The earth shook as Trinity’s fist connected with his chin, and Matthias stumbled backward. Trinity fell to the ground, her surprised expression mirroring his, as she sat up to look at him.
“Was—was that me?” she queried, shocked.
He gingerly touched his jaw as he gained his feet. His she-wolf could pack quite the punch. Still, it took more than that to throw him to the ground. “I—I think there was a little more to it than you.”
She frowned as she scrambled to her feet. “Sorry. Seeing as you’re the resident expert on bitches in heat, I thought I’d raise the question,” she snapped, and he winced. “Then what was it?”
“I don’t know. It might have been an earthquake. We used to have them occasionally on the west coast—but I’ve never felt one here, in the east,” he had to admit.
If he thought Trinity was pissed before, it wasn’t a patch on what she was now. She was angry. Very, very angry.
“So give it to me straight, this imprinting—I see you, I smell you, all I can think about is you and...sex? You did this to me?”
He frowned. “How is it that you don’t know this stuff? This is Lycanthropy one-oh-one. All of us learn it before our first wandering. It doesn’t just affect the females. A connection is formed, and males have a similar preoccupation with the female and...sex.”
“Apologies. Must have missed that particular lecture.”
It slowly dawned on him. “Your parents weren’t around to give it to you.” His lips tightened. “Who looked after you after your father died?”
She blinked, her eyes luminous, as she folded her arms around herself. “I became a ward of the pack.”
In other words, everybody and nobody. Damn it, if he could get his hands on Rafe now, he’d do it for the lack of care shown to this lycan. His lycan. “You were just a juvenile,” he muttered.
She lifted her chin. “I could look after myself.”
“You shouldn’t have had to, not inside your pack,” he snapped, and regretted his outburst at her flinch. He’d tried to be good, to maintain a distance while he told her what had happened. Well, most of what had happened, and what it meant, but learning that she’d basically been abandoned, and had missed out on some critical lycan training angered him, and he hurt. He hurt for his she-wolf. He ached for her. He was through being good. Right now she needed a mate.
He reached for her, but they both froze at an earsplitting scream. Trinity’s wide eyes met his for a moment, then she took off running.
“Jax,” she cried.
* * *
He sprinted after her, his long legs overtaking her and racing through the underbrush. His heart hammered in his chest as his stride ate up the distance. Adrenaline calmed the effects of the imprint, and he was able to sniff the air, hunting down the pup. “Jax!”
He heard a faint, answering cry, and swiftly changed direction, jumping over logs and boulders, even a babbling creek, until he reached the limit of the rocky ridge. He skidded to a stop, gravel falling over the edge as he peered over the rock.
Jax clung to an exposed tree root, his face white with terror. The ridge dropped away sharply, a thirty-foot drop to the valley below. Cascading water from the creek above fell, creating a cool mist as it tumbled down the rocks to a frothy pool below.
Trinity came racing out of the undergrowth, and he flung out his arm to prevent her from going over. “Jax,” she gasped.
“Trinity,” the little boy cried.
“It’s okay, Jax,” Matthias called out to the boy. “I need you to stay calm. Can you do that for me? Brave and calm.”
Jax nodded, although his lip trembled. Matthias turned to Trinity. Her face was pale, but her expression was determined, calm. He couldn’t help but admire her fortitude.
Jax was just out of his reach. He’d need to climb down.
“Maybe I should climb down to him,” she suggested.
“No. I won’t risk your life.” He wasn’t going to put his she-wolf in danger. If anyone was going to climb down the rock face, it would be him. He sat down and slid his legs over the edge.
“Matthias,” she gasped in protest. “Please, be careful.”
He grinned at her as he twisted onto his belly and carefully slid farther down, bracing himself on the edge. “Anyone would think you cared,” he said, winking.
She gaped, then snapped her mouth shut. “I don’t actually want you hurt,” she finally muttered, and his wolf inside howled in pleasure. She wasn’t happy about it, and it might take her a while to calm down, to fully accept what was happening between them, but something was definitely there. He glanced over his shoulder, and thoughts of the boy took his focus. He scaled down the rock face, digging the toes of his boots into any crack or crevice he could find before moving his hands down. He braced himself for a moment, eyeing the terrain. The lower he went, the gloomier it became. The sun had already dipped below the top of the mountain behind them, and a purple dusk was beginning to settle.
