Destined Mate (Catamount Lion Shifters #4) (13 page)

At her long pause, Roxanne interjected. “He’s hot.”

Shana couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her. “Yup, he’s hot. I thought we could maybe have a fling. No harm done. But it turned into a lot more than that. I got pissed off when Dane talked to Hayden about it, as if he has any right to interfere in my personal life. The last few days he was here, I didn’t even talk to him. When you saw us, well, he was leaving. He came to tell me how he felt.”

Another long pause. Roxanne cleared her throat again. “Let’s get to the point. How does he feel?”

Shana’s words came out softly. It almost hurt to say them. Because she couldn’t quite believe it. “He said he loves me.”

Shana looked up to find Roxanne’s eyes on her. “And how do you feel?”

“I… I love him. I think.”

Roxanne took a sip of coffee and nodded slowly. “Okay. So what’s the problem?”

Shana chewed on her lip and traced the edge of her coffee mug. “I don’t know. I mean, look at what happened with Callen. My marriage was a pathetic waste and he turned out to be a colossal asshole. What if I just have incredibly bad judgment in men? I don’t think I could take it if things fell apart with Hayden the way they did with Callen.”

Roxanne shook her head. “Honey, none of us could have imagined Callen would turn out to be as much of an ass as he was. I get why it took you so long to tell us how things were with him, but don’t go comparing other men to him. Look around you. You know plenty of good men who’d never treat a woman the way Callen treated you. I can’t say I know Hayden too well, but he’s nothing like Callen. Even before I knew Callen treated you like shit and got in with drug smugglers, I knew he was kind of a jerk. He was always a bit too arrogant for my taste. You’re one of my best friends, so I wanted to support you. I didn’t think it was worth pointing out he was a tad too interested in himself. But Hayden, he’s nothing like that. I don’t even think he realizes how damn hot he is. He ignores all the women who stare at him. According to Dane, Jake, and Noah, he’s a good guy. You said so yourself after you came back from Montana last year. I get why you might be thinking the way you are, but don’t go there. If you love him, do something about it.”

“What if it’s too soon?”

“Too soon? How do you mean?”

“Since Callen died, since my life got turned upside down by everything he did.”

Roxanne practically glared at her. “Don’t be ridiculous! Callen died last year, and you two were married in name only for the last few years before that. If that’s what’s holding you back, you’re being stupid.”

Roxanne was never one to shy away from being completely blunt. Shana flushed again and took another gulp of coffee to gather herself.

“Okay then. I guess I’m…” Her words trailed off as she tried to explain.

“Thinking way too hard about this,” Roxanne offered. “Trust me, it never helps. What does your gut tell you?”

Shana walked outside a while later and breathed deep, savoring the fresh air. The rain had stopped. She pondered Roxanne’s last question to her. Listening to her gut meant tuning in to both sides of herself—lion and human. Therein lay the answer, and she already knew it. She had to see Hayden. As soon as possible.

Chapter 14

Hayden kept himself busy at work since he’d been home. The reason was two-fold. He needed something to keep his mind off of Shana because thinking about her was painful. He’d promised himself he would give her the space and time to come to him on her own terms. The wait was excruciating. He had to wait though. Shana wasn’t just any woman. She was destined to be his mate. To honor all that she was—strong, intelligent, and so sexy she brought him to his knees—he needed to her to come to him freely.

Keeping busy at work also helped him manage the impulse to grab Clint, shove him against the wall and demand an explanation for the bullshit manipulation he’d been pulling off for the last three years. He absolutely could not do that. They’d developed a plan back in Catamount. Glen, the local detective here, was coordinating with local law enforcement to execute a series of arrests all at once for a number of the lower level players involved in the smuggling network. Hayden’s role was mainly to track Clint’s whereabouts the day of the arrests. The work the detectives had done before indicated Clint did clean up after the fact at any storage and delivery sites.

Hayden could handle the waiting, but it was hard when Clint dropped bullshit comments about the smuggling network and how frustrated he was with its annoying presence and tendency to pop up again and again. Hayden had enough sense to know, just as they did in Catamount, that knocking a few of the main players out wouldn’t make the network disappear permanently, but they hoped to hobble it and make it harder for the network to regroup.

