Winter Eve (6 page)

Nevan pushed away from the counter and squared his shoulders. “I claim Danica as my mate.”

Her mouth fell open. What? Joy, relief, and fear churned inside her belly. “You don’t have to do this.” What was she saying? She should be happy that he’d want to claim her, but she was so fearful of the outcome of such a challenge her belly felt like a million butterflies where trapped inside.

“Yes, I do.” He stared at Keegan before continuing. “She told me I was her mate and…” He peered at her. “…I’m in love with her.”

Keegan sighed. “I see. Dani, is this true?”

Trembling, she nodded. “Yes . He’s my mate.”

Jared fumed, “It’s too late. He can’t take care of her. Look what happened yesterday. He didn’t even know she’d left the cabin. And he’s human.”

His alpha male bullshit pissed Danica off. “That’s bullshit, Jared! I’ve lived in this cabin for the last four years. By myself! And that human sees more than my scars.” She got in his personal space and poked him in the chest. A low growl came from his throat. Nevan shifted beside them. “I love him, and I’ve already chosen. It’s him. Not you.”

A smirk lifted the corner of his lips. “I challenge him to a hunt.”

“I accept,” Nevan growled.

***

Nevan could feel the fear rolling off Danica at his acceptance of the Hunt. He wanted to go to her, to comfort her and let her know that it would be okay. But that would only show weakness on his part in front of the males in front of him.

“Do you understand what you are getting into?”

Nevan met the Alpha’s stare. “Yes.”

The Hunt is a challenge of strength and wills. Nevan and Jared would hunt a single prey. His oldest brother, Cale, had told him once that most the time it was deer, because they are fast.

Jared gave a short nod. “Good. We begin at twilight.” He turned and left.

Keegan moved toward the door then turned back. “You need more time?”

“No. I’ll be ready.”

Without another word, the Alpha walked out the door.

When Nevan turned toward Danica, he dropped his shoulders and held out his hand. She didn’t take it. Instead, she glared at him with her lips pursed. “What are you doing? Jared is a very skilled hunter.”

“And you don’t think I am?”

She opened her mouth and closed it then whispered, “I don’t know.”

He took her hands and drew them in to rest over his heart. “Do you really believe my brothers went easy on me because I’m human?”

Her green gaze lightened. “No. They would have pushed you to your limits.”

“And they got scolded by Momma every time.”

She laughed. “I’ll bet. Blaine and Alec still get in trouble for the shit they put Shay through. They call it training. Keegan wants to keep her under glass.” She sighed and pressed her cheek to his chest. “I wish you would have let me challenge him.”

He lifted her chin with a finger to peer into her eyes. “I meant everything I said. I want to keep you, and if I have to win a Hunt to do it, then that’s what I’m going to do.”

She studied him closer, and he could almost hear the thoughts tumbling around in her head. Her eyes narrowed, and she smirked. “You’ve been on a Hunt before.”

It wasn’t a question, but a knowing on her part. Whether she sensed it or had just figured it out, she knew.

“My brothers and I went on Hunts. Cale said it was a way to hone into my empathic abilities. I can connect with nature as well as people’s emotions.” Before she could ask any more questions, he captured her lips in a hard, passionate kiss. She snaked her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom.

“This will be the only form of communication.” Cameron’s firm tone drew Nevan’s gaze from Danica to the Enforcer handing a tiny earpiece to Jared. The large male rolled his eyes and put the device in his ear. Cameron glared at her brother. “I mean it. No mind linking. And no shifting.”

Danica held an identical earpiece in front of Nevan’s face. “Right or left?”

Nevan focused back on Danica’s green gaze. He smiled and reached for it. She jerked it back, shaking her head. “Let me.”

“Right.” Shifting to allow her to secure the earpiece in place, he ran his fingers through her hair.

She shivered and locked gazes with him. “I still don’t like this.”

“It has to be done. I’ll always be
the human
to them otherwise.”

Her shoulders dropped. “I know.” She leaned into him, pressing her breast against his chest. “But you’re
my
human.”

Snaking his arms around her, he captured her lips unconcerned of the others in the room until someone cleared their throat. They broke the kiss, and Danica stepped aside. Nevan gave her hand a light squeeze and moved toward the door.

