Ancient Ties (Pale Moonlight (Wolf Shifters Romance) Book 2) Page 7

  The air was still and crisp, filled with the sounds of chirping birds. A sense of peace descended over her. Her short experience with Des was that he wasn’t a male whose emotions ran amok and it showed in his quiet, ordered environment. She expected lingering sadness, since he’d lost a mate, but it seemed he’d accepted his lot in life. She always heard when a shifter lost a mate, they sometimes keep living for the children. Perhaps it was that way for Des. Or maybe ancients were different altogether.

  She hoped it was the latter. If Des waited for his son to settle down and make babies, it wasn’t happening with her.

  A feeling of loss almost stalled her, but she shook it off. Kaitlyn hadn’t been interested in the tidy mate bond before Chayton swaggered into her life. She’d do fine when he sauntered out. It’s not like he could reject her any more than he had.

  Des didn’t glance at them. His chair rocked rhythmically, his eerie brown eyes straight ahead. Father and son resemblance wasn’t so much in looks as in expressions and body language. She would have guessed Chayton’s father to have remained in the lifestyle of his deceased mate, but after meeting him, she wondered if he ever had. Or was the Sioux way of life something only Chay and his mother shared.

  “Cinks,” Des’s low voice murmured in greeting. He stood and turned to them with a grim expression lacing his welcome.

  My son, Chayton filled in for her mentally.

  “Ahte.” Chayton laid a hand on his father’s shoulder. Des bowed his head.

  Huh. Kaitlyn marveled. She found the one person Chayton showed no hostility to.

  Chayton lowered his arm. “We need to unload and get to work.”

  Des’s gaze landed on her. She couldn’t escape the sensation like fingers rifling through her mind. She imagined putting a lid on her head as if it was a cookie jar and the feeling went away.

  A tiny smirk caught the corner of the ancient’s mouth. “Miss Savoy, it’s a pleasure.”

  Chayton’s brows drew down and he glanced back and forth between her and his dad. “Have you sensed any danger to the colony, Ahte?”

  “Not from outside its borders.” Slowly, Des pulled his eyes off Kaitlyn, but she caught the satisfied gleam they held. “There is fresh fish in the cooler. Eat before you go.”

  “We can catch food on the way.”

  Kaitlyn’s stomach heaved. Her genetics said she was a shifter, but the taste center in her brain claimed human. She didn’t want to sink her teeth into her meal while its heart still beat. Call her crazy, but she also liked produce and grains and hadn’t fully adopted the bacon and milk diet her pack adored.

  As if sensing her unease, Des tilted his head toward her. “Fish, yes? I’d like a few minutes to talk before you both take off.” Without an answer from them, Des opened the sliding glass door and stepped into the house.

  Chayton growled in frustration, but followed. “If you cook, Ahte, we’ll get settled. I’ll take the couch and Kaitlyn can take the spare room if we need to spend any nights in town.”

  Des slanted a brow at Chayton. “Are you sure staying under my roof wouldn’t disappoint T— ”

  “This is official business.”

  Kaitlyn raised her own brow at Chayton’s interruption. His father gave him an assessing gaze that slid slowly to her. Des wasn’t a chatterbox, but he spoke volumes in his expressions. She wished she understood, because she felt like she missed some important facts that the other two knew.

  “Very well. They’ll be ready if you need to come back and stay.” Des busied himself with a frying pan and a tray of white fillets. Chayton spun to step around her and back outside, she turned to follow.

  Des spoke quietly. “Miss Savoy?” She stopped and waited for his question. “Who are your parents?”

  She heard Chayton’s footsteps halt. He threw a warning look over his shoulder, but she dismissed it. Just because he was ashamed of her heritage didn’t mean she was. Her cheating mother, homicidal father, and unknown sperm donor birth father were hers to claim.

  “My mother was human and she’s passed. I don’t know who my birth father is.”

  Des’s head jerked toward her. “You weren’t raised with him?”

  Chayton’s tension vibrated across the back deck. If she could flip him the bird without his dad seeing she would. She’d stroll through town announcing her business, and fuck him if he had a problem.

