanted to hit someone right now…preferably Dominic. “Not yet. You?”

“I think we’re close to locating it,” said Hadley, “but I can’t be sure. If we don’t find it before the court hearing, we could be in deep shit. Even if the extremists’ argument is ignored, this won’t end well. The extremists—particularly the ones around here—would most likely confront us.”

Nick could agree with that. “If it comes to a confrontation with the humans, I’ll be at your side.”

“As will I,” announced Derren. The rebels nodded.

“Me too.” Shaya held Nick’s gaze, letting him see just how seriously his life depended on him not arguing with her on that. She might be submissive and therefore not as physically strong as the dominant shifters around her, but she could still defend herself—particularly against humans.

Deciding he’d argue with her in private later, Nick simply kissed her temple to relax her. Hearing Roni growl beside him, he had the feeling that his sister was offering to stand with Nick in a fight. Great.

“And me,” said Trey. Tao and Dominic nodded their support.

“If Nick’s going to be there,” began Amber, “I’ll be there.” Shaya had to grit her teeth at that response, which was much like something a loyal and very close friend would say.

“And me,” said Taryn. “And, of course, Greta.” When Trey looked at her oddly, she shrugged. “What? How else am I supposed to get rid of the old crone?”

“I heard that, hussy.”

Taryn turned and called out, “Damn, Greta, did someone leave your cage open again?”

Shaking his head and wondering why the universe would insert these crazy people into his life, Nick turned his attention back to Hadley. “I’ll have Jesse call you if my contacts uncover anything.”

The Alpha advanced down the path, nodding. “Good. Likewise, if I find out anything, I’ll let you know.”

When the Sequoia wolves had driven away, Shaya turned to Nick. “Now you can explain what he meant by ‘game preserve.’”

So Nick led everyone back inside the house and begrudgingly did just that, which led to a lot of cursing and shouting—they all found the idea as repugnant as Derren and Nick did. Then, naturally, he received a lecture from Shaya for not telling her sooner. But after some apologizing, neck kissing, and soothing touches, she eventually forgave him…though she did inform him that he should think twice before keeping something from her ever again because she knew where he slept and she had a nifty bat. “I need to go for a run,” Nick then told her, winding a curl around his finger. “Come with me.”

Shaya led him to the rear of the house and outside. Reaching the small cluster of trees at the end of the backyard, she started to remove her clothes as Nick began to remove his. “See the little gap in the fence? I made that so I could go run in the little wooded area here in my wolf form.”

“You know that I’m going to chase you, don’t you?” said Nick, smirking. “I’m going to chase you, catch your ass, and mount you.”

“Not a chance,” she chuckled, now totally naked. Then she let her wolf free, enjoying the familiar pleasure/pain that came with the shift.

Nick smiled down at the graceful red wolf and went to pet her, but she bounded off into the woods—it was a challenge. He shifted seconds later and loped after her.

For hours the wolves played: chasing, ambushing, mock fighting, and jaw wrestling, making up for the time they had lost due to the behavior of their human halves. When the sky started to darken, the large gray male wolf ushered the red she-wolf through the fence where they entered.

Once they were back in their human forms and fully dressed, Nick kissed her hard and deep, leaving no doubt in her mind that he believed she was his. Patting her ass, he said, “Come on, let’s go inside. I need food. And I have to make sure Derren doesn’t cook dinner again. The guy could burn water.”

“A little like me then,” admitted Shaya as she began pulling on her clothes.

“Then it’s a good thing I can cook.” As they were walking up the path toward the house, the door opened and a familiar figure came strolling out. Nick wasn’t surprised when Shaya tensed beside him.

“Oh, hi,” said Amber with a bright smile, “I was just about to come and hunt you both down. We’ve all decided to go out for dinner.” She cocked her head as she regarded Nick. “You look a little more relaxed now.”

“You can thank Shay for that.”

Catching movement in her peripheral vision, Shaya spotted Roni sprawled on the grass by the small shed.

“Sometimes she likes to go off and be alone,” explained Amber before turning and heading back into the house.

Shaya looked up at Nick. “I’d like to talk to Roni alone for a minute.”

“She’s not being bitchy by not shifting to talk to you, Shay—”

“Hey, I know that,” she assured him. “I’d just like a minute alone with her. I know her wolf won’t understand the words, but she will.”

Shrugging, Nick said, “Sure, if that’s what you want. I’ll be inside.”

