Rafe had wasted the entire morning. Sure, he’d gotten in to see an agent immediately. It hadn’t been Ella, Zach’s beloved human, though. She was working exclusively on another case—a missing wolf shifter.
Instead of the female Rafe knew to be sympathetic toward shifters, he’d gotten some older human who was riding his way into retirement and wasn’t about to get worked up over a lost shifter child.
“Your lion cub is not the only person missing. Her information will be entered into our database, and when we have a lead, we’ll be in touch.”
The human’s blasé response had been Rafe’s tipping point. He’d flipped the guy’s desk and threatened to destroy his office if the agents didn’t act. Rafe had been escorted out with an order not to return unless he could control himself.
Well, Zach was just going to have to get over his stubbornness and talk to Ella.
Finding Molly was more important than whatever had happened between Zach and Ella to leave him sulking in the shadows.
Rafe parked in the grass, then got out. His cats stirred, warning him something wasn’t quite right. He gripped the doorframe and opened himself to them. The noises around him grew in volume, along with a rush of sensory information only an animal would notice, but the one clue that stopped his heart was that of a woman crying.
Jasmine.
He took off and circled the house, following the sound of her sobs. He found her near the edge of the woods in Mira’s arms. Devin stood protectively near them.
The sight of Jasmine, alive and safe, eased Rafe some, but not completely. The stench of death hung in the air. An animal had died, not a human or shifter. The distinctive scent of blood told him that, and it was the only thing stopping him from losing control.
He met Devin’s gaze. “What happened? Is everyone okay?”
“Kids are fine. So are we, but—”
“Rafe.” Jasmine reached for him.
He pulled her into his embrace. She buried her face against his chest and cried harder. He soothed her with caresses along her back until the sobs shaking her body slowed.
“Talk to me. What’s happened?”
“Bobby Rae is dead.”
“Mr. Wilkins’ dog.” Devin motioned toward where the stench of death drifted. “It was…left there. It didn’t walk.” He worked his jaw back and forth. “No scent of whoever did it.”
In other words, somebody had killed the poor animal and dropped it there as a warning. Rafe could guess who had committed the horrid act—Jon.
Rafe had been right. Jon hadn’t slunk away. He was going to come after Rafe’s new family. Take them from him. Destroy his future.
No. The male was going to die. Rafe wouldn’t let Jon get away with his crimes.
The vow strengthened him. “Who was watching Mr. Wilkins?”
“Not sure.” Devin met Rafe’s gaze. An equal share of disgust and embarrassment showed in his expression. “I was out of it for a while this time.”
Lost in his cats’ world.
No doubt the fight with Josh had sent Devin to his animals’ mystical field in an effort to put his crazed cats in their place. Sometimes, he had trouble reconnecting to the human world after an extended stay there. That was the danger Rafe had tried to warn Seth and Levi about.
Devin didn’t exactly have a choice, though. His cats needed him more than many other shifters’ animals. The years of torture he’d endured while serving Mira’s murder sentence had broken him.
Rafe dipped his chin in understanding.
“Evan was over at the older human’s place.” Mira supplied the answer Rafe sought. “I tried calling him. No answer.”
“Where are the others? Someone needs to go check on them.”
“I’ll go.” Devin stepped forward.
Rafe shook his head. No way was he letting Devin wander off on his own. After an extended stay in his cats’ realm, his view of reality was often skewed. Rafe didn’t need Devin blacking out or confusing his cats’ world with his.
“Stay close. Help protect Jasmine, Mira, and the kids while I run the grounds.”
Devin stared at him for a long moment. “You sure that’s a good idea?”
“You’d never hurt a kid or a female.”
For all of Devin’s issues, Rafe didn’t doubt that. Devin’s cats would protect his pride mates at all costs, and Jasmine, along with the kids, were theirs.
When Devin didn’t respond, Rafe added, “Jasmine is my true mate, Devin.”
And if Rafe lost her, his life was worthless. Devin would understand the significance of Rafe’s confession.
Devin glanced at Jasmine, then raised his chin. “Then I would give my life for her.”
The sight of Kade jogging toward them stopped Rafe from thanking Devin for his vow.
