After bringing her a clean, undamaged shirt to wear, Cody had waited for her to dress before he walked with her back to their house. Like so many others, they’d migrated into the area around the school and their small ancillary town of Haven. Across the river, the newly built Dorado flourished. Neither she nor Cody cared to be this close to town, but they wanted to be where the children were and to keep an eye on those who came and went. So many had been changed by Miller’s attacks—the spread of Spirit Fever had annihilated nearly every soul in old Dorado and over half of the ranch population. The children that survived needed guidance as they learned to master their gifts.
Only after Mariska was inside, did he leave her. The man surely didn’t see it, despite his provocative offer to roam together—and to let her hunt him. She was more than capable of taking care of herself, but he hovered over her as though she were Olivia or Delilah. Though that isn’t fair… Neither of their husbands hovered. Jason gave Olivia tremendous freedom and Delilah never wanted to leave. She liked the security of the ranch and the others around her.
I’m not like them, though. She’d been raised to lead, not to cower or hide. Being protected from everything didn’t sit well with her. She put together the clothing she would need for a few days, including two pairs of trousers. Like several of the women on the ranch, she preferred to ride astride and skirts could get in the way.
Her wolf grew antsier with each passing moment and the roiling feeling in her gut spread out to her limbs. Agitated, she had to fight the urge to slam things. Scarlett insisted her brothers had done the same to her—all of them, but Cody in particular. The red-haired firestarter was hardly helpless. No, she’d walked into a firestorm to halt the range from burning. She’d taken on another firestarter and won. She’d been separated from her family and had to survive, on her own amidst strangers.
Granted, if I were to be stranded with strangers, the Kanes are the kindest, most honorable type. But Scarlett couldn’t have known that. As for the rest of that story, what Mariska knew of it, included her brothers hustling her back to the mountain and generally forbidding her to leave.
Had they been successful in their intent…
She paused. Had they been successful, they would still be there. It had been Quanto who sent them out again. The old Indian shaman fascinated her. All she knew of him were stories and, though the others talked of his dreamwalking visits, Mariska had never met him.
Did he not approve of her? Did he not trust her either? That possibility hadn’t occurred to her. Why would anyone trust her? Cody didn’t allow them the chance to know her and, honestly, she didn’t press it. Her wolf clawed at her and she growled. Stop it. I need to think and you’re not helping. The animal didn’t quiet. If anything, her agitation increased.
An image flashed through her mind. A hot, sunny rock. Kid staring into the distance and Cody next to him. They were talking. Looking at the boy made her hurt and he was too close to her mate, she’d snarled and… The memory faded as quickly as it surfaced. Not my memory.
No. Not hers. The wolf’s. The wolf had threatened Kid. Cody had been there to prevent it. So, she stuffed the last few items into a leather satchel. You are the problem.
She could feel her wolf’s crouch and the blazing attention focused on her. At no point had Mariska craved to be like Cody… Liar. The snarl wasn’t her either, but the truth was there.
Yes, she had. When she’d begun to fall in love with him, she’d wanted to be stronger, faster, and be who he needed. Becoming a wolf may not have been in her plan, but she hadn’t rejected it either. Months had passed before her first full shift and the moment it struck, she’d been terrified.
And in agony.
Cody had been with her through every bone-breaking moment. He’d held her together as her body tore itself apart. And after?
Nothing… A blank. Three days passed and she had no memory of them at all. All she remembered was the pain. Sweat trickled down her spine. She’d opened no windows when she’d come into the house and the stuffy, overheated air baked her. Days she’d spent in wolf form, days and days. Still, most remained a blank. When she was herself again, Cody would hold her and tell her—indulgent and kind—she had hurt no one. Praise for her strength and affection.
Jason bleeding. The stranger bleeding. Olivia in pain and sobbing. The sharp, sour odor of fear. The urge to hunt, to kill, and to protect—then… Cody ordered her to become human. The memory slipped away. Her vision flattened and her nostrils flared. Hands clenched, she struggled with the burn in her muscles. Her knees gave out and she slammed onto the floor. Muscles along her back and arms began to spasm.