He stepped out into the cold winter evening.
At least it’s not snowing, again.
He drew in a deep breath, taking in the crisp, clean mountain air around him. The only sound was the tops of the trees swaying in the breeze. It was as though nature knew what was about to happen and waited for the show to begin.

Cameron and Blaine walked around him and down the stairs. Blaine looked toward the sky. “Cam and I will watch the south boundary; the wolves have the north.”

Nevan walked down the stairs and took in the surrounding forest. The wolves Blaine spoke of were two more Enforcers, Hayden and Dane. Nevan had met them briefly when they arrived. For the first time, he’d sensed a tension between the males, but he brushed it off as being the difference between the wolves and cats. It was definitely going to be fun to witness how these different packs coexisted in one small town.

Jared stepped up beside him. In sync, they nodded and jogged off into the forest in different directions.

Nevan stopped several yards into the thick forest and listened, using his empathy to connect to the world around him. It was what gave him the edge and allowed him to meet his brothers head-on when they’d competed as teens. Apparently, he was one of the few humans sensitive to the energy levels around him. To people outside his paranormal family, he simple explained it as “just a feeling,” but to his family, and now Danica, he was free to use his empathic gift to the fullest.

Kneeling down, he placed a palm against the base of a large oak. A light thumping vibration met his touch. The deer. He smiled, stood and cut left as soundlessly as he could.

When he came to a small clearing, he stilled and listened again. A sound too heavy to be a deer drew his attention to the left. Jared moved silently through the trees. Just then a deer darted into his sight. Crouching down, Nevan prepared to chase the animal. But, the deer stopped, stood still as stone for a moment, and then one ear moved as if detecting something. Nevan remained crouched, trying not to make a sound.

Without warning, the deer took off. Jared ran after it. Cursing, Nevan chased them. Something was out there. “I’m picking up something. Do any of you see or hear anything?”

Blaine’s voice came through the radio first. “Not where I am. Hayden?”

“Nope, all clear. Dane and I will split up.”

“Jared?” Nevan prompted.

“Spooked, human?” Jared’s arrogant and taunting tone came over the radio.

Nevan clenched his teeth together. “No. There is another animal out here, bigger than the deer.”

The cat snorted. “We’re all animals, Doc. I thought you were smart enough to know that.”

Arrogant ass.
He was about to send back his own taunt when Jared gritted out a curse out. “Fuckin’ rogue!”

That phrase was all Nevan needed to push his legs as fast as they could go. “Location,” he barked. No answer. “Jared!”

He skidded to a halt when a man stepped in front of him. It took a few seconds to recognize him. “Dane, right?”

“Yeah. Jared’s not responding to mind-link either.” Dane shook his head. Cam had warned the male not to use it earlier, but he’d thought nothing of it.

“Jared’s Cam’s brother, which connects him directly to Keegan.”

Nevan nodded. Now it made sense. The Enforcers had to form a blood bond with the Alpha or, in this case, both Alphas—Keegan and Luna—in order to protect the packs. The bond formed a tight inner circle that gave them the strength they needed. Apparently, mind linking was one of those strengths.

He took a step forward, only to have Dane grab his arm. “I have orders to bring you to the cabin.”

Nev narrowed his eyes. “I’m going to find Jared.”

Dane shook his head and growled. “You are one stubborn SOB, you know that?”

“Yep.”

A howl of pain cut through the night air, sending a cold shiver up Nevan’s spine. He jogged ahead, following the sound. With his senses, he searched for any sign of Jared. After a few seconds, he found a faint connection to the cat and started to run.

“Are you sure you’re not a shifter?” Dane ran beside him.

“Yes, I’m sure. I was raised with them, and I’m empathic.”

“Ah. That explains it.”

Both of them stopped dead. Nevan’s heart sped at the sight of Jared lying in the snow, barely breathing, with his throat ripped open. His blood darkened the snow around him. Nevan dropped to his knees and covered the wound.

Dane barked orders over the line. “Get Sasha, and have her at the cabin when we get there. Coming on foot. Better yet… Blaine, we need pick up.”

Nevan peered at the wolf, confused. Dane shrugged. “He can teleport.”