There were a number of roots and branches that he could grab onto. The earthquake had upended a few trees on this ledge. His muscles tightened for a moment, then he sprang, catching hold of a thick root. He heard Trinity’s soft wail from above, but didn’t look up, his concentration purely on the brave little boy who clung to an exposed root that even now was shifting under his weight.
He worked his way down the root, hand over hand. There was a ledge about four feet below them. He winked at Jax as he came closer.
“Hey, Jax, you’re doing great. See that ledge? That’s where we’re going, okay?”
Jax looked down, and his eyes widened.
“Hey, Jax, it’s okay, look at me.” He waited until the boy’s blue gaze met his, and he smiled in encouragement. “Good boy. Can you reach out to me?”
He stretched his arm out, and Jax did the same. There was a gap of about four inches between their fingertips. Matthias gritted his teeth, sweat trickling down his side. He needed to bridge the gap.
He nodded. “No problem, Jax.”
He’d need to climb down just a little farther. He braced his feet against the rock face and looked for something, a bump, a ridge, a crack—anywhere he could find purchase with his feet.
There was a soft creak, and Jax cried out. Matthias whipped his head around. The root was giving way. Jax screamed. Matthias dived, catching the boy around the waist and holding him high as they fell to the ledge below. Jax landed on top of him, and his breath wheezed out of his lungs.
Jax clung to him, crying softly, and Matthias rubbed the boy’s back. “It’s okay, Jax, I’ve got you.” He looked up, and Trinity was peering down at them, a worried look on her face. He gave her a thumbs-up, and she closed her eyes in relief. He continued to make soothing, nonsensical noises as he inhaled, held his breath for a moment, then exhaled, slowly patting the pup. After a while, Jax started doing the same, and eventually his tears died down to faint hiccups.
Matthias winced as he sat up, hugging the boy, and looked around. They were on a ledge, but he could see an indentation in the rock, almost like a half-pipe. He glanced about, seeing the waterfall that roared not too far from their position, and the bird’s-eye view of Woodland. He frowned. There was something about the view, magnificent though it was, that bothered him, although he couldn’t quite put his finger on what.
Whatever it was, it was secondary to his need to get him and Jax off the mountain.
“Any ideas how to get out of here?” he called up to Trinity.
She pointed to the half-pipe. “If you can climb down there, you’ll be able to make your way down to the valley. I’ll meet you down there.”
“Don’t climb down the cliff,” he shouted.
“No, I figure I’ll take the trail,” came her sassy reply, and he grinned. He leaned back to look down at Jax, placing a finger under his chin to meet the boy’s gaze. “You all right?”
Jax nodded, then hugged him again. Something tight unfurled inside him as the little arms stole around his neck, and the boy pressed his face against his chest.
Over his heart.
Matthias raised a hand to smooth the boy’s tangled hair, the movement triggering memories that were both painful and poignant, and he squeezed his eyes shut as he hugged the boy back.
“I’m glad you’re all right,” he whispered against Jax’s head.
Jax hugged him tighter. “Thank you for saving me, Matt.” His voice sounded so young, so vulnerable. That tight, dark place cracked open, letting in the light, the warmth that was threatening to burst from his chest, and he took a deep, shuddering breath.
“I’ll always be there for you, Jax,” he whispered softly, his vow an unshakable force, an unbreakable promise from guardian to pup. He cleared his throat. “Come on, let’s beat Trinity down to the bottom.”
Trinity pushed past the branches, stumbling into the clearing. Zane, Nate and Warwick followed her. They’d come racing through trees, and had sagged in relief when they realized Jax was safe. They’d heard his cries and had come bolting, and Trinity was grateful for their action. They’d insisted on following her down to meet their guardian prime, and to check on the little pup. The rest of the guardians were waiting back at the top. Nate had ordered them to set up a camp.
Zane whistled as he entered the clearing. “This is beautiful,” he breathed. She nodded as she turned around. She hadn’t been here for years, had almost forgotten the illusion of tranquillity the setting offered. The sky above was bathed in rich oranges and purples as dusk began to give way to evening, and the clearing took on an ethereal look, darkening the grass and trees, yet not quite casting it in dark shadows. At the base of the waterfall was a pool that eventually formed the mouth of the river that flowed along the western boundary between Woodland and River Pack. Right now it looked a grayish purple, slithering through the darkening fields, each ripple reflecting the golden orange of the sunset. She didn’t care about the picturesque view, though. She spied Matthias sitting on a rock, Jax sitting on his lap, as he pointed to something in the water.