Pain blistered inside her skin. She barely heard the door open or Cody’s curse. He took two steps toward her and she couldn’t breathe. Her wolf wanted out and she was…
“Stop.” Cody held her arms. He’d lifted her from the floor and jerked her head up until her gaze collided with his. “Stop.” The crack of command silenced the wolf and the torture ceased as abruptly as it began. Shuddering, she dropped her forehead to his chest and clung to him.
Making soothing noises, he stroked her back and simply held her. Trembling violently, Mariska wanted to weep. As much as she wanted Cody to leave her alone in this battle, she couldn’t deny her gratitude for his assistance.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I was trying to fight it.”
Clearing his throat, he chucked her under the chin and said, “Sometimes the only way to win the fight is to surrender. She overwhelms you because you don’t want to change.”
“But when I wanted to change…it’s the same.”
“Because you don’t like her.”
What?
Blinking, she raised her head. Scarlett? What did she have to do with anything? “She’s your sister. Hell, she called me her sister today. I know I’m not fond o—”
“Not Scarlett.” Cody placed his hands on her shoulders and held her at arm’s length. “Your wolf. You don’t like your wolf. She doesn’t like you. You don’t like her.”
“You make us sound like two people.”
“Not people. One woman. One wolf. Separate, yet forever bound.” Head canted to the side, he gazed at her, his blue eyes surrounded by a perfect ring of gold. No longer did his eyes go fully wolf. Once upon a time, she knew his wolf spoke to her rather than him because his eyes went pure gold.
Did she hate her wolf? The animal was silent inside of her, quieted by Cody’s command and continued presence. Even when his wolf hungered for her blood, she’d not hated the majestic beast. So how could she hate hers? When only silence met her internal inquiry, she groaned. “I—”
Cody released her and turned to the door seconds before a knock landed on the wood. Jerking it open, he glared at Buck, his dreamwalking brother. “Is anyone dying?”
His brother blinked once, wary hesitation on his face. “No.”
“Bleeding or in danger of dying?”
With a slow shake of his head, Buck retreated a step and raised his hands. “No.”
“We’re going roaming. Unless there’s imminent danger, don’t look for us.” He shut the door and swiveled to look at her once more.
Had he truly dismissed his brother? Mariska gaped at him. “What if he needed something?”
“He’s not dumb or deaf, if it were important he’d have asked. It wasn’t important.” Cody shrugged then crossed the quiet room to cup her face in his palms. “I told you we would go. You will have your time.”
Fear flexed around her heart and she choked. “I can’t leave you.”
“You won’t have to,” he said, his tone unyielding and his jaw tight. “I am leaving you. If you want to find me, you and your wolf will have to work together.”
What?
She opened her mouth, then closed it again. Was he serious? Bending, he claimed her mouth in a hard, fierce kiss. All male and hot, she tasted sun, wildness, and Cody. Clinging to him, she wasn’t prepared for him to break the kiss and set her away from him. “Stay here until I am gone.” The command resonated through her and she balked, but when he walked away, she stayed rooted to the spot.
“What are you doing?”
“What you asked me for.” To her shock, he left and the door banged close behind him. The echo of his steps on the wood porch faded almost immediately. She wanted to follow him, but her legs refused to move. Her inability to walk made no sense. What happened? Inside, her wolf roused slowly, but the animal didn’t respond or get her moving either.
Obedience? Does he truly expect me to simply do as he says? Anger flushed through her, hot on the heels of shock. Cody left her. He never let her out of his sight and he left her? To go where?
How the hell was she supposed to find him if she didn’t know where he was going? Panic bubbled in her belly and burned the back of her throat. Still, her legs wouldn’t move. Was her wolf holding her hostage to his command? Fury spiked and she managed to turn. Discomforted by the jerkiness in her own movements she nearly tripped over her feet. The wolf dug its claws into her soul and she clutched her stomach. Surprisingly, she wasn’t bleeding.
