Authors: Katie Reus
each other. He wanted to gather her in his arms, tel her
how sorry he was and make it up to her. But words were so
empty. He could say he was sorry until his throat was raw,
but it would stil just be words. He needed to show her. His
stupidity had cost them both and now he felt like they’d
been given a second chance. Or maybe that was just
wishful thinking.
She licked her bottom lip, something she’d always done
when she was nervous. It drew his attention from her eyes
to her mouth. Her bottom lip was ful er than the top, giving
her a pouty look that was at complete odds with her
personality.
Owen took a step closer, as if he was being pul ed by an
invisible magnet. He wasn’t sure what he planned to do.
Kiss her? He wanted to, but his inner wolf just ached to be
closer. It was a driving force inside that had the power to
completely distract him.
When he was barely a few inches in front of her, his body
aligned with hers, she drew her eyebrows together and
slightly tilted her head to the side. He started to ask what
was wrong when he heard it, too. Would have heard it
sooner if he hadn’t been so wrapped up in her sweet
honeydew scent.
The angry voices of his pack mates were headed their
way. Stepping back, he had to take a deep breath before
yanking open the front door. His brother and two of his pack
mates who regularly patrol ed their hunting grounds were in
human form and they al looked grim. Daniel, a young
shifter of about eighteen, was the only one in wolf form, but
he shifted as Owen stepped outside. Blood oozed out from
the claw marks on his chest and Owen could scent the
jaguar on the wolf.
“What happened? Did you discover who’s been
attacking the humans?” Despite Daniel’s bloody wounds,
Owen knew he’d heal quickly. He didn’t feel guilty at the
sharp burst of hope he experienced that they might final y
have a lead.
The young wolf shook his head, breathing hard. He
flicked a glance over Owen’s shoulder at Gabriela but
quickly focused on Owen. “Was in town. Saw one of the
jaguars—Israel, the oldest brother—lifting Skyler into his
truck. She looked like she was in pain and I smel ed her
blood. I tried…” His voice broke for a fraction of a second.
“I tried to stop him but the other one, Axel, stopped me. He
let his claws out in the middle of town. I didn’t want to shift
and draw attention but as soon as I was on the edge of
town I shifted and ran home. I didn’t have my phone or I
would have cal ed.”
Owen’s heart pounded faster at the thought of his
younger sister hurt, but if she was with Israel Segura, Owen
couldn’t imagine the quiet jaguar hurting her. Hel , he
couldn’t imagine any of Gabriela’s family hurting Skyler.
Another reason these attacks had been driving him mad. It
didn’t make sense. They’d been living in peace together for
so long.
Ethan stepped up angrily, his face mottled red. “We
should hunt them down—”
“Shut up,” Owen snapped, keeping his focus on Daniel.
“Did you see where they were headed?” he asked the
young wolf.
“East, out of town.”
Owen glanced over his shoulder to find Gabriela
hovering, looking as if she might bolt. “Your truck keys are
on the foyer table. Grab them.”
She hesitated for a fraction of a moment then subtly
nodded before hurrying inside.
While she retrieved them, he turned back to his brother.
“I’m going to bring Skyler home and get to the bottom of
this.” Owen looked at Leta, one of his most trusted wolves.
Of average height she was lean and lethal with a blade
when necessary. In her wolf form she was even more of a
threat. Her dark hair was pul ed back into a tight braid as
she stood there at attention. “Cal me if there’s an
emergency, but otherwise I’m trusting you to keep everyone
calm.”
Wordlessly, Leta nodded. The reserved she-wolf had a
calming effect on almost everyone and while Owen loved
his younger brother, Ethan was too young and arrogant to
keep the pack united and more important, calm. In a few
years he’d have the maturity to be a leader but now he
didn’t seem to realize that his actions could affect the entire
pack.
Owen felt more than heard Gabriela move. As she fel in
line next to him, he plucked the keys from her hand and
nodded for her to fol ow him. Once they reached her truck
he slid into the driver’s seat.
As they tore down the dirt path toward the main highway
that ran through town, he risked a look at Gabriela.
Her expression was shuttered as she watched him. “My
brothers would never hurt Skyler.
No one
in my family would
ever hurt her. And if Israel was taking her somewhere, it
was to help her.” The note of conviction in Gabriela’s voice
mirrored the feelings in his heart.
His sister was just too sweet for anyone to want to do her
harm. While his inner wolf was angry and ready to draw
blood, he couldn’t jump to a conclusion yet. Not until he
found his sister. “Cal your brothers,” he said, though
Gabriela was already digging in the center console and
pul ing out her cel phone.
Seconds seemed to drag on as she hit one of her speed
dials. When she hung up, dread fil ed his gut, but she
punched in another number. “Axel,” she breathed out,
sounding relieved. “Where are you?”
Thanks to his extrasensory abilities, Owen could hear
where Axel was and his entire body tensed at the address
Gabriela’s younger brother gave. They talked for a few
more moments and when it was obvious Axel wouldn’t
answer any questions about Skyler over the phone,
Gabriela snapped her phone shut.
“Go to—”
“Cindy Shahi’s place. I heard.” Cindy Shahi was the local
doctor in Bear Mountain. She’d replaced Doc Johnson
about three years ago and everyone in town loved her. She
was also a jaguar shifter, though not part of the Segura
pack. She wasn’t part of any pack, but a loner, and she’d
set up a private office behind her house for shifters. Since
humans didn’t know about their existence, it wasn’t always
conducive to shifters’ survival to visit the female doctor in
her public office. If Owen’s sister was at Dr. Shahi’s private
office, it couldn’t be good.
