Is there any way one of your residents escaped the compound and did this?”
Talon glanced at Caden first then motioned to the evidence. “Ignoring the fact that, as I
said before, this isn’t a coyote kill, I can assure you that all of our animals are present and
accounted for.” He looked over at Darrin and his father. “We have a number of security
measures in place to prevent such an incident from happening. Our coyotes didn’t do this.”
Rebecca nodded. “Thanks for your honesty, Talon. I hope you and Caden understand that
I had to ask.”
“Honesty?” Darrin practically jumped into her personal space as he waved his hands in
the air. “Are you serious? As if they’re going to stand here and admit one of their bloodthirsty
vermin is responsible. What the hell kind of question is that?”
Rebecca moved to answer, but Talon beat her to it.
“It’s called mutual respect. The Sheriff knows we wouldn’t lie. Besides, we keep a
detailed inventory of all the animals under our care. You’re welcome to come out to the ranch
and see it for yourself.” Talon raised an eyebrow at Darrin. “Do you and your father do the
same? Can you tell us exactly which sheep are missing?”
“Of course.” Darrin flashed him a smug smile. “The two your coyote stole.”
Rebecca shook her head. She’d have better luck slamming her head against the hood of
her Jeep than getting these four men to be civil. She looked up and found herself staring into
Talon’s eyes. He squinted slightly, as if trying to read her thoughts, then glanced over at his
brother. She noticed something pass unspoken between the two before Talon backed up, giving
her some room to move in front of Darrin.
She took the opportunity, stopping only an arm’s length away from the man. “We’re not
here to call each other names. We’re here to fix a possibly dangerous situation.” She diverted her
attention to the mayor. “If I’m going to find a solution, there are a few things that need to be
done.” She glanced back at Talon and Caden. “If you boys don’t mind, I’d like to take you up on
your offer and visit the ranch. That should satisfy everyone’s curiosity.” She turned back to the
mayor. “While I’m at the ranch, I’ll have Deputy Bobby Blake come out here and scour the
woods bordering your land. If a predator did take your sheep, the remains should be somewhere
close by. I’ll also head into the park and survey some of the noted ranges of the local coyote
population—see if I can find any evidence that they’re traveling off their normal routes and
venturing into town.” She paused, knowing the Carson men wouldn’t like her next comment.
“But either way, you’re going to have to open yourselves up to the possibility that this is the
work of another kind of poacher.”
“Oh it’s poachers all right,” said Darrin. “Coyotes.”
Rebecca bit back the insult practically jumping off her tongue and glared at him. This
kind of behavior was the very reason she’d refused the man’s advances just after her father had
moved here to take the sheriff’s position. Though she’d told Darrin it was because she was
heading off to university in a few months, the real reason had been her inability to enjoy being in
the same room as him. How the hell did women actually make it to his bed? The mayor grunted
and she glanced over at him.
“That’s all well and good, but while you’re off…
investigating
…my livestock is still at
risk. I assume you’ll understand why I feel the need to take certain measures to protect my
investment.” The man gave her a stiff grin and turned toward the house.
Rebecca cursed under her breath and took a step forward. “I understand your concern,
Mayor, but need I remind you that hunting, even on your own property, requires a permit.”
She met his scowl when he looked back at her across his shoulder.
“I know for a fact that Bobby hasn’t issued a single one this year,” she added.
The man shrugged. “Then I’ll head into town and get one.”
She cleared her throat when he turned again, drawing his attention back to her. “I’m
sorry, but under the circumstances, I can’t authorize any additional hunting permits until I get
this situation cleared up…for safety purposes, of course.”
“What!” Darrin didn’t wait for his father to trudge back through the snow before
stomping his feet and stepping into her personal space, again. “Two of our sheep are dead and
more are likely to follow, but you’re not going to allow us the right to defend our way of life?”
He snorted in disgust. “I never thought you’d let your personal feelings about hunting interfere
with your job,
Rebecca
.”
“It’s Sheriff, Darrin, and this has nothing to do with my views on hunting, or coyotes for
that matter. But it has everything to do with the safety of my officers. How the hell am I
supposed to send Bobby, or my other officers, into the woods if I know half the town is running
around, shooting at anything that moves because you’ve worked them all up into a frenzy?” She
brushed him back. “I will not put my men at risk so you can justify killing every coyote from
here to the Alaskan border.” She paused and took a deep breath. “Trust me. If a coyote is
responsible for this, I’ll see that the animal is humanely dealt with, but I won’t sanction a blood
bath just to ease your pride.”
Darrin looked as if he was going to argue when his father tugged on his sleeve.
“Easy, son. The Sheriff is right.” He flashed her another sickening smile. “We wouldn’t
want to lose another lawman to a terrible accident, now would we?”
The man’s cold, casual tone made her stomach heave, swirling the snow-covered
landscape as the blood drained from her head. She felt a moment of dizziness before two, strong
hands closed around her shoulders, effectively moving her aside as a wall of male flesh moved in
front of her. It was quickly followed by another silhouette until all she could see was the brown
tinge of their leather jackets and the deep blue of their jeans.
Another growl lit the air, making her jump. It seemed to come from nowhere and
everywhere at the same time, making the air vibrate with its intensity. The gravelly sound was
quickly followed by a softer one, then Caden’s voice.
“Are you threatening the Sheriff? Because that sounded like a threat to me.”
The low timbre of his voice flowed across the short distance, soothing her taut nerves and
changing the nauseating feeling to one of anticipation. She snagged her bottom lip, hoping to
regain her senses while she still had time to save her dignity. She pushed between the two men,
but that was as far as she got before Talon wedged her against Caden.
Caden glanced at her, the red tinge back in his eyes, or was it just the reflection of the
rising sun? She looked over at the mayor, and for the first time since she’d returned to Beckit
Falls, she saw uncertainty glaze his eyes.
