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Tora skimmed her tongue over her teeth as she drove. It wasn’t the first time she had anyone else in her vehicle, but it was the first time she’d had the leopard shifter Keane in there with her. He took up more than his share of their shared air. The man had a presence that she’d never encountered before with another. At least not on such a level.
She didn’t slow down, just mulled over her words before she spoke. “He thought he had the right to touch me.”
“I don’t mean that, I’m glad you did that, although I must say I wanted to. I mean what were you doing there?”
Tora narrowed her gaze. “That’s not what you said, you asked what the fuck that was about. I responded. He touched me without my permission and paid the price.”
She felt more than heard his rumble of discontent. Marking her path, she slowed and turned off the main road on a side one that didn’t appear to get very much traffic. The ruts and holes were enough to make her slow to second, but her Jimmy didn’t have any problems handling what was tossed at it.
The man beside her didn’t say anything further but she had no doubt he had turned that intense feline focus onto her. Damn felines. She pulled off the side road to the spot she’d already picked to sleep at and backed in, so if she had to race out, she could. This was natural for her to set up like this. While the spot she had selected to camp out on didn’t belong to any set Pack, Clan, or any other group, there wasn’t any way for her to know what the bears may do. She was still close to them and if they wanted revenge, they would come for her.
She killed the engine and climbed out, instantly tipping her head up, allowing the sunshine penetrating through the trees to hit her face. Eyes closed, she listened to the birds. They would be the ones to alert her if trouble was inbound. Those and the wolves. Even when she was alone, she wasn’t truly ever alone.
Keane joined her at the back of the vehicle, those green eyes burning into her with a veritable mixture of sexual and proprietary awareness.
“What about your bike?”
He gave a shrug as if it didn’t matter to him one way or the other if he got the custom Harley back. She knew better but let it go. They all had their secrets and reasons for doing what they did. Searching deep for another moment of peace, she shut her eyes once more.
“I’m still waiting, Tora.”
That he’d used her name instead of the familiar moniker, canine, had her opening her eyes once more.
“You asked your question and I provided an answer. It is not my problem you don’t like what I had to say.”
He moved closer, she didn’t have to be watching him to garner that bit of knowledge, hell, she didn’t even have to rely on shifter abilities for that. This was pure feminine awareness that informed her of this.
“Acting as if I am not here doesn’t change a damn thing.”
She exhaled, aware there wasn’t anymore dodging this. Besides, her Alpha would want her to make sure that she wasn’t ruining anything for the Silva Clan. He wanted as much defenses on their side as he could get, especially with his mate expecting their first.
She shook her head.
“What?”
“Just thinking. I am sorry if my actions ruined whatever you were up there for.”
He waved a large hand. That was the leopard, large. All over. And he put that knowledge to amazing use.
“I was there for some other reason and it didn’t have anything to do with the bears.”
She fell silent and watched him, with caution. He held her gaze unblinkingly.
She wasn’t aware of too many leopards, aside from his Clan who she’d gone down to work with a bit however, her instincts were good. They were damn good and right now they were yelling trap. While she may not be able to see it right this second, it was there, waiting for her to be unaware and drop her guard.
For the first time in her life, she wanted to push and prod, ask what he had been doing up there and that’s when she realized it was the trap. He was baiting her, waiting to see if she would ask more questions. She bit back her snarl, blinked, and turned away as if she didn’t have a goddamn care in the world.
She wanted to run, get the stench of the bears off her. Get the stench of inside off her, allow her wolf to run free and to take pleasure in the outdoors as they were created to do.
On the other hand, mindlessly fucking the leopard beside her was another option that held a great deal of merit. He moved into her periphery.
“Come on, canine. Let’s run.”
In the next second, beside her stood a large male leopard in his prime. The golden coat and dark spots calling to her hands to dig in and touch. He turned his large head and looked at her with those incredible eyes before he chuffed and gazed ahead once more, before springing off.
Excitement pulsed through her and she didn’t think on it another second, just shed her human form and followed, her brindle wolf stretching out to run in silent companionship with the male leopard at her side.
Animals fell silent as the two powerful predators pushed deeper into the wooded landscape. Not that either of them was actually hunting, animals weren’t dumb or foolish to do anything to grab their attention, should they suddenly be hungry for food.