Cautiously, Shaya made her way over to where Roni lay. Sitting beside her, she smiled. “Hi there.” The wolf didn’t react other than to briefly glance her way. “Guilt’s a funny thing, isn’t it? It lingers, even when it doesn’t make sense to feel it. I was a twin, you know. She died in the womb. I know it’s not my fault, and I know I couldn’t have helped her and that for me to survive when she didn’t isn’t an awful thing. But I hated myself for a long time. Even now, I know I shouldn’t feel guilty. Mostly, it’s gone…but a tiny bit still stays. Whenever the guilt and the sadness got too bad, I’d stay in my wolf form for days on end. Because though the guilt’s still there, it’s dimmed when you’re in that form, isn’t it? Staying as a wolf…it was my escape. And it’s yours too.” She had Roni’s full attention now.

“I know that really I have no reason at all to feel guilty. None of it was my fault…just like what happened that day in the woods wasn’t your fault. Nick doesn’t realize you shift to escape the guilt. He thinks you stay in this form a lot because you’re escaping the memories of what happened, that he traumatized you. Maybe if you guys talked…maybe you could help each other out with the unnecessary guilt you both feel.” Giving Roni one last stroke, Shaya got to her feet. “See you soon.”

Entering the house, Shaya found that Amber was doing her best to lounge over Nick, and Taryn was therefore throwing peanuts at her. Of course Amber’s attention quickly switched to Taryn, ridding Shaya of the need to march over there and make it clear that Nick was hers. Shaya observed with a frown as Nick dodged Kathy’s touch in the same way that he dodged Amber’s; his mother didn’t appear surprised or offended by how uncomfortable he seemed with her attempts at affection. It occurred to Shaya then that Nick wasn’t just like that with Amber, or even just with Kathy. He didn’t seem to like being touched in general, which was pretty odd—as odd as him disliking company, in fact.

“He’s always been like that, according to Kathy.”

Derren’s voice snatched her from her contemplations. “What?”

“He’s never been particularly affected by social touching. Kathy said that even when he was a baby, he didn’t like to be cuddled much or rocked to sleep or anything—he always liked his space, liked to sprawl on the bed like a starfish. Even now, he hugs Roni and Kathy, but that’s pretty much it. It’s only you I’ve ever seen him be truly affectionate with.”

“In other words, I don’t need to worry about Amber. Does everyone buy her sweet friendly-friendly act? I see a lot of deviousness there.”

“Yup, a lot of people buy it.” He sighed. “She’s very cunning. A word of warning: She’ll try her hardest to become a close friend, but you can’t let her get friendly with you—not even to humor her. If you do, you’ll make it possible for the communication between you and Nick to become triangular with her as the go-between. I’m sure you know as well as I do that if that happened, she’d be passing on messages to both of you that would be twisted or false.”

“Ah, and then it would make Nick and I upset with each other, and we’d both turn to her for advice, enabling her to interfere in a big way.” Sneaky. So sneaky it was almost worthy of respect. “That won’t happen. You’re on my side, right?” She had the feeling that Derren was a good person to have on her side.

“Are you planning to hurt Nick again?”

“No.”

“Then yes, I’m on your side.” As Roni butted his leg, Derren reached down and petted her. “And you’ll have Roni on your side, too. She can see right through Amber’s act. Unfortunately, Kathy can’t, but she wants Nick to have his mate—and that’s you.”

“I guess all I can do is ignore her. If that fails, I have rat poison and a shovel.” As Nick then came over and locked his arms around her, Shaya smiled and sank into his arms. Over his shoulder, she noticed that Amber was watching her from the far side of the room. The female shot her a friendly smile, but Shaya hadn’t missed the anger that had momentarily sparkled in her eyes. Still, Shaya returned the smile while at the same time tightening her hold on Nick, conveying a clear message that he was hers. That wasn’t enough for her wolf; she wanted Shaya to bite him. So Shaya did, right on his pectoral.

Nick winced, peering down at his mate, who was grinning in self-satisfaction. “Did you just bite me, baby?”

“Yep.”

The possessive glint in her eyes made him smile. Leaning down, he bit Shaya’s bottom lip hard and then licked across it to soothe the sting. “You’re never going to get away from me, you know. You’re mine. I’m keeping you. For good.” He’d expected her to snort at him or maybe look wary, but she surprised him by relaxing slightly in his arms. His wolf growled in contentment, convinced that his mate was coming around to the idea of being claimed. But Nick often found himself wondering if it was something she would ever be ready for.