  “Nope,” she answered, proud that no shame rang through her voice.

  Des nodded once. “Interesting. Thank you for answering honestly, Miss Savoy.”

  Huh. She’d expected the ancient to be part wild, snarling his words as he chewed on a cow femur. Caught in her own stereotyping trap. Instead, Des was civil, articulate, and…passive.

  As she strode out past Chayton, who half-glared at her in frustration, she wondered if the ancients that survived the extinction were innately calmer. Perhaps all the ones who’d been wiped out in the mass slaughter were the ones who let instinct rule every action before thought could form. They’d rushed into the fray during the mass targeting of shifters by human hunters and were killed.

  She opened the SUV doors and snagged her duffel and rifle bag. When she turned, Chayton stood feet away, arms folded, staring at her. Stepping to the side to let him in to grab his stuff, she kicked her chin up.

  They said nothing and she tried not to look at his firm backside sticking out of the door. Her anger at him had dissipated, and she didn’t forget the smell of a lie when he’d insulted her. For some reason, he was determined to keep her at a distance.

  He straightened with his gear. She raised her attention off his flexing thigh muscles and broad shoulders.

  For a second, she saw him with his guard lowered. Astounding depth and emotion that encompassed severe resolve and massive regret was replaced by his usual condescending hint of a sneer. “Let’s go inside and eat your cooked food.”

  Yep. That’s how it was. Only the longer she was around him, the more she saw that his words reinforced his walls, but didn’t represent his true feelings.

  Still, she deserved better.

  ***

  She deserved better.

  Chayton organized his gear for the fifth time. It wasn’t like he could take much of it with him if they were going to stow it in a hiding spot and search as wolves. The busywork helped him sort through the conflict raging within him.

  His dad liked Kaitlyn. Mato hated her. Tika might drop by anytime. Chayton’s fierce need to protect Kaitlyn gave way to admiration of her diplomatic and field skills. He no longer scorned her inability to shift back to being a human without blacking out, but his concern over it harming her had grown exponentially.

  Ahte hadn’t batted an eye at Kaitlyn’s humanness admission, but Chayton often forgot his ina was human. His father had indulged every last one of Ina’s wishes to retain as much of her tribe as he could. But since she had been gone, Chayton witnessed his father’s true mellow nature. His ahte was genial, but not friendly, yet Kaitlyn had almost gotten a smile out of him in the first minute after they’d arrived.

  Had his dad figured out the redhead was Chayton’s mate? Was that why he’d tried to mention Tika, to test it? Des hadn’t been involved in Chayton’s promise to Tika, but then he’d been reeling over Ina’s death.

  Chayton rubbed his face. Mato’s insistence that Chayton mate his daughter began shortly after the girl was born. Then Ina died in that horrible fire and Chayton had thought discussions were tabled, but Zitkana had come back at him full force. Like promising himself to Tika decades before she could have a say could erase his overwhelming grief at the loss of his mother.

  His stomach growled at the delicious smells originating in the kitchen. He hoped Ahte fried up at least twenty fish. Unlike Kaitlyn, he wasn’t averse to eating on the run, but it’d take time and could alert the rogues to their presence.

  Kaitlyn exited the tiny guest room and padded to the kitchen. She had some balls. His dad intimidated most shifters with his intense scrutiny and here
she was seeking him out.

  Their voices drifted to him. Her laugh made Chayton think of meadowlarks on a sunny day.

  He got up and stomped to the kitchen to see Kaitlyn setting the round table that’d barely fit the three of them.

  “I think your cooking will be just fine, Des.” A smile lingered on her stunning face. “You’ll have to tell me about the fishing holes around here.”

  Chayton’s eyes widened. Not only was she chatting up his dad, but she was subtly collecting information about her surroundings.

  A grin, an actual grin, stretched his dad’s face, delight dancing in his brown eyes. “These fish came from a lake I feared no longer held fish once Chayton started swimming in it as a boy. Every time he went for a swim, he came home with no less than ten fish. Always hokuwa.”

  Always fishing. His ina had chided him each time. Cinks, you must learn about balance.