The emotion passed, and he drew himself up, grabbing Darrin by the jacket. “This
meeting is over.” He tugged at the younger man as he marched up the walkway to the porch.
Caden gave the men what looked like a snarl before turning back to her. “I don’t care if
he’s been the mayor for twenty years, I don’t trust him.” He brushed some flakes of snow off her
shoulder. “Perhaps you should take some extra precautions for a while…make sure you’re not
alone.”
The image of her sandwiched between the men, only minus the jeans and jackets, swam
through her mind and she had to look away before they read her intentions. She nodded, clearing
her throat a bit. “I’ll be careful.”
Caden sighed, glancing over at his brother.
Talon brushed a finger down her side. “I’m sorry for moving you so roughly. I didn’t hurt
you, did I?”
She laughed. “Hurt me? Please. Surely you two don’t think I’m so fragile that a simple
lift and spin would damage me?” She shook her head in feigned exasperation. “And here I
thought you two saw me as a tough, bad-ass cop.”
Talon winked at her, sweeping his gaze down her body until he landed on the side of her
hip. “I don’t know about tough, or bad, but I’ve certainly been looking at the
ass
side of you.”
Rebecca stifled a giggle as a hot feeling crept up her cheeks.
Caden grinned and trailed a finger down her jaw line. “Why look…I do believe the
Sheriff is blushing…I don’t think I’ve ever seen you blush.”
“You two are impossible, you know that?” She motioned to the vehicles parked in the
snow, wondering why she could still feel the warmth of his touch grazing against her skin. “Let’s
get out of here. You can laugh at my facial oddities once we’re at your ranch.” She headed for
her Jeep, all too aware of the extra sway of her hips.
Chapter Two
Caden Brady skidded the truck backwards then headed down the driveway, slamming his
hand on the steering wheel. He saw his brother wince out of the corner of his eye, but it didn’t
matter. He knew Talon was just as pissed as he was, the only difference was that Talon was still
thinking about getting into Rebecca’s pants, instead of worrying about how they were going to
stop good, old Mayor Carson from stealing their ranch out from underneath them. The man had
been hounding them for nearly two years, and if this latest stunt got enough public support, he
might just succeed in getting their refuge permits revoked and their ranch closed down.
“You know, Caden, if you don’t stop frowning like that, your mouth might stay that way.
And you’d look pretty stupid in your coyote form with that look stuck on your snout.”
Caden huffed and gave Talon a hardened stare. “Perhaps you should spend more time
thinking about how we’re going to stop Mayor Carson from stealing our land and a bit less about
how you’re going to convince Rebecca to join us in bed.”
Talon shrugged, glancing at her Jeep following close behind. “Go ahead and brush it off,
but I know you feel the pull of the moon as much as I do. Hell, it was all I could do to scent the
kill site over Rebecca’s pheromones, and even then I was too distracted to decipher anything
remotely useful. It’s mid-February—the height of mating season—and it’s been forever since we
even had sex, let alone thought about taking a mate.” He nodded at the slight tremble in Caden’s
hands. “It’s time to face facts, bro. Either we find a way to get Rebecca to see us as more than
just a couple of awkward teens she used to know and accept us as her mates, or what happens to
the ranch won’t really matter…we’re dying inside without her.”
Caden sighed at the hurt expression on Talon’s face, looking back at the endless white
road. They’d known years ago, when Rebecca had first moved to town with her father, that she
was their intended mate. But being eighteen with their shifting abilities still new, they hadn’t
been able to do more than watch her from afar before she’d headed off to university.
He grunted, choosing not to meet Talon’s gaze. “Well, if you have any suggestions, I’d
love to hear them. Otherwise, it’d serve us better to get our heads out of her pants and on the task
at hand.”
Talon growled. “I swear, if Darrin puts one finger on her—”
“We’re not about to let anything happen to her. But if we want to keep her safe, we need
to know why Carson and his son are so hell-bent on getting our ranch. I just can’t see his hatred
toward coyotes being his only motivation. I think he’s using it as an excuse—one the town
council will believe.” He gave Talon a sly smile. “You know how much folks here distrust
coyotes.”
Talon nodded toward Rebecca’s Jeep. “From the way Darrin was talking, it doesn’t
sound as if Rebecca shares those views.”
“Well, we’d better hope she fucking loves them, or there’s not a hope in hell she’ll agree
to sleep with us.” He shook his head. “Damn, I don’t even know if she’d be into two normal guys
at once, let alone a couple of misfits like us.”
“Only one way to find out.”
Caden chuckled. “You always did have more luck than sense. But perhaps instead of
blindsiding her for a threesome, we can get an idea of her feelings while she’s looking around the
compound. She can’t hide from us forever.”
Caden prayed he was right as he turned up the dirt road that led to their ranch. Even with
the windows up, he could hear the high-pitched yips of the animals residing within their
compound. Though it was rare to see coyotes in their natural habitat, the animals pranced along
the fence edging their land, as the truck rolled to a stop.
He jumped out and took a deep, soothing breath. The smell of pine and winter infused his
senses, but they weren’t enough to mask the scent of each coyote in their pack. The animals
whined at the fence, and he finally managed a smile. Their unconditional love and respect always
humbled him and he found himself standing at the enclosure, down on one knee as he greeted his
native brothers.
“Wow. I didn’t realize they were so tame.”
Rebecca’s voice snapped his focus back, and he quickly pushed to his feet, taking two
steps back. He stared as she neared the fence, her eyes wide, but unafraid, her attention on the
dark-brown male watching her from behind the wire. The animal pawed at the ground, but didn’t
move, looking at her with the same intensity it did him and Talon. Caden eased his fingers
around her arm, keeping her from getting too close.