Oh, he remembered that now. Danica had mentioned it the day he’d found out the town’s little secret. Ashwood Falls was full of surprises. It was exactly what he needed to get away from his grief-filled life and start over.

Blaine flashed in. “Sasha’s at the house. She came in right after we left.” He looked at Jared, and a tic formed in his temples. “The rogues will pay for this.” He lifted Jared up off the ground, grabbed Nevan’s arm, and flashed them back to the cabin.

***

After Jared fell silent and the radio cut off, Danica had paced her cabin. Worry ate at her. Her palms felt clammy, and her heart hurt. She didn’t love Jared as a mate would, but she’d never wanted anything to happen to him. Knowledge of a rogue running around didn’t ease her panic.

“I hate not knowing. Shay, can you pick up anything?”

Shay shook her head. “They blocked me.”

The door flew open, making Danica whirl around to see Blaine carrying an unconscious Jared straight to the guest room. Cam and Sasha jumped up to rush after the men while Danica went to gather her medical supplies in case Sasha needed anything. It’d been a long time since her home was used as a medical facility.

When she entered the room, her chest tightened. Cam sat on the edge of the bed, holding her brother’s hand in one of hers and stroking his cheek with the other, providing him with the touch a shifter needs from his family. Danica moved to the other side of the bed where Sasha worked to close up the hole in his throat.

Hovering her hand over his chest, Danica felt the steady beat of his heart. Relief pushed away some of the tension in her body. He was going to be okay.

***

A few hours later, Danica entered the living room. Everyone, but Sasha, was still there. She’d been called back into town to tend to a couple of juveniles who’d gotten into a fight.

Cam sat up in her chair. “How is he?”

“Resting. He lost a lot of blood and needs to rest.”

The jaguar nodded. “Can I see him?”

Danica nodded and Cameron stood to go see her brother.

Blaine pushed off the wall he’d been supporting to take charge of the group. “We need to get back.” The other Enforcers stood, said their farewells, and left. Blaine turned to Nevan and extended his hand. “Welcome to the pack.”

Confused, Nevan took his hand in a firm handshake. “I didn’t win.”

“No, but you reacted like a Pack member protecting his own. That shows loyalty. Plus, we need a good shrink to help the youth deal with the combining of the Packs.”

Nevan smiled, making Danica’s heart skip a beat. “Are you offering me a job?”

Blaine shrugged. “If you stay, you work.” He nodded to Danica and dematerialized.

Danica wrung her hands in front of her. Fear of losing him hung between them. He stepped forward, cupped her face, and kissed her softly. “I guess I’m the town shrink.”

All her tense feelings and insecurity melted away, and she flung her arms around him in a tight hug. “I love you, Nev.”

“I love you, too. Now let’s go complete this mating.”

She pulled back to study him. “Are you sure? I mean it really is until death. That could be hundreds of years considering you would take my lifespan.”

His smile and the wicked gleam in his gaze sent heat to her sex. “I think I can handle it.”

The End

Coming soon in the Ashwood Falls series,
A Tiger’s Claim

Lia Davis is a mother to two young adults and two very special kitties, a wife to her soul mate, a paranormal romance author, graphic designer, and co-owner to Fated Desires Publishing, LLC. She and her family live in Northeast Florida battling hurricanes and very humid summers. But it’s her home and she loves it!

An accounting major, Lia has always been a dreamer with a very activity imagination. The wheels in her head never stop. She ventured into the world of writing and publishing in 2008 and loves it more than she imagined. Writing and designing are stress relievers that allow her to go off in her corner of the house and enter into another world that she created, leaving real life where it belongs.

Her favorite things are spending time with family, traveling, reading, writing, chocolate, coffee, nature and hanging out with her kitties.

http://www.authorliadavis.com/

Looking for another Lia Davis series? Try her Divinities series!

Death’s Storm, book 2 in the Divinity Series, Out Now!

Chapter 1

Khloe exited the last clothing store for the day, relieved to be heading home. She, her twin sister, and her new BFF, had been browsing the shops at a large outdoor mall called the Towncenter since ten that morning. It was now a few minutes past five. She was pooped and longed for a lengthy, relaxing soak, but she didn’t dare complain. If the eight-months-pregnant lady could last this long without asking to slow down, then Khloe was definitely not saying a word.