Authors: Katie Reus
place to get Skyler settled in, Owen had declined, claiming
he had pack business to deal with.
It had been an obvious lie but no one had stopped him
and Gabriela had let him take her rental truck. Now that
darkness had fal en and he wasn’t back at his home—she
knew because she’d asked Skyler to cal him—Gabriela
had a pretty good idea where he’d gone.
Even though the smart part of her brain told her to stay
the heck away from him, it was hard. Especial y since he’d
looked so lost as he’d stared at his younger sister earlier.
Gabriela had never seen him look quite that vulnerable and
even though years had passed, she could stil read his
expressions.
And, she stil cared. Way more than she wanted to admit.
When Owen had taken her brother’s hand and welcomed
him into his family, it had hit her with ful force that he’d
grown up.
There was something about him that had always drawn
her to him and once they’d become sexual y aware of each
other…she shuddered, forcing those memories away. No
one had ever made her feel so needy and out of control and
she didn’t want to think about that now.
Her breath curled out in front of her like white smoke as
she reached the edge of the cave she’d been looking for.
There were many caves in Bear Mountain forest but only
one she and Owen had spent a lot of time at as kids. It was
only a guess that he’d be there, but she had nothing to lose
looking for him there.
The scent of burning wood teased her nostrils as she
approached the opening that was only two feet higher than
her head. A faint orange glow pulsed from deep inside.
There was a big opening in the top of the cave, as if
someone had carved it out intentional y, that was the
perfect ventilation for building a fire.
Her boots were silent as she entered, walking deeper
into the mouth until she spotted Owen’s sprawled form on a
puffy sleeping bag. He was on his back, wearing only jeans,
no shirt—showing off al that muscle and exposed skin that
made her think of sex—and had his head propped up on
his folded arms.
His eyes were closed but she knew he was aware of her.
He’d be able to scent her. Taking off her backpack, she sat
down a couple feet away from him. “You gonna pretend you
don’t know I’m here?”
Ful lips that were the only soft part of his body slightly
curled upward as he opened his eyes and scorched her
with those baby blues. “Why are you here?” he asked softly
as he pushed up to a sitting position, his arm muscles
flexing with the movement.
Lying down he’d seemed so nonthreatening. Not that she
was worried that he’d hurt her, but looking at him now she
was so aware of every part of him. Of how very male he
was.
She shrugged and pul ed out a couple chocolate bars, a
box of graham crackers and a bag of marshmal ows.
“Thought you might like the company.” Plus she’d needed
to see him so badly it scared her.
“I wanted to be alone,” he murmured.
Her finger froze on the marshmal ow bag. Something
tight cinched around her chest. He didn’t want her here.
“No,” he hurried on, probably sensing her distress. “You
don’t count. Okay, that sounds wrong, but I’ve never minded
your company.” He scrubbed a hand over a face with a
dark five o’clock shadow and shook his head. “I sound like
a jackass, but you know what I mean. I want you here.”
Feeling an invisible weight lift off her chest, she grinned
and tossed the bag to him. “How are you dealing with
everything?” She didn’t spel it out because she figured it
was pretty clear.
“I had a very real urge to take your brother’s head off
today.” His voice was only half joking.
Grinning, she pul ed out two long metal roasting sticks
with wooden grips and passed him one. “I think that’s your
right as Skyler’s big brother.” Gabriela paused a moment
then decided to just plunge ahead. “So what does this
mean for your pack and my family? And what’s the deal
with the attacks? You know it’s not my parents or Israel and
I’d stake my life it isn’t Dr. Shahi. And Axel might be a
hothead but so is Ethan. I
know
Axel isn’t a kil er. He
wouldn’t do anything to harm our family, not to mention he
wouldn’t want to hurt Israel and Skyler’s relationship. He
hero worships Israel. The only reason he attacked Daniel
today was because he didn’t want anything to slow down
getting Skyler to the doctor.”
Owen blew out a long breath. “I forgot how much you talk
when you’re nervous.”
Gabriela scowled at him. “I do not.”
His lips pul ed into a thin line as if he was biting back a
smile. Just as quickly he shook his head. “There hasn’t
been an attack in a couple weeks but we’re not letting our
guard down. I don’t think it’s your family, though the rest of
the pack isn’t so sure. Wel , now that everyone knows
Skyler’s mating with Israel the tension has eased a little. I
think they’re al just so happy we’re going to have a cub
running around soon.”
“You know the baby could be a jaguar.” Gabriela watched
his reaction to her statement.
Owen shrugged. “I don’t care and no one in my pack
does, either.”
She narrowed her gaze at him, wanting to believe him.
He sounded so sincere and after the way he’d quickly
welcomed her brother into his family, it was hard not to take
him at his word. But his brother had stil kidnapped her
earlier today. Clearly at least Ethan had issues with
jaguars. “Seriously? No one cares?”
“If it was anyone else having the baby, I honestly don’t
know what the reaction would be but it’s
Skyler
.” Owen
lifted his shoulders again as if he shouldn’t have to explain
further.
In a way, he didn’t. Skyler was adored by the entire pack,
which went a long way in bridging whatever hostility had
developed recently between their families. If it had been a
decade long feud or something Gabriela doubted his pack
would have been so welcoming but clearly these issues
were recent. “So what’s the deal with the attacks?”
