It’d taken Kade a good hour to pass out after the kiss he shared with Ally. Even then, his dreams had been filled with tempting images of his mate sprawled across his bed, no clothing in sight. He’d just trailed a line of kisses down her tummy and his lips teased the apex between her thighs when he was jerked awake by blaring sirens and flashing lights.
He leapt from the bed, fangs descended and fur covering his spine by the time his feet hit the floor. He strode from the room, finding a wide-eyed Ally standing in the hall wrapped in a comforter. Her gaze frantically swept the area, searching for the threat that triggered his alarm system. She spun his way, and to her credit, didn’t so much as twitch when she saw his half-shifted state—or his nudity.
In the flashing of the lights, she looked so pale and small. His instincts were to gather her in his arms and comfort her, tell her everything was fine. But he needed to make sure everything was fine first.
“Stay here,” he growled, before setting off to search the house.
The windows and doors were still secured, and he didn’t catch any unusual scents in his home, but something had tried to breach his system. So, whoever it was hadn’t gotten into the house—invaded his territory.
Probably just that dim-witted raccoon that liked to crawl around his window sills, not knowing that its presence sent his wolf into fits of slavering, murderous rage. Or maybe it was the smartest raccoon in the world and knew exactly what it was doing.
He punched a code into the alarm box by the door to turn off the blaring and flashing, then threw open the front door, ready to pounce… on nothing. The chirp of crickets and flavors of damp grass greeted him. Stepping onto the porch and closing the door behind him, he breathed in deeply, taking advantage of his wolf’s senses even as he remained mostly human.
Deer. An owl. Red cedar. And… something else. Something that made his stomach churn and his blood pound in his temple.
The stench drifted on the wind—a condemned house, a pile of garbage, dead things. The wolf that carried the foul odor of decay was not part of the Blackwood pack, but he wasn’t an unknown. The fog of sleep still clouding his mind, it took a moment for Kade to recall where he’d encountered that aroma before.
The mystery wolf from Pepper.
Except this was fresher and the disgusting taint infinitely stronger. He followed the trail, more fur rippling across his body as he carefully padded across the yard—searching for evidence of an intruder. He froze in place when he found it. Kade stopped and stared at the unusual print among the scattered leaves and fallen twigs. Bold as day, even in the dark, lay a footprint. A human footprint. Not wolf, as he would have anticipated.
The problem was that the indentation was right in front of Ally’s window.
The sight of that print transformed his anger into utter fury. Fury at the thought that some strange wolf invaded his territory—Blackwood territory—and watched his mate as she slept. The wolf asked for its freedom and he granted the request with ease. He gave it full reign and shifted between one heartbeat and the next.
Sniffing around the footprint and up the siding, he found deep gouges in the shape of claw marks on either side of the windows.
The creature had been half-shifted as he watched Ally. No wolf left such destructive marks if they were intent on sitting down for a cordial afternoon tea. This was evidence of anger—rage—and riding the edge of control. Whoever this asshole was, he had nothing but ill intent toward Kade’s mate.
Poor bastard just signed his own death warrant.
Kade snarled and spun in place, nose lowered as he followed the scent trail. His speed increased with every stride until he sprinted toward the tree line. His claws sought purchase in the damp earth and his ears were attuned to every sound that echoed through the night. The intruder had been clever—zigzagging through the forest as he’d made his escape—but it wasn’t enough to throw Kade off his trail. Not when Ally’s safety was at risk.
Silence surrounded him as he raced across the leaf-strewn floor. Every living creature sensing a ferocious and extremely pissed off predator in their midst. His massive paws kicked up chunks of dirt with every bound. Growls and snarls sent critters scampering away in the dark. Kade ignored them and kept his focus on the pungent intruder. The scent grew stronger and stronger the further he ran, until Kade sensed he was this close to capturing him. He still couldn’t hear his prey, but the wolf had to be up ahead somewhere.
He put on more speed, focused on driving his prey to ground and feel the male’s throat between his jaws. That intense focus nearly cost him his life. He finally took a moment to check out his surroundings and realized where he was—right at the border of pack lands. More importantly, close to the river that formed that border.
He skidded and scrambled to a stop just as the sheer drop into the raging waters came into sight. He dug his claws into damp earth, searching for something to cling to as he slid the last few feet nearer to that edge. His forward movement stopped, and he remained poised in place for a moment before retreating and leaving the sticky mud behind. He sniffed along the water’s edge, searching for that stranger’s scent once more. Except it simply… stopped on the shore and vanished into nothingness.