“Evan took three gunshots to the gut.” Kade focused on Rafe. “Another dead center in his chest. While he…”
Jasmine tensed. “Dead. He’s dead?”
Kade shook his head. “No. They’re both alive. Royals don’t die easily, but while he was down, the older human was attacked. Evan managed to crawl into the house and saved him. Mr. Wilkins is on his way to the hospital.”
Jasmine buried her face into the crook of Rafe’s neck and choked back a cry. He held her tighter and met Kade’s gaze. “It was Jon, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. Evan was hurt. Bad. He couldn’t take Jon down. Evan’s angry about it too. He couldn’t leave the human, though.”
“Evan did the right thing,” Devin said.
“I know that.” Kade sighed. “So does he. It doesn’t make him feel better, especially since he had to involve the humans.”
Rafe cursed. “We need to call Shifter Affairs. We’re going to have to control this before it spirals into something worse.”
“It’s contained. Evan made up a story about there being a cougar, and how he scared it off. The humans believed him. The cop who’d responded said there’d been quite a few sightings of something big moving through the woods at night.” Kade ran a hand over his skull. “Actually, the human seemed eager to go on a hunt for it.”
“Just great.” That was all they needed. Have one of Rafe’s pride members get shot by some overeager human hunter while they were here to protect Rafe’s new family.
“It’s not the first time we’ve had to tell an impromptu story to protect our kind. It won’t be the last. We’ll deal with it.”
“We have no choice but to deal with it. Jon can’t be allowed to get away with his crimes.” Rafe scanned the woods. “We need to search for him, but I doubt he’s still here. That dog was left as a warning.”
“Of what?” Jasmine asked.
“That he can get close to us,” Mira said. “It’s a psychological move. He could’ve shot you while you were out on the deck, just as he did Evan, but Jon didn’t. He wants more than your death.”
Of course. Killing Jasmine would hurt Rafe, but Jon wouldn’t benefit personally from it. And if Jon had wanted to hurt Rafe or the Alexander pride, more than he already had, Jon could’ve done so over the century since he’d killed Rafe’s father.
Rafe met Kade’s gaze. “Jon wants the kids.”
“No.” Kade shook his head. “Jon wants the same privileges Royals have. He told you that.”
Immortality.
“And there are some who believe scientists are close to extending a Royal’s gifts to the single shifters,” Devin added.
Yes, Rafe had heard of the stories from more people than Jon. That was why the medical facilities that experimented on shifters continued to pop up across the country despite the efforts of the shifters and the human government to eliminate them. There were some people who wanted to live forever and would go after that desire at the cost of the Royals. Rafe couldn’t see the allure of immortality, not unless you had a true mate to share the endless years with.
“Scientists?” Jasmine tipped her head to look into Rafe’s face.
He wanted to shield her from the ugliness of his life and the threats to them, but she needed to understand just how much some people resented the Royals. Once Rafe mated her, she’d be just as despised, maybe more. There’d be other shifter women asking—why her, why not me?
He glanced at Kade. “Ask Xander to search the woods for Jon. I need to explain some things to Jasmine.”
“Already done. We’ll move into the house and help Zach keep an eye on the kids.”
“Wait.” The mention of Zach reminded Rafe of his unsuccessful trip into Virginia. “Zach needs to call Ella. We need her help. I got nowhere with my visit this morning.”
“He won’t like it, but I’ll make it an order.”
“Good.” It might be the push Zach needed too. He had to spend time with his female if he expected to figure out if it was the need to protect her that made him claim her as his beloved human or if the reason was the same one that drove Rafe to be with Jasmine—that Ella was Zach’s true mate.
“Rafe.” Jasmine rested her hands on his chest. “I need to talk to you.”
“Okay, but this isn’t the best place for it. Just hang on a minute until we’re alone.”
Rafe tucked Jasmine into his side and headed toward the garage. They’d need privacy for the details he’d deliver. He didn’t want his brothers to see Rafe begging her to trust him. He would too. Hell, he’d get down on his knees. As long as he got Jasmine’s willingness to put her life in his hands, he’d do anything.
The only problem was—he didn’t expect to get it. He had a feeling she wouldn’t be too happy with him, especially when she learned the details about what loving him meant.