Her wolf howled happily within her and she smiled, pleased her beast had calmed down. The two of them kept an easy pace with one another. She wondered how fast he truly was but she didn’t race him, that wasn’t what she wanted from him.
What do you want, Tora?
Her brain asked as she soared over a fallen tree trunk landing with ease as the feline with her found the ground once more, further ahead of her. She could hold her own speed wise, but she hadn’t any chance to compete with this leopard when it came to leaping over objects.
She wasn’t sure what she wanted but right now she didn’t have to figure any of it out. A cold stream rushed ahead of them and she drew up even as Keane launched himself over it as if stepping off a curb to land on the other side, not even disturbing the deep stream.
Tora lowered her muzzle, eyes on him across the way and drank. The large male turned to give her a side profile of his muscular body. It wasn’t fair that even her wolf found his leopard sexy.
His ears barely twitched as he watched her, his tail flicking lazily behind him. Content he would wait for her, she walked into the deeper water and dropped below the surface, allowing the frigid liquid to penetrate through her coat. Launching up, she landed on the opposite shore and shook, water droplets springing away from her and gleaming in the sunlight that made it through the canopy.
Snorting, she shook once more, pleased that the stench of the bears had been removed. She approached the leopard, carefully yet fearless as she did everything.
He lowered his head, eyes bright and wild, much like the man when he was in that form. He yawned, showing her his sharp brilliant white teeth. Her wolf fought the urge to respond in kind, but she reined her in. She didn’t mind taking on those larger than her in a fight, but this wasn’t that, and honestly, she wasn’t sure what it was.
Instinctively she shifted her weight when he moved toward her. There wasn’t any prelude to him moving, he just was. Statue one moment and action the next.
A low deep rumble emerged from his throat and she felt it all the way to her bones. Keane lowered his head, rubbing it along her side, slowly, not pushing himself onto her and she relaxed. Seconds later water was closing over her head once more.
Shoving up from the bottom of the river, she shook once more as she finally hit dry land. If a leopard could laugh, that’s exactly what he was doing at her. Laughing. Hard. She gave another full body shudder, expressing the rest of the water from her and lifted a lip in his direction.
His cat flexed his claws and sprang up to the top of a fallen log before looking down at her once more then taking off. With a sneeze, she followed him, and they fell back into the easy rhythm of running through the trees side by side.
The sun had almost set when they made it back to her camp and where there were once a leopard and a wolf, two people stood.
“I have to call my Alpha,” Ranger said, pulling his cell from his back pocket.
Tora didn’t respond to that statement. He hadn’t asked a question and she wasn’t required to provide him with a response in her mind.
He moved away and she deliberately avoided listening in as she set up her small stove to heat up some water. In her vehicle, she had some food that she could eat if she got hungry later. Right now, she wanted a cup of tea.
Casting a glance across the open space, she allowed her gaze to linger once more over the backside of one Keane “Ranger” Patrick. His jeans should have been outlawed as the cupped his firm ass like a lover.
Like you did that one night you were with him.
She didn’t need to be throwing off any scent of being aroused. He may be relaxed about some things, but he damn sure didn’t take any prisoners when it came to sex. He had been very clear about that.
Even as she struggled to yank her focus from him and back to the boring kettle before her, she couldn’t help but recall that night she’d spent in his arms. How he’d made her feel. For the first time in her life, she’d felt more than just a tool. A commodity useful for her abilities.
Perhaps that wasn’t fair to say for she knew her Alpha loved her in the way an Alpha was supposed to love his Pack. But she had made her way to being one of his lieutenant’s not because he loved her but because of her abilities.
That one night with Keane Patrick had been different. He’d put her on a mantle and worshipped her. Made sure she had been pleased before he even began to worry about himself. The one and only time that had happened to her.
Her own phone rang and she answered before it could do so more than once.
“Yes, Alpha?”
“Are you okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” She lifted the handle with the sleeve of her shirt.
“I am hearing you nearly killed a bear.” A door shut. “I will ask once more only. Are you okay?”
“Of course.”
“Have you finished your mission?”
“No, Alpha. I will head out tomorrow for the final leg of this journey and see what I can find.”