Dammit, stop listening to him. Listen to me. But the wolf ignored her. She always ignored her.
Rage boiling, she barely made it another step then fell. Her muscles twisted, bones snapped and her wolf swarmed up. She couldn’t stop the change this time. The sound of her shirt ripping rent the air and then her body tore itself apart.
The howl echoed through the town. Jo stood on the stoop for the schoolhouse with Micah at her side. Kid leaned on the railing of the boarding house across the street from the home Cody had claimed with Mariska. Having run into the empath on his way to speak to Micah and Sam, he’d warned Kid of his intentions.
“Are you sure about this?” Though only recently returned from months on the mountain, Kid had never looked healthier—or happier. The boy had become a man, and returned calmer, more confident and settled. He wore his power well and no longer suffered under the yolk of it.
“No,” Cody said with a shrug. “However, she is right about one thing. I cannot force her wolf to accept her or her to accept her wolf.”
“You and yours were separate for years…” Kid began, and while Cody understood his perspective, Kid didn’t understand. Not fully
“My wolf and I were never at odds before Mariska.” In fact, his wolf had saved his life on countless occasions. Cody’s family, his entire town, had been wiped out by the fever when he was four years old. He shifted for the first time just days after his parents’ death, while he himself could barely stand after the fever ravaged his body. Without the wolf, Cody would have starved.
They had been symbiotes, with the wolf taking the lead at least in the beginning because the animal understood how to hunt and had weapons that allowed him to do it. The boy retreated beneath the animal, but he hadn’t disappeared. As he’d matured, he and the wolf worked together and even discussed things.
Only Mariska had created true division in them. Cody had loved her and the wolf hadn’t. Decades of experience had made them equals…
Pausing, the last piece of the puzzle clicked into place. He and his wolf had been equals—of like age and maturity. Inside his house, he could hear the labored breathing of Mariska’s wolf. Though she had shifted and now controlled their form, the wolf still obeyed him. He’d told her not to follow until he was gone.
The wolf would definitely pick up his scent, especially since Cody did nothing to disguise it or his presence. But for such a young animal…
“Where did you go?” Kid’s tone changed, as if he’d already sensed the growing surety within Cody. Maybe he had.
“Her wolf is young and needs to learn. Mariska is used to leading, but she isn’t trying to lead her wolf, she’s trying to dominate her.” Yes, the words fit the situation. No wonder his mate had been so frustrated. Why hadn’t he…? “Stop that.” He glared at Kid. The empath had worked hard to soften the ragged edges of their emotions before—at a severe personal cost.
“I’m not. That’s all you.” Kid nodded toward the house. “I’m more interested in the frustration and rage building in there. She hates whatever it was you told her to do.”
Of course she would. Mariska’s wolf was young. The young—like Ben, and the other Fevered children—wanted to follow a stronger, more capable person or, in this case, animal. Pack was safe. Cody’s brothers and Scarlett were his pack, the bonds had extended to the still-developing generation of Fevered children they’d been raising since Miller’s brutal attack wiped out the town and nearly half the ranch population.
“Can you and Evelyn do what I’ve asked?” They didn’t have time to debate this. If he forced her wolf too long, the animal would lash out when she was finally able to follow. Kid could handle her. If necessary, he could calm her down until she went to sleep, but then they wouldn’t achieve what they needed.
“Yes,” Kid said, and glanced at his wife who stood in the window. An illusionist of some sort, she could create very real, very vivid images. “Not for long because I won’t let her hurt herself, but we can give Mariska something to follow for a time.”
Cody nodded. “Take her to the eastern reaches.”
“The rock canyon?”
“Yes.” As far from the Fort as they could go and still be on Flying K land.
Kid’s eyes unfocused briefly and then he said, “It’s all clear out there. Ben’s in class with Jo and we’ll make sure he stays in Haven or with one of us.”