“Jax,” she called, her heart swelling with relief when she realized the boy was fine.
Jax jolted, then peered over Matthias’s shoulder. His eyes lit up when he saw her, and he wriggled down from Matthias’s lap and started running toward her.
She jogged, her arms open, and swept the pup up into a tight embrace, his little body so warm and precious, heart thumping against her own. “Oh, I’m so happy you’re okay,” she said, trying to hold back her tears. She’d felt a real and palpable fear when first she’d heard his panicked cry, which had only increased when she’d seen him clinging to the tree root. She couldn’t lose him. She couldn’t lose Jax. “I was so worried about you,” she admitted to the little boy, tugging at his hair playfully. “You took years off my life. Don’t do it again.” She tilted her head back. “What were you doing?”
“I was playing hide-and-seek,” Jax responded, as though it was obvious. Warwick came up to her, his face pale.
“He was playing with me. It was my turn to look.” The big guardian looked like he was about to cry. Or throw up.
She reached out and touched him on the arm. “He’s okay,” she said, trying to reassure him.
Warwick nodded, then pointed at the pup. “Found you. Your turn.”
Jax giggled and thrashed, trying to get to the ground. Trinity placed him carefully on his feet, then tried to hide her trembling fingers behind her back as she turned to Matthias.
He was sauntering toward her, a smile on his lips. She took a deep, steadying breath. Just the sight of him had those unfamiliar feelings rushing to overwhelm her, and she battled for control. She couldn’t give in to this, couldn’t give in to the wild longing, the craving he’d created in her.
“You had me worried there for a moment,” she told him, frowning. She could understand Warwick’s need to cry or puke. When Matthias had leaped like that, her heart had jumped to her throat. She’d been so scared for him. Terrified. She lifted her chin. And he’d had the audacity to prevent her from climbing down. Arrogant bastard. He had a glint in his eye as he stood in front of her, silent.
“How is it not safe for me, but you think it’s all right fo—”
He bent forward and kissed her. His mouth opened, pressing her lips open in return, and she gasped as his tongue flicked against hers. That heat, that desire swamped her again and drove out thoughts of everything but him. His arm stole around her waist, and he tugged her to him, his hand cradling her face as he kissed her thoroughly, sensually. Her heart rate flared, and that hidden place between her thighs grew warm and damp. This man had an unnatural ability in demanding sensual responses from her body, to the extent that his scent, and now his lips, could drive out all thought and protest from her mind.
Eventually Jax’s giggles broke into her consciousness, and she braced a hand against that broad, golden chest.
He lifted his head, then rubbed his nose against hers, and she trembled. He smiled, a wicked, sensual curl of his lips. Someone cleared his throat, and Trinity blinked. She glanced over her shoulder. Warwick had covered Jax’s eyes, and stared at them both in stunned shock. Nate was trying to look anywhere else but at them, and Zane crossed to cover Warwick’s eyes with the palm of his hand. Warwick slapped his hand away, frowning at his pack mate.
“You shouldn’t do that—”
Matthias kissed her again, and she heard Nate groan and Jax giggled some more. She clung to him, swept away yet again with a desire to press herself against him, and try to drive him as crazy as he so easily drove her.
“Ew, that’s disgusting,” the boy cried out, and she finally had the strength to push against Matthias’s chest. He lifted his head, his eyes twinkling.
She tried to frown at him. “Stop it.” She managed to take a step back, but that was all the distance he was allowing her to put between them.
Matthias looked over at his men. “Where are the others?” he asked, and his voice sounded serious, despite the goofy smile on his face. Then Trinity realized she wore a similar goofy smile, and frowned.
Nate gestured to the top of the mountain. “We’ve told them to set up camp. Any idea what happened?”
Matthias shrugged, and Trinity realized that she still had her hand on his chest, could feel the ripple of muscle beneath her skin. She couldn’t quite convince her hand to move. “It could have been an earthquake, but I’m not sure.”
He stiffened, and she looked up, twisting to follow his gaze. Sadness filled her when she realized what he saw.
“What is that?” he asked quietly.