Early one morning, he received the call from Glen that the wheels were in motion. Hayden buried himself in reports to stay busy. Clint leaned through his door not long after he showed up at the office.

“I’m headed out to check on a complaint from one of the ranches on the western side of town. I’ll…”

Clint was interrupted when the office door opened. He swung away from Hayden. Hayden stood and looked out into the reception area. His heart flew to his throat when Shana came through the entrance. She froze when she saw him. His heart slammed against his ribs. The effect she had on him was a powerful mix of emotion and pure physical need.

Clint looked at Shana. “Can I help you?”

Shana cleared her throat. “I was hoping to meet with Hayden.”

Clint glanced from Shana into Hayden’s office. “You have time for a meeting?” he asked. Clint appeared distracted, which was convenient because he didn’t seem to be catching onto the tension emanating from Hayden to Shana. It was all Hayden could do not to walk to her, lift her in his arms and pour his feelings into a kiss. He shackled his urges, keeping his expression bland, and nodded at Clint. “Sure. Come on in,” he replied, gesturing to Shana.

She walked toward him, her tawny hair loose around her shoulders. She entered his office and gently closed the door behind her. Without a word, she stepped in front of him, stopping mere inches away. The ache to touch her was so intense, he could barely contain it.

Her eyes, silvery and smoky, met his. “Hey,” she said softly.

“Hey.” His pulse pounded, longing washing through him in waves.

Before he could say another word, he heard the door in the reception area bang against the wall. Fear joined the collision of feelings inside of him. What he wanted to do was take Shana in his arms and carry her away. But he couldn’t. Not now. Her eyes bounced from him to the door.

“Is everything okay?” she asked, her voice low.

He shrugged. “Let me see what’s going on, okay?”

At her quick nod, he stepped around her and opened his office door. A man Hayden had never seen stood in the waiting room. He knew instantly the man was a shifter—the man felt as if he was about to shift right now. Energy pulsed from him.

Clint glanced in Hayden’s direction before turning back to the man. “Why don’t you come into my office? We can talk there,” he said, his voice low and soothing.

The man shrugged and followed Clint into his office. Hayden turned back to Shana. He moved away from the door again, speaking barely above a whisper.

“You have no idea how much I want to get out of here and be anywhere alone with you. But no, everything is not okay. The police are in the middle of an arrest sweep. My job is to follow my boss wherever he goes without him noticing. I’m not sure who just showed up to see him, but I have a bad feeling.”

He curled his hands around her arms and tugged her close because he couldn’t resist having at least that for the moment. She pulled back and stroked her hand down his cheek. “I missed you,” she whispered.

He took her mouth in a bruising kiss, frantic to soak up all he could as fast as he could. At the sound of raised voices coming from Clint’s office, he pulled away. Shana’s eyes were clear and concerned.

“Don’t worry about me. I know you have to do this now. What can I do to help?”

“Shana, I know you can take care of yourself, but I don’t want you anywhere near this. I’ll give you my address. You can go there and wait.” He snagged his keys off the desk and placed them in her palm.

He started to give her the address when the door to Clint’s office flung open. The man who’d stopped by shifted and turned to face Clint again. With a roar, he swiped at Clint who shifted in response. When the unknown shifter turned away, his golden eyes coasted over Shana and Hayden standing by his office door. When he postured and moved in their direction, Hayden couldn’t hold back his lion. The moment the two men had shifted, his lion rumbled under his skin, calling to be set loose. He walked into the waiting area, his hackles raised and fury simmering. Shana glanced among them. In a flash, she shifted as well, swiftly moving to Hayden’s side. The unknown shifter growled at Hayden and swiped in his direction. Shana streaked between them with a snarl, catching the other shifter on the throat.

Time blurred as events unfolded rapidly. Clint and his associate dashed through the windows at the back of the office with Hayden and Shana following. Hayden’s human mind stayed engaged when he was in lion form, and he couldn’t hold back the wry thought that the office windows had seen more than their fair share of breakage ever since the smuggling network had sprung up. Bitterly, he considered what he now knew—those shifters who seemed to randomly show up at the office were likely anything but random given Clint’s role in the network.