“Tell me what happened with the Western Clan.”
Stirring the honey into her tea, she crossed her legs after getting comfortable on her tailgate. This way, she could do what was required of her all without looking at the sexy male leopard who’d suddenly inserted himself into her life.
αβ
Ranger exhaled slowly and looked around. Tora sure had picked a gorgeous spot to camp. His Alpha wasn’t happy, but he would deal with the repercussions when he got back, he wouldn’t ever apologize for protecting his woman and siding with her.
“I have one more question for you, Keane.”
Even after so many years in this country, when his Alpha got really pissed off, a bit of his South American accent slipped through. And right now, it was blatant.
He waited for his Alpha to speak.
“Why would you jeopardize a meeting with someone because another shifter got into a fight with a bear?”
Part of him wondered if Juan didn’t already know what shifter it was, but he hadn’t mentioned her name so if he did, he was playing it cagy.
“Because it was a roomful of bears who felt they had the right to touch a woman.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t fight but I did back her up when it came time to leave.”
“Why didn’t you?”
Okay, that question took him by surprise. “Why didn’t I what?”
“Defend your mate.”
His gaze flew up and he spied her sitting in the back of her truck, on the phone.
Either he’s fishing or the surly bastard knows far more than he is telling me.
“I would have defended her if she’d needed me too.”
“Does she know?”
Rendón’s mate had been killed years ago by a rival Clan and the man hadn’t been the same since. Or so that was the rumor, he’d not been there when it went down, only dealing with the aftermath and trying to get his Alpha through the numbing grief and unstoppable rage.
“No, she doesn’t.”
“I’m not going to tell you how or when to make sure she knows she is your mate, Keane but I wouldn’t wait to long. From what I hear of her and from what I recall when she was down here with us, is that she doesn’t view the world like we do.”
“Meaning?” It wasn’t a good thing if his Alpha had picked up on that as well.
“No one knows where she came from, she’s not had an easy life and what she has now is devoted to her Alpha. You’ve got a long battle ahead of you. Tell her, give her time to work it out in her mind. Don’t expect her to immediately accept it.”
“Then you’re not pissed I didn’t get to make my contact?”
“Of course I am, but I would never get in the way of a man protecting his mate and ensuring her safety. Never.”
His Alpha rarely showed his emotions but there wasn’t any way to ignore the raw pain lacing his tone. It broke Keane’s heart to know that his Alpha’s mate had been brutally taken from him.
“Are you able to finish what you initially went up there for?”
He didn’t want to leave his woman. “Yes Alpha. I will go retrieve my bike and go to the secondary spot for the meet.”
A brief but measured silence hovered along the line between them before his Alpha hung up leaving him with nothing more than the dial tone. That could have been a lot worse for me.
Remaining where he stood, he scrolled through his contact list for the name and number he needed. Then he pressed dial and waited while his phone reached out.
“You weren’t there,” the deep growled voice aid by way of greeting, if it was one at all.
“Ran into a bit of trouble. I can be to the secondary point soon.”
The voices reaching his sharp hearing were muffled, even to his feline senses. That alone bothered him.
“I’ll be there. And, cat, if there’s another delay, you can consider this potential deal over and done with.” Another click.
Keane exhaled and returned his phone to his pocket while he pushed a hand through his hair.
He chose that moment to glance up to where Tora sat on the tailgate of her Jimmy. She no longer spoke on the phone but instead had inched her way to the very edge of the tailgate, hands curved around the mug of tea. He could smell the black tea with hints of orange, bergamot, and lemon. Her head tipped back, like an offering to the setting sun, he took advantage to just stare at her.
His petite warrior woman. Right then and there looked delicate, almost, and peaceful. He could see the design she’d shaved into the left side of her head, he knew it blended with some of the scars she had from her past. A few other remnants of scarring crept up along her shoulder and neck. Those were hidden with more incredible art work she’d had inked onto her skin. Even now, he still wanted to peel away her clothing and stare at her, learn exactly what designs she had there and what the meanings were to her.
Sensing his focus, she lowered her head ad held his gaze. Even from the distance separating them, there wasn’t any doubt in how her pierced eyebrow rose in silent question.