Owen’s grip on the steering wheel tightened until his
claws came out and he’d completely slashed through the
leather-like material. Next to him Gabriela was silent but he
could feel the tension pulsing off her in waves. The bitter
scent she emanated was a mixture of anger, fear and
worry.
Despite his own concern, he stil wanted to comfort and
soothe Gabriela.
He probably broke half a dozen traffic laws but he made
it to the doctor’s in ten minutes. Using the side driveway
that led past Dr. Shahi’s house toward her private office, he
stopped behind a truck he recognized as belonging to
Israel..
Gabriela was out of the vehicle before he’d even
stopped.
Cursing, Owen slammed the door shut as he hurried after
her. As he stepped into the simple waiting room, his eyes
narrowed at the sight of Axel, his shirt covered in a spray of
blood. It was Daniel’s blood-that much Owen could scent.
“Where’s my sister?” he growled, barely containing his
inner wolf.
To his surprise, Gabriela placed a gentling hand on his
forearm, but didn’t look at him. Her focus was on Axel, who
was currently attempting to stare Owen down. “What’s
going on?” she asked.
Axel, who looked so much Gabriela with the same honey-
brown hair and dark eyes, took a defiant step forward,
growling at Owen.
Gabriela’s hand tightened on his arm. Before either of
them could speak, the single white door that led to the
operating/checkup room opened and Dr. Shahi stepped
out. Her dark hair was pul ed up into a bun, her equal y dark
eyes widening as she saw Owen. A thin thread of concern
spiraled off her.
“Where. Is. My. Sister.” It wasn’t a question and he barely
squeezed the words out.
The doctor swal owed hard but before she could answer,
Owen moved past her, ignoring her protests. The coppery
distinctive scent of Skyler’s blood nearly overwhelmed him.
Prepared to seriously hurt someone, Owen reached the
doorway and stopped dead in his tracks. Israel and Skyler
were on the hospital-style bed and the giant male was
cradling Skyler in his arms in a manner that could never be
mistaken for anything other than possessive and protective.
They both looked up at him and he was vaguely aware of
the others filing into the sterile room behind him. Wearing a
pale green dressing gown, his sister was turned on her
side, tucked in Israel’s embrace.
Owen’s eyes tracked to the metal bin fil ed with
discarded bloody rags then back to his sister. “Are you
okay?” he asked softly.
She nodded and wiped a stray tear off her cheek. “I’m…
three months pregnant. There were some complications,
but the baby is fine and so am I.”
“But she’s going to need more bed rest and a very stable
environment. It won’t need to be a permanent thing. She
can stil take short walks and spend a couple hours every
day away from home, but n
o
stress.” Dr. Shahi walked
farther into the room, nearing the bed, her voice very firm.
Pregnant?
Stunned, Owen looked to Gabriela, but she
looked just as surprised as he felt. Maybe even more so.
The silence seemed to stretch on forever.
“Holy crap, I’m going to be an aunt?” Gabriela was the
first to speak, her question slicing through the tension.
Skyler nodded, a real smile stealing across her features,
but Israel was stil watching Owen, his expression guarded.
“You’re the father.” It wasn’t a question and Owen wasn’t
sure why he even said it. He felt more than a little
dumbfounded.
The jaguar shifter nodded. “Yes. And we’re going to be
mated soon. I wanted to mate earlier but…” His expression
softened as he glanced at Skyler, then that mask fel back
into place as he looked at Owen. “We’l be mated before
the baby is born.”
Owen had a hundred questions. He’d known his sister
had been sneaking off their land the past few months, but
he’d assumed she was dating a human or fooling around
with one of their pack mates. She was twenty-two and old
enough to make her own decisions and he hadn’t wanted to
smother her. Despite the questions burning inside him, he
swal owed them back and nodded at Israel.
The jaguar shifter was an attorney and worked for an
established law firm in town. From what Owen knew of him,
he was respected in the community. Stil , he didn’t like the
thought of anyone touching his sister, no matter the
species. It was impossible to wrap his mind around the fact
that his younger sister was pregnant and going to be
mated, but he didn’t flash his canines in a blatant show of
aggression-even though that’s exactly what his inner wolf
wanted.
Crossing the short distance between them, he shook the
other man’s hand—even though a large part of him wanted
to pummel him for daring to touch his sister—and said,
“Welcome to the family.” He stil wasn’t sure what
“complications” meant, but if his sister was going to need
bed rest he wouldn’t do anything to upset her.
Behind him he heard Gabriela suck in a breath, but when
he turned to look at her she was quietly talking to her other
brother. Then everyone started talking at once and he knew
it would be a while before he got his answers.
* * *
as she trekked through the woods. Hours had passed since
the revelation that her brother and Owen’s sister were
having a baby together. Not only that, they were going to be
mated
.
Gabriela’s older brother had always been serious and
quiet so it was a surprise he’d ended up with Skyler, who
had the sunniest disposition of anyone Gabriela knew.
Seeing them together, however, there was no doubt of their
love for each other.
Owen had been oddly quiet at Dr. Shahi’s office and then
afterward when they’d al decided to go back to Israel’s