The thought of losing Abby had the power to bring Tah to his knees. It was easy for Reno to see she was Tah’s strength but also his greatest weakness. Losing her would destroy him. She’d been so angry with Tah when she’d overheard him telling Diane if a choice was required, she needed to put Abby’s life before that of their unborn child. But Reno and Diane both agreed with Tah. It was probably a safe assumption that everyone there agreed with Tah. The child would be loved unconditionally, and the pride would mourn if it were lost. But if Abby were taken from Tah… Reno wasn’t sure there would be a pride left.
“Tah?” Reno said when his friend continued to stare off.
“Have you ever felt different, Reno?” Tah mirrored the exact question Abby was always asking Reno.
Reno answered with a laugh. “Are you asking me if I have a little kitty purring in here too?” He patted his chest, then laughed again as Tah scowled at him.
“I’ve sensed something different about you for a long time. Hell, I think I sensed it before I even realized what I had inside me.”
Reno shook his head and looked down, at a loss as to what to tell his friend.
“You’ve sensed it too, haven’t you, Reno?”
Reno slowly lifted his head and nodded. “I’ve always felt a little different, especially in times of high stress. Battle zones seem to make me come alive. But I never really noticed any big changes until I woke up in the hospital after I was shot. I was already healing from a gunshot that should have killed me.”
“What did you feel?”
“No overwhelming presence or anything like what you went through. Just a gentle boost of strength and senses. Logan says the first words I said were that we needed to go find you. I know I felt like I needed to be with you, watching over you, but nothing more than that. When you called and we found out how you’d changed, that you and Abby thought you had a lion inside, I thought maybe whatever was in me would come out then. But it didn’t, and it still hasn’t. For some reason, it wasn’t waiting for the great Tah to awaken.”
“What do you think it’s waiting for?” Tah asked. “You seem twitchy lately. I remember feeling the same way. It was when the lion and I were fighting for dominance. Now that we’re fully merged, we’re both so much stronger.”
But Reno’s spirit was dormant and content to be that way. Reno had no idea what that meant, but he did have a fear he’d yet to voice. “I don’t know. Maybe it means I’m not a member of your pride.”
“Bullshit,” Tah grunted. “You’ve been a member of my family long before anyone else, except maybe Logan. I don’t give a fuck what’s inside you. You’ll always be a member of this pride. Fuck! You think I can’t see the way your shoulders just relaxed? Why would you ever think I wouldn’t accept you? Nothing comes between brothers.”
“We love you, Reno,” Abby said, surprising them both as she slipped quietly back into the room.
She walked over to Reno and hugged him close again, even leaned up to kiss him softly on the cheek.
“Love you too,” Reno murmured, wrapping his arms around Abby.
A rumble of displeasure rumbled up from Tah’s chest when the two continued to hug, making Abby sigh and Reno grin. Reno knew Tah couldn’t help it. Even though he trusted Reno with his life, with Abby’s life, he just couldn’t seem to handle anyone touching her for longer than necessary. It made Reno and Logan laugh at what a possessive bastard Tah had turned into where his mate was concerned.
Reno watched Abby cross to Tah and witnessed the emotions play across Tah’s face—love, pride and lust. It was easy to see Tah thought himself the luckiest man in the world simply because Abby found him worthy of her love. She slipped her hand in Tah’s, linking their fingers and giving them a squeeze as she moved into his side. Reno felt an ache deep inside. He wanted that, a woman, a mate, who would make him feel just a shimmer of what these two shared.
“I’m going to go get a bag thrown together, then hunt Logan down and go over some stuff with him. Like how your ass needs to stay as close to here as possible,” Reno said, pointing his finger at Tah. “No matter what you try to get away with.”
“I think you’re forgetting who’s in charge,” Tah said with a growl.
“You need to stick around the cabin now,” Reno stated, ignoring the comment about who was in charge. “No patrols. You have to realize you can’t just jump in everywhere. You are the head of this family. Pride leader, alpha, whatever title you want to use. You have to help us protect you, and we can’t do that if you go charging into every fight.”
“I’m not a fucking pussy!” Tah grunted.
“Cat. Pussy. Po-ta-to. Po-tah-to.” Reno shrugged his shoulders, making Tah swear.