Another deep breath and he began walking toward her. He thought about something other than the scars on her and how he had this insane urge to tell her they were mates. Instead, he focused on how she’d damn near gone swimming underwater as her wolf.
A smile turned up his lips and it remained there as he neared her. After the brief flash of questioning in her gaze, she was once again a clean slate, nothing there to show how she may feel about, well, anything.
He couldn’t even scent it on her. She was impressive at her control. Always was except for their one night.
“I have to get my bike.”
“Did you need a ride or are you using other means?”
Keane knew it would be of little consequence for him to shift and make his way back to get his bike, however, he was male and wanted to be selfish, spending as much time as he could with his mate.
“If you don’t mind taking me back.” He put it that way in case she didn’t really wish to go.
“No problem. You left it there because of me.” She unfolded her legs and hopped down, striding with her efficient walk to the fire. “Did you want anything to drink before I shut it down and pack it away?”
“I’m fine, thank you.”
She didn’t push, just grasped the small kettle and dumped the water on the ground dousing the fire, even as she turned off the stove and with minimal effort had her small camp once again packed up in the back of her vehicle. No sign that she’d been there at all, aside from the truck tracks that would be there when they left.
He climbed in the passenger seat when she shut up the back and headed for the driver’s side. Silence hung between them as she turned over the engine. He noticed again, how smoothly it did. She took care of her vehicle that was for sure.
“You can drop me off on the outskirts of town.”
“Your call. I will take you to the bar if you want.”
He grinned and stretched his legs out, moving the seat back a bit more. “You are one hell of a woman, canine. I love the attitude.”
“Not attitude. Fact. I highly doubt your bike will be there and if it is, they are using it to try and trap you. If it isn’t there, you’re going to be without a fast exit and a bunch of angry boars who want a chunk of your ass.”
Finally, some emotion from her. “My ass belongs to you, canine. No boar is touching it.”
The Jimmy swerved the tiniest of bits and he hid his smile. Wouldn’t do him a damn bit of good to be smirking over her reaction.
“If it’s not there? What are your plans?”
He closed his eyes, amazed by how soothed he was simply by being in her presence. “I will have to buy another one.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
He expected more questions, although he wasn’t sure why, this was the most she’d ever spoken to him at one time and that included all the time she’d been with his Clan. None were forthcoming however, and so he rolled his head slightly so he could see her as she drove.
“Don’t stop now, Tora. You haven’t said this much to me ever. Do you have any more questions for me?”
“No.”
One word. Decisive. Straightforward and honest, regardless of how brutal it was to his ego.
“Can I ask you some?”
“Sure.”
He knew what that meant. He could ask whatever the fuck he wanted but there wasn’t a shred of any guarantee she would respond.
“What are you doing up here?”
“Business.”
A low rumble of discontent rolled from him and he had no doubt she heard it. After a few more moments of silence, she continued with a more in-depth explanation.
“I was on business for my Alpha and swung through here on my way to my next destination.”
“But you weren’t here to meet with any bears.” He made it a statement.
“No.”
She downshifted as the corners on the road grew tighter.
“Where are you headed now?”
“Eastern Montana and Western Dakotas.”
“That’s open territory, no one has claimed it.” He ran over the map in his head. “Not officially yet. There are some warring factions fighting for the land. What are you doing heading there?”
“Following orders.”
There was enough of an edge in her tone to alert him to the fact she wasn’t divulging anything further on her business here.
“How is my Dyana doing?” Another smile flitted over his lips. “How is your Alpha doing with her being preggers?”
“I assume she is well, and he is protective.”
“Assume she is. Do you not see her?”
Even though Dyana was married to the Alpha of the feared Tatra Pack, she’d been his friend far long before they knew she’d been married, and he still had a need to protect her.
“Sheathe your claws, leopard. My Alpha knows how to keep her safe and if he for some unfathomable reason is unable to do so, no one is getting to her without getting through the lieutenants and the rest of the pack first. Not that she would need it. She can hold her own as either human or wolf.”
“Is that jealousy I hear in your tone, canine?” He settled his hand beside her leg, not touching her without permission but close enough that if she shifted the barest of inches, they would be connected once more.
She turned to look at him, eyes unblinking. “Yes.”