A solid plan. He didn’t want Ben to have to deal with dominance games yet. Fortunately, his cougar was a juvenile, like him. “Are you sure you have this?” He didn’t want to overtax Kid, but to make this work, he had to be well ahead of her, yet know she was heading in the right direction.
With a long look, Kid said patiently, “Yes, Cody. I have this. Go.”
Quanto and Wyatt had trusted him to leave the mountain and he seemed happier than he ever had in the past. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” A quick smile. “And she’s probably going to destroy something in there. She’s getting restless.”
“See you in a few days.”
“That confident?”
Not answering, Cody took off at a jog. Confidence had nothing to do with this particular battle. If Mariska and her wolf couldn’t reach some type of understanding over the next few days, they would have more serious problems to worry about. Leaving Haven behind, he went wide of the lower pastures and grazing lands. He’d be faster on four legs, but to criss-cross the trail and leave his scent while Evelyn created an illusion of his wolf to lead Mariska on a parallel course…yes, he was better on two.
Hoofbeats echoed in the distance and Cody had made the first rise when he realized the horse followed him. Turning, he scowled at his unexpected escort. The deep red hair was a dead giveaway. “Not now, Scarlett. Go home.” She was a few months along in her pregnancy and shouldn’t be this far out on her own.
“Yes, now. Sam told me what you were doing.” She slowed her sweet, painted mare as she drew alongside him.
“Then you know why you need to go away. Her wolf doesn’t need to pick up your scent in her frame of mind.” His sister could be such a brat sometimes. When her chin lifted and fire flashed in her eyes, he knew today would be another terrible example.
“I don’t think what you’re doing is—”
Holding up a hand to cut her off, Cody studied his sister. Yes, her temper was still there, but so was a softness that came with pregnancy. Her kids were everything to her. Once upon a time, he’d hated the very idea of her with Sam, but no longer. The two fit each other. The marshal tamed her wildness with an understated calm. Scarlett, like him, had a temper. Mariska had one, too. Cody wanted what Scarlett had found—albeit with Mariska. His mate calmed him like no other, just as Sam calmed Scarlett. “You don’t need to agree with my methods,” he said after a long pause. Yelling at Scarlett never worked. She’d just dig in and become more stubborn. “But in this, I am right. You aren’t a wolf, little sister. Your beast is your fire, and you are comfortable with it. Finally.”
Because of Sam. He didn’t say that. He didn’t have to. The marshal’s utter lack of fear where she was concerned, his deep faith in her—it gave her faith in herself.
Brows drawing together into a frown, she sighed. “I want you both to be happy. I know I haven’t always seemed that way and there was probably an easier way to say to her what I did.”
Cody shrugged. “Honesty stings. We both know that. You were right. I am smothering her.”
“And this is going to correct that?” Skepticism thickened her words.
“No. But I know Mariska’s strength, and I do trust her. She needs to trust herself and the only way to do that is to make her fight for it. To fight me.” He couldn’t lose her. He refused to even consider the notion. “Now you need to go home and take care of my niece or nephew.”
A smile softened her face. “Are you sure? You shouldn’t have to do this alone. Neither should she.”
“We all have to be alone sometimes. It’s how we grow.” A truth he’d had a difficult time swallowing for years. Scarlett’s separation from them had been the best thing in the world for her. “Go home.”
Patting the mare’s neck, Scarlett nodded slowly. “Both of you better come back or I’m going to be very angry.”
“Frightening, I’m sure.” His very dry response had the intended effect. His sister laughed. “Go.” He didn’t have any more time to waste on the conversation. He waited, watching as she rode away before continuing on his run. The late afternoon sun had already begun its lazy descent in the western sky. He wouldn’t make the rock canyon before dark.
By the time Mariska got there, her wolf would probably be exhausted and mad.
A thrill pulsed through his blood. Hunting his mate while avoiding her capturing him held a certain allure. But in this high stakes game, the right outcome would let them both win.
As for losing? He refused to contemplate the chance.