“Ahhh, you’re the alpha pussy,” Abby said with a giggle that had Reno snorting with laughter.
“I’ll show you where the alpha pussy is later,” Tah vowed with a heated look that had Abby blushing and biting down on her lower lip. Then he turned back to Reno. “And I’ll remind you of this if it turns out there’s a little kitty hiding in there somewhere.”
Reno just laughed. He had never been intimidated by Tah, and lion or no, that wasn’t going to change. Reno could tell how much Tah appreciated that. No matter what, he and Logan would always see Tah as a man and friend first.
“What I’m saying is you need to accept that you’re the leader,” Reno continued. “You’re the only one we have who has a clue of what it means to shift. Doesn’t matter if you’re the great Tah or not. You’re our Tah. We can’t lose you. No one will be able to protect Abby and your child the way you will.”
Tah growled his agreement and nodded albeit with reluctance. “I’ll stay close to the cabin while you’re gone, but I don’t want you taking any unnecessary risks, either. I mean it, Reno. Don’t compromise yourself for anything or anyone. We need information but not at the risk of one of my most trusted people.”
“I’ll be careful.”
“I’ll give you a week. I expect a phone call every other day at minimum. If we don’t hear from you in forty-eight hours, a team will be sent to find you.”
“Two days there, two days back. Give me nine days. That will give me five there to find out what I can before heading home.”
Tah nodded his agreement. They both knew it would be a long nine days.
“We still need to go over some of the information I’ve come across,” Abby reminded them.
“Can you give me a few hours to take care of some things and throw my bag together?” Reno asked.
“Yes,” Abby agreed. “That will give me enough time to gather all of it and make a few more notes about the Blanes."
“Perfect. I’ll see you two later then.”
With a brief nod, Reno left the room. He turned to ask Tah one more question and caught the two mates in a private moment he was loath to interrupt but couldn’t seem to look away from. Tah pulled his wife into his arms, the need for her etched on his face. Abby held him close, as if she knew what her mate needed. Tah bent his head and found her lips with his, wrapping them both in the heated blanket of lust that seemed to reach across the distance and slap Reno across the face with the reminder of what he didn’t have, might never have.
“Did you talk to him?” Abby asked Tah, and Reno knew she was talking about him.
Tah nodded. “He knows there’s something inside him, but according to him, it’s been silent.”
“How long has he known?”
“Since he was shot and almost died. I’m guessing the trauma of nearly dying woke the spirit up inside him. He says the beast has been dormant for the most part, there but content to just stay silent.”
“How can that be when you’re awake now?” Abby asked him.
“Maybe he’s not a descendent of the original tribe,” Tah offered Reno’s earlier words with a sigh. “We know there are wolves out there as well. Who says there aren’t others?”
“So where does that leave us? Do we open our doors only to those we think may be from the line of
Paka Watu
?”
“And what? Keep Jess and her wolves out of here? We both know that will never happen. Just as we know Reno will always be a part of anything we create.”
“Reno’s family,” Abby stated with a nod. “As for Jess, you know she and her alpha wolves will never stay here, not even with her father living with us. They trust us to look after the Professor. Whatever they’re going through, trying to unite all the wolf packs, keeps them traveling.” Then she nodded as if coming to a decision. “We open our doors to any shifter who seeks us out and asks for shelter. It’s the only way.”
“I agree.”
Reno knew their pride would be what they made it. As it was, it consisted of members of the unit of Marines they’d served with in the desert. Though some seemed to be more than they were, none had come forward yet, including Reno.
Abby took a few steps, pacing away from Tah, taking her farther out of Reno’s line of sight. “Do you really think Reno isn’t part of your pride?”
Reno could see Tah’s profile and had no problem reading his expression. His face clearly showed his disbelief of the idea Reno might not be a part of them, and it mirrored his earlier words to Reno.
“No, I don’t. I know he’s an integral part of this pride we’re creating. For some reason, his spirit isn’t doing much yet. Enhanced senses and strength, according to Reno. But my lion’s growing stronger, which is letting me pick up on a lot of things I didn’t before. I can feel something there inside Reno. And it’s strong and fierce. Have you read anything about the original Tah having a second-in-command?”