Kade paced across the barren shore, peering into the darkness on the opposite side. He sought any hint of a presence—movement or a flash of amber eyes—but found nothing. That shitstain was over there somewhere but was too cowardly to confront him.
Which left Kade with a choice: wander the woods all night searching for the wolf, leaving Ally unguarded and vulnerable, or haul ass back to the house and protect her should the intruder try again. Fuck, why did he even bother asking himself the question. It wasn’t a choice at all. Every cell in his body screamed for him to go to his mate’s side and keep her safe.
Come first light, he’d speak with his brothers and make a plan of action. Bulk up defenses and put the sentries on alert. Send out their best trackers to investigate that section of their territory and hunt for clues. It would be good if Kade helped, but he refused to let Ally out of his sight until they found the strange smelling wolf.
Kade whirled and sprinted back to the house as fast as he could, finding Ally exactly where he’d left her. Except now she sat huddled in a corner, comforter tucked over her head and body trembling. The scent of her fear burned his tongue, her terror making his beast growl and snarl. It wasn’t until she peeked from beneath the fabric and met his stare with terror-filled eyes that he realized his mistake.
Shit!
She’d already been skittish with the alarm and then he’d turned into a growling, dominant wolf. If he had managed to cling to some sense of calm, she wouldn’t have panicked.
With a sigh, Kade closed his eyes and beckoned his wolf to return to its cage. It resisted at first, convinced it could do a better job at protecting than the human half, but he was persistent. He couldn’t pull his mate close and comfort her without arms and hands. That one fact was enough for the animal. It gradually withdrew, and his fur receded, body reshaping to his human form.
Smiling was the last thing on his mind, but he’d try anything to calm her. And it worked… a little. She peeked past his shoulder, probably to confirm he hadn’t been followed, and her shaking eased.
He motioned to the blanket. “Mind sharing?” He glanced down his body and waved a hand at himself. “It’s a little chilly.”
That earned him a flicker of a smile and the blanket itself. He wrapped it around his waist, then pulled her into him, loving the way they fit together.
After a long moment, she asked, “What happened?”
Telling the truth might scare her even more, but keeping secrets was unthinkable. Mates didn’t hide anything from each other.
“Someone was prowling around the house.” He smoothed her hair as he spoke, enjoying the feel of her silken tresses against his palm. “That’s why we have alarms, though. I’m sure—”
“Where?” Ally demanded.
“What do you mean?”
“Where were they prowling? The kitchen, the front door, where?”
Kade braced himself. “Your room.”
The trembles that had almost subsided returned with a vengeance and her voice was hardly a whisper when she spoke. “Only my room?”
“It appears that way, but I chased him to the edge of our lands. Unfortunately, he crossed the river and I lost his scent.”
“S-so…he’s still out there?” Her voice—and body—trembled.
He squeezed her tighter. “I’m afraid so, but only a moron would try again tonight after all that commotion. No way he’s returning, Ally. And if he does…”
The threat hung there, unspoken but completely understood.
“Can I stay with you tonight?” she whispered, her eyes pleading.
In spite of everything that happened, his cock went rigid in an instant. The last thing she’d want in her current state was to make love, but he couldn’t help the way his body reacted to her.
Rather than allow the moment to turn awkward, he grinned down at her and comically waggled his eyebrows. “It would be my pleasure!”
The tentative smile from before grew into a small laugh. She slapped his chest lightly and color returned to her face, which gave him no small measure of relief.
“Sleep only, mister. No funny business.”
He kicked at an imaginary dust bunny and pouted like a toddler. “Aw shucks.”
She rested her head on his chest and they stood that way for a moment, simply holding one another, before she spoke again.
“I’m just too afraid to sleep alone,” she softly confessed.
“I know,” he murmured into her hair, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
“I do feel… something for you. I just… I’m just not ready to explore that right now.”
Either his heart was about to burst or shrivel, he wasn’t sure which. She’d just admitted she had feelings for him, which was a major score on his part, but she was still resisting their bond. Frustrating as hell, but it didn’t matter. He’d do anything for her, even sleep by her side with one foot on the floor, if that was what she wanted.
He kissed the top of her head and released her. “I understand. You’ll tell me when you’re ready. We’ll go at your pace. If you want to just sleep, that’s all we’ll do. If you want more…”
He waggled his eyebrows again and led her by the hand to his big king bed. She wore pretty pink silky pajamas that Kade wanted to tear off her body. Once they were both under the covers, he pulled her close into him, until her ass snuggled up against his still stiff cock.
“Hey, I said I just wanted to sleep,” she teased.
“I know,” he said with a happy sigh. “But I’ll be damned if I fall asleep without you in my arms.”