  Chayton smiled unbidden at that memory. His memories concentrated on his mother’s fierceness, but she’d been warm and loving, too.

  The back of his throat clogged. He cleared it. “Thanks for cooking.”

  His father nodded in his always-knowing way. Chayton wondered if Ahte’s sense of loss rose in a tidal wave whenever he visited.

  Kaitlyn’s smile faltered. “Can I get anything else for the table?”

  Des frowned and scanned the plain, cozy kitchen. “Am I missing something?”

  “No,” Chayton answered. “She likes to eat what grows out of the ground, not just what roams the earth.”

  Understanding dawned on Des’s face. “Yes. Nita loved to gather. Never got a taste for leaves, myself.”

  Chayton rested his hands on top of his chair at the table and hoped it didn’t get awkward. Kaitlyn would guess the Nita mentioned was his mother.

  “Don’t worry about me. I don’t complain about people feeding me.” Kaitlyn waited by her chair until Chayton’s father approached the table.

  Ahte rested the sizzling cast iron pan on the table trivet and dished a heaping portion out to each of them.

  “Sit, sit.” Ahte waved at them before he settled onto his chair. “I’m too old to dwell on ceremony.”

  They devoured their food in silence. As forks scraped plates, his father calmly studied his guests.

  “What path will you take to hunt for the beasts?” Ahte hated including rogues and ferals among shifterkind. In his opinion, they weren’t worthy of being a human or a wolf.

  Chayton tended to agree. “The deer trail that loops around Four Waters. We can use the lakes to mask our scent, and if the rogues know the area, they’d do the same if they planned to attack the colony.”

  Ahte nodded in approval. He’d probably come up with the same plan and tested Chayton with it.

  “Is Four Waters one lake or four?” Kaitlyn asked.

  Ahte slid his dishes to the side and used his fingers to draw an imaginary map. “My plate is the cabin. The trail circles around each of the four lakes. They’re separate bodies of water, but are situated like a four-leaf clover.”

  “Maybe they’ll be lucky like one.” Kaitlyn rose and collected the plates.

  Ahte didn’t look at her when he asked, “How long have you really been a Guardian, Miss Savoy?”

  Her hands stilled arranging the dishes in the sink, one hand clenched around a dish rag. “Almost three years.”

  Ahte chuckled, his dark eyes crinkling at the corners. “Most definitely under ten years. You are not in tune with your wolf, but you’re a Guardian?”

  Chayton’s eyes widened. He caught Kaitlyn’s accusatory look and shook his head.

  His father stood. “Cinks said nothing, but I’m grateful he knows. That kind of disconnect endangers you both. How does it express itself?”

  Her mouth opened, but nothing came out. It snapped shut and she clenched her jaw. Humiliation and anger rolled off her in waves.

  “I don’t blame you for not wanting to talk about it, but I suggest you put the pieces in your psyche back together before it gets you killed.” Ahte stepped through the sliding door, shed his clothing, transformed.

  Chayton had seen it a million times, but a startled gasp escaped Kaitlyn as the massive, shaggy creature that resembled a humanoid wolf loped off on two legs. She’d only seen Cian from a distance yesterday; his father must be her first experience with an ancient shifting.

  “He’s right,” Chayton murmured.

  “No shit.” Kaitlyn slapped the dishcloth down and stormed to her room.

  Chayton pinched the bridge of his nose. That could’ve gone better.

  A knock sounded on the door. Who’d come calling on his father? Ahte defined the term loner.

  With a sigh, he pushed himself up and made his way to the front door. He glanced out to see a little red coupe parked behind the SUV.

  Fuuuck. Did this have to happen now? An ominous feeling descended, like the Grim Reaper waited on the other side rather than the young female he wished had stayed in town. His future mate.

  He swung open the front door. “Tika.”

  The sultry brunette smiled wide and pulled him down for a kiss. Her warm lips touched his and he refrained from pushing her back at the wrongness of the feeling. As soon as her pink tongue swept across his mouth, he pulled away.

  “I’m sorry, Tika. I’m working. Can we talk later?”