Reno wasn’t surprised at Tah’s question. He’d been Tah’s second almost from the moment they’d first met. Was it possible they’d been fated to meet from the start? That they both played a part in a legend neither would have known about if not for Abby?
Abby’s reply interrupted his thoughts. “Nothing that I’ve seen.”
“I think he did, and I think that person was as powerful, or more powerful, than the Tah. I think he was the one who protected the original Tah during that great battle long ago. Why else would he have been absent during a battle where his father was killed?”
“I never thought of that. You think Reno?” Reno could hear the wonder in Abby’s voice.
Tah nodded. “I don’t know why the spirit isn’t fighting to be free now. What’s it waiting on?”
“Or who?” Abby offered, and Reno felt a shiver trickle down his spine.
Or who?
Chapter Three
Reno found the little town just as Abby and Professor Mueller had said, but it wasn’t what he’d expected. The people seemed almost overly friendly, asking if he was here to explore the national park. He went with that. It made sense with his Jeep and backpack, and provided the perfect cover for him to ask questions and snoop around. They offered up information on the best trails, best times to head out, best sites to take in, and the best places to grab dinner in the evening.
That night, he was planning to take his first real look at Blane Farm. He’d done some discreet digging when talking to the locals about places of interest on the map. Luckily, Blane Farm was shown on the map. He’d discovered that the Blane family had led hunting expeditions before the government had claimed most of the land around them for the national park. Now the Blanes did a little of this, a little of that. No one seemed to know for sure, and Reno could easily pick up on how nervous everyone became if he focused too much on the Blanes. So he made a point to move on to another place on the map and ask questions about it.
He felt the vibration of his phone and lifted it, answering with a touch of his finger on the screen.
“Haven’t heard from you.” Tah’s voice was loud and clear over the line.
“I was going to call tonight. I told you it would take two days for me to get here. Eighteen hours one-way is a hell of a drive, Tah. I just got here last night around six. Checked in to a local motel and spent the rest of the night and most of today playing tourist, checking things out.”
“Find anything yet?”
“That the Blane name makes people around here nervous, and no one wants to admit to knowing what it is the Blane family does now. From what I gather, the head guy is a man by the name of Marcus Blane. We might want to check him out, see what we find. I did learn they used to take people on hunts through the area. Lots of grizzly here…elk, and wolves. We might see if we can get in touch with Cody or one of the other guys. See if they know anything about this area. I get the feeling there’s a lot of fear here when it comes to the Blanes.”
“Shit. Maybe I should go ahead and send Finn and Murphy your way? Or at least Zane and Holt.”
“No. You need them there. I’ve got this covered. I’ll spend a few more days, see what I can find, then head back. I’ll call you when I get the chance.”
Reno held back on telling Tah his plans to go investigate the farm tonight. Listening to his friend’s unease, he had little doubt Tah would order him not to attempt anything like what he had planned. Not only would that defeat the purpose of Reno being there, but it would make Reno have to disobey a direct order, which he’d do, but he’d rather not have to. Plus, he just didn’t think it would be a good idea to send in backup right now. He had things under control. More people would split his focus between finding what they required and watching over the men with him. He needed to focus on getting the information, whatever it entailed.
“Everything good there?” Reno asked before Tah could say anything else.
“Yeah. Still haven’t heard from Dusty or Reed.”
“They didn’t respond when I sent the calls out. I’ll check into that when I get back. No shifters leaping in and saying here I am?”
Tah laughed. “Much to the Professor and Abby’s disappointment, no.”
“How’s Abby?”
“Same. Baby’s growing. I think it hurts more than Abby lets on. Her body is changing far faster than it would in a normal pregnancy. She noticed a stretch mark last night and started crying.”
“That doesn’t sound like Abby.” Reno knew there wasn’t a vain bone in Abby’s body.
Hell, when they’d first met her, she’d hidden behind loose jeans and pullovers. But nothing had hidden her beauty from Tah, who’d warned everyone away from her even then. And Reno had commented on her often just to poke at Tah. Still, Abby was as down-to-earth as they came. It was just one more thing Reno found to admire about her.