“They started out of nowhere, first against a hunter who
wasn’t where he should have been, but stil , no one in my
pack would have attacked him. And he had a gun. Whoever
went after him careful y hunted him and from the way his
body was shredded it wasn’t the way a normal animal hunts
or kil s. It was meticulous, had a purpose—almost like the
bloodier and bigger display made, the better. Body parts
were ripped off and strewn around, but nothing was
dragged away or eaten.” Owen’s jaw clenched tight. “There
have been two almost identical attacks since then and like I
told you before, the last one was closer to town, right on the
outskirts.”
Gabriela was thoughtful as she peeled back the foil
wrapping on the chocolate bar. “Have you or anyone in your
pack pissed someone off recently? Does someone want
your land?” Her family certainly didn’t. After getting Skyler
settled in at Israel’s house she’d final y gone home and
talked to her parents. Her father was angry over the whole
situation and her mother was distraught and worried about
their place in the community—fearful they might have to
move eventual y. Not to mention they hadn’t been able to
run free like normal and that was never good for a shifter.
Owen shook his head. “We keep to ourselves and a lot of
the younger wolves are away at col ege right now, anyway.
There’s no one to cause trouble, even minor mischief. None
of these attacks make sense.”
Staring into the dancing flames, she took a bite of
chocolate before putting one of the marshmal ows over the
smal fire.
“How’d you know I’d be here?” The quiet question
snapped her gaze toward him.
Swal owing hard, she tried to shrug casual y but the
action came off jerky and awkward. “It was only a guess. I
didn’t know if you stil came here, but…” She shrugged
again, feeling stupid because she couldn’t find the words.
His eyes seemed to darken as he watched her.
Mesmerized, she couldn’t force herself to look away. It was
as if he’d captured her and she had no wil power left. Even
though his eyes didn’t move from her face, it was like he
was undressing her, remembering what they’d shared that
morning. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking on her part
because she couldn’t seem to get rid of the deliciously
erotic memory.
The image of his head between her legs kept flashing in
her mind no matter how hard she tried to banish it. Feeling
her cheeks flush she tried to look away. She real y did. But
it was impossible.
His eyes narrowed a fraction, as if he actual y could read
her mind. “What are you thinking about?” His already deep
voice dropped an octave, taking on a wildly seductive
quality and she felt herself drowning.
“This morning,” she breathed out.
No!
Why had she
admitted that out loud?
A flicker of surprise crossed his features, but it quickly
faded as he scooted a few inches closer to her. He placed
his marshmal ow roaster on one of the logs next to the fire.
“I haven’t stopped thinking about it, either. Not the way you
taste…or the way you look when you come.”
Now her face flushed even hotter. Maybe she should feel
embarrassed but the only thing running through her veins
was a hot, burning need that ate her alive from the inside
out. It was like a live thing inside her, growing, building,
scorching
.
And Owen was the only one who could help her.
With shaking hands, she unzipped her dark jacket with
the faux-fur lining around the hood and shrugged it off.
Underneath she wore a simple long-sleeved, green T-
shirt…and no bra.
It didn’t matter that she harbored hurt feelings deep
inside her; the most primal part of her was drawn to him.
She knew it was her jaguar and had a lot to do with biology.
But he was the only person she’d ever loved. Right now she
didn’t want to think about the past or any of that. She just
wanted to spend a night in Owen’s arms. After the hel ish
past few months she’d had, dealing with the deaths of her
entire team on an Op turned so very bad, she wanted to
feel alive again. And damn Owen, he made her feel safe in
a way she didn’t understand. Even while he scared the crap
out of her because of those feelings, she knew she’d be
completely safe in his arms. Anything was better than the
smothering guilt at being the only survivor.
Owen knelt in front of her, the muscles in his arms flexing
as he reached for her leg. He always had an earthy scent
but now it was so much stronger, drawing her to him.
Silently, he unzipped her knee-high boot and slid it off, then
did the same with the other one. Stil kneeling, he braced
his hands on his knees as he stared hard at her.
She wanted to drop her gaze from his hungry stare but
she held it, wondering what he was thinking. In the past
she’d never had much of a problem reading him but now
she’d never had much of a problem reading him but now
she felt a little lost.
Final y he spoke, his words low, guttural. “I never meant
to hurt you. I’d rather cut out my own heart than ever do that
again. Words mean nothing. I know that. I stil want you to
know—”
Gabriela shook her head, silencing him. “I don’t want to
talk about the past. I just want to be with you tonight and not
worry about anything else.”
He sat there with a preternatural stil ness and if she
hadn’t seen the uneven rise and fal of his chest, she’d have
wondered if he’d been breathing at al . “Once I have you…I
don’t know if I can let you go, Gabriela.”
Those words were torn from a very deep part of him. She
knew it as clearly as she knew he had a giant scar on his
upper inner arm from when he was ten and tried to jump
from tree limb to tree limb and got snagged on a sharp
branch, almost losing his arm.
“I can only promise you tonight.” Even though a very dark
part of her had once relished the thought of hurting him and
walking away, that wasn’t her intention anymore. She
couldn’t make promises to him because the thought of lying