  Her smiled faltered, and her gentle forest-green eyes grew concerned. “Chay, you’ve been away so long, I hoped we could reconnect. It’s not like you haven’t stopped through while you’re working before.”

  A sexy pout curved her mouth. It was then he noticed her flowy skirt and light sweater. He called it easy access clothing. His manhood remained silent. Sure, last year he’d been more than tempted by the tasty little morsel in front of him. Tika’s native looks, exotic eyes, and strong, curvy body enticed any male she came across. Chayton’s agreement to bond with her might’ve been made based on logistics alone, but his time spent in her arms during his last visit had supported his decision all those years ago.

  Only now he wondered what the fuck he’d gotten himself into. His body had screamed for release for the last several weeks only to shut down when facing his future mate because she wasn’t the redhead destined for him.

  Destiny was a cold bitch. Almost twenty-five years he’d been sworn to someone else and fate drops his true mate on him months before he was to bond with Tika.

  “I’m on a case and I need to leave for a hunt.”

  Her voice dropped to a husky purr. “You can’t even spare five minutes?”

  Sweet Mother. His promised mate wanted a quick fuck while his destined mate was in the other room. This painted him all shades of slimy idiot.

  “We’re literally ready to step out the door. I’ll call you when we get back.”

  Her expression filled with regret. “No problem. Father will let me know when you return. Then you and I get some time together. We need to set a date.”

  He forced a charming smile. “Deal.”

  She sauntered away, her hips swaying and lifting the skirt to reveal creamy cinnamon thighs.

  It wasn’t the cinnamon he wanted to lick. Lust roared into him, hot and hard.

  He shut the front door and listened to the car drive away. His chest heaved; desire swamped him. Tika left and any emotion he should’ve felt for her swamped him.

  Why now?

  Because he’d thought of cinnamon.

  “I thought I heard someone at the door?” Kaitlyn’s head popped out of her room. She sniffed and raised a brow. “An admirer.”

  Her sardonic expression faded when Chayton swung his head toward her. She straightened, almost disappearing behind the door jam. “Eagle, you all right?”

  The roiling turmoil inside of him focused on the maddening, damaged Guardian. He was moving before he realized it, unhooking his shoulder holster and dropping it in the hallway. By the time he curved into the bedroom, his weapon belt had hit the floor.

  Kaitlyn’s mouth opened, her eyes
filled with understanding, but she didn’t back away.

  Out of the corner of his vision, he saw her gear spread out over the bed. She must’ve been checking and loading everything for the hunt. Like him, she was just in her leathers and her shirt.

  Her pink tongue flicked out to lick her lips—it hadn’t even touched him and the sight hit him like a grizzly bear. He wanted it on him. His body wanted to wipe out the feeling of the other female’s tongue.

  Oh, no. He’d taste like Tika if Kaitlyn kissed him.

  The room was tiny enough. It took only two steps to back Kaitlyn against the wall. She drew in a breath, her pupils expanded. “Eagle?”

  Last time, in her passion she called him Chay. Would she do it again?

  “I want to see if you taste like spice.” He didn’t recognize the gruff, guttural voice that came from his mouth.

  He dropped to his knees and yanked at the clasp on her pants.

  Her head dropped back to hit the wall. “Don’t think this will make me forgive you.”

  “I’m not looking for forgiveness.” He wanted to forget—about the rogues, about Tika, about his stupid promise, about honor. He just wanted to consume Kaitlyn.

  As his hands worked around her waistband to draw her pants down around her hips, she stepped out of her boots.

  The scent of her hit as soon as her pants cleared her lushly rounded ass. She wanted him. He dragged her pants down, and as soon as she kicked them out of the way, he lifted a leg. Her womanhood on display in front of him.

  His fangs throbbed. “You’re glistening for me and I haven’t even touched you.”

  “You seem to have that effect on me.” Her breathless words sent more blood streaming to his shaft. His own pants were painfully tight, but he wasn’t going to do anything about it. Not yet. Not until he made her scream his name first.

  Her calf rested across his shoulder. He used his fingers to separate her and lick her from her opening to the bundle of nerves waiting for his touch.

  She cried out. Her hips bucked against him. “Do it again.”