Hayden silently called to Shana, pleading with her to stay back. He knew she understood, but she ignored him. She was glorious in lion form. Her movement was sleek and sinuous. She tracked the two lions with ease. They threaded into the foothills. Hayden knew the local police had sentries set up all over the area. Otherwise, he’d have hesitated to follow.

Clint and the other lion barreled through the trees until they reached a clearing where a cluster of hunting cabins was dispersed in the nearby area. Hayden had been out here before and warned away shifters after reports of trespassing and hunting out of season. Clint came to a stop and waited. Hayden wondered if Clint planned to try to maintain his cover or not. As soon as Hayden reached his side, he had his answer. Clint snarled and swiped at him. Hayden backed away. He wasn’t interested in engaging Clint in a fight, but Clint pursued him, the other shifter joining him.

Hayden had no choice but to fight back. The weak voice of his human mind worried over where Shana was. He’d lost sight of her once Clint started attacking. Hayden sustained several deep scratches, but he avoided getting pinned despite the fact he was outnumbered.

In the blur of claws and fur, he heard a roar. Shana leapt upon Clint’s back, sinking her teeth into his neck. She threw him under her, pinning him as she held onto his throat, her grip relentless. She gave Hayden time to knock back the other shifter. Deep in the struggle of holding them, Hayden didn’t hear the police approaching. He heard the whistle of darts through the air before they landed. He backed off instantly, fearful Shana would get darted. He knew Glen could recognize him in lion form, but he didn’t think the officers would be able to quickly ascertain Shana was safe. He dashed toward her. She’d released Clint, but stood above him.

Hayden flinched when the tiny dart sank into her skin. She wobbled and collapsed to the ground. He had to call on every ounce of his humanity to keep from roaring his displeasure. He knew the officers who’d responded were friendly to shifters and a few of them were shifters, but it wouldn’t help at all for him to make a scene over what he knew to be an accident. She was an unfamiliar shifter to everyone present other than him. It stood to reason they’d take the safest route and tranquilize her. In the muddle of the following moments, Hayden shifted back into human form.

Glen tossed him some clothes. Shana and the other shifters had shifted back into human form once they collapsed. Hayden knelt at her side.

Glen approached him and handed him a blanket. “We didn’t know she was friendly. Sorry about this.”

Hayden nodded tightly as he carefully wrapped the blanket around Shana and lifted her in his arms. “Yeah. You couldn’t have known who she was. She showed up at the office today right before…” He paused, gesturing toward the other man.

Glen nodded. “Dwight Weber. He’s a mid-level dealer. From what we can piece together, he got riled up after we arrested three of his guys. Clint might think he covered his tracks pretty well, but from our interviews today so far, people have been getting pretty damn pissed with how hard he tries to stay away from the dirty work. Too much reward with not enough risk.” Glen paused and glanced to Shana. “How about I give you a ride back to your office? If you want, we can stop by Warner’s place to get her checked out.”

Warner was one of the few doctors in the area who happened to be a shifter. Attempting to explain why Shana had been darted with an animal tranquilizer to any other doctor would be confusing and raise unwanted suspicion.

“That’d be great.” Hayden adjusted Shana in his arms and followed Glen to his car.

Chapter 15

Shana came awake slowly. She rolled her head to the side to find herself looking out a window. The sun was setting over the mountains, its rays casting a soft light through the room. She turned the other way to find she was resting on a couch with a soft, silky blanket tucked around her. Her brain felt fuzzy. She stretched and tried to recall how she got here. She knew she must be at Hayden’s house because where else could she be? The last thing she remembered was running through the trees and the skirmish that followed. She remembered the taste of iron in her mouth when she bit into the shifter’s neck, but her memory stopped there. She pushed the blanket down and sat up. Her body ached, but she felt okay.

She stretched and stood. Glancing down, she discovered she must have been wearing one of Hayden’s shirts. It swallowed her, hanging to her knees, the flannel soft against her skin. She rolled the sleeves up and took in the room. It was a sparsely furnished living room with a couch and two chairs. Though basic, the furniture had luxurious pillows in a soft sage green. Scenic black and white photographs hung on the walls. She heard the sound of water running and followed it, finding Hayden in the kitchen. He stood at the sink rinsing dishes.