Authors: Rhea Regale
Tags: #Fiction, #Erotica, #General, #Romance, #Paranormal, #Inc., #Siren-BookStrand
close to her chest. A crumpled envelope was clenched in her dirty
hand.
Nox watched the woman shove past Mase, her gaze burning with
a fierce survival instinct.
Mase shot him a concerned glance and pointed to his nose.
“Recognize that?”
Nox nodded. His friend caught the potent scent of a white wolf.
The members of his pack had all stilled to observe the woman in
their presence. He felt the probing gazes some cast toward him scrape
his bones. He had to tamp down the possessive growl that threatened
to rumble long and hard in his throat.
Mase lunged for the woman and caught her shoulder. The woman
spun on a gasp. Nox edged closer toward them while her back was to
him.
“Dear, what’s happened to you? Should I call for help?” Mase
asked. His brows cinched as his eyes swept over her filthy
appearance. Nox fisted his hands against his legs. He didn’t care for
anyone to scrutinize the woman in such a way. She was for his eyes,
no one else.
“Please,” the woman rasped between shallow gasps. She held out
the envelope. The flimsy piece of paper shuddered in her trembling
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hand. Nox’s nostrils flared from the sting of saltiness and the
repulsive scent of fear. He could see how badly she tried to hide her
trembling body. She sniffed and added, “My uncle told me to find
Carter. He left this in my sack.”
“Carter?” Mase whispered. Again, his friend’s attention flew to
Nox as he silently crossed the front yard. Mase took the envelope,
tore it open, and withdrew a crumpled piece of paper. “What’s this?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t looked at it. I haven’t stopped driving
since late last night. I’ve been to four different towns, trying to find
this Carter. Please, tell me he’s here,” the woman entreated softly. She
added in a whisper, “
Please
.”
Mase unfolded the paper. Nox paused a few feet behind the
woman, trying his hardest to suppress the building fury of beholding a
sacred white in such a state of dishevel. The backs of her hands were
marred with burns and scabs. He caught sight of a long cut along the
back of her neck where the ends of her hair parted. He wanted to hear
what the letter said, about as much as everyone else.
Especially if she was searching for a Carter.
Mase’s jaw dropped open. His eyes widened. Every muscle in the
man’s face went lax.
“Where have you been all these years? You couldn’t be found,”
he breathed. His gaze scoured the woman before he held the note over
her shoulder for Nox.
The woman jerked around.
“I think that might explain the treasure hunt to get here. One of
the Smith relatives?” Nox asked, relieving the pathetic piece of paper
from Mase’s hand. He glanced over the scribbled writing, some worn
from having been crumpled so tightly. It confirmed every call in his
body down to the most important detail of all.
She’s my white wolf.
“I’m Lenox Carter. And you are?”
“You’re the Carter?” The woman’s bright blue gaze looked him
over. A light rose touched her dirty cheek. She dipped her head and
wiped at a smudge on her chin. Nox smiled, cupping her face in one
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hand and wiping away another streak of dirt. Emotions pummeled
him, but nothing more powerful than the need to protect his mate
from the dangers he knew followed her.
“Must be. I’m the only Carter in this neck of the woods.”
“Ayasha White,” she said. “Aya for short.”
“Nice to finally find you.” Nox plucked the leaf from her hair and
dropped it at their feet. “Well, you look like hell.”
“I just came from there.”
Nox chuckled and took her scraped hand. He stretched out her
arm, gently pushing the sleeve of her jacket to her elbow. Long welts
marred the delicate flesh, dotted by several small burns.
“Were you followed here?” he asked, turning her arm over. Anger
heated against his veins. His wolf howled to come out and maul those
responsible for harming his little white. The shadow paced
relentlessly just below the surface, grazing the underside of his flesh
until every hair on his body thrummed with residual motion.
Another primal desire ignited. His cock thickened and swelled
against the zipper of his pants. His blood heated with hunger he
hadn’t been able to quench with any woman he fucked. Her scent
intoxicated him, threatening to make him mindless in the swells of his
increasing need to claim her. He’d waited too long for this very
creature. Too many years of futile searching, hunting, and prowling
for his sacred white, only to have her stumble into his life looking like
bear food.
“I don’t know. I don’t think so.”
Nox nodded. To Mase, he said, “Pack me a meal.” To Aya, “Do
you prefer tea or coffee?”
“Coffee.”
“And a large coffee.”
“What are you doing?” Aya asked. Nox caressed her cheek with
the pads of his fingers. Her skin was sticky with grease and dirt, but
couldn’t curb the rising hunger that threatened to consume him, coil
and constrict around his mind. The wolf pacing inside him panted.
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He cleared his throat.
“Getting you some grub to eat at my place. I want you to fill me in
on everything that happened.”
Nox narrowed his gaze on her mouth. Her bottom lip was slightly
plumper, forming a pout that beckoned him to kiss her. Generous
curves created a nibble-worthy upper lip. He brushed his thumb over
that pliant lower lip. Her thickly lashed eyelids drifted half shut, the
tip of her tongue brushing over the pad of his finger. He was pleased
to hear her heart calm its ramped pace and the tremors that drifted
through her body subside. The anxiety he sensed upon her arrival
dissipated.
Twenty-five years of searching for this woman and here she is.
The inner satisfaction of being united with his mate came with a
tenuous lead of dread. Her uncle was most certainly dead, which
meant only one thing.
The breeze shifted downhill, but not before he scented that one
reason.
Riley had located them, and he wouldn’t stop until he had a white
wolf.
* * * *
“Smart fucking bastard,” Riley grumbled, guiding his Escalade
along the narrow road. The sun filtered through the dense redwoods
that lined the mountain pass, shimmering rays reflecting off the
chrome trim of his truck. Eliza leaned forward, tipping her head to
gaze skyward. Her thick fall of brown hair cascaded down to her
thigh, caressing her jeans.
“It’s no wonder we haven’t been able to locate them. He left his
trail in every direction except for his,” she cooed. She lifted a
manicured nail to her lip and nibbled. Riley shot her a feral glance,
earning him a sharp arch of her dark brow. “What?”
“We found White because a buddy snitched. That was nothing
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more than luck,” Riley reminded.
He observed the side of the road, searching for a turnoff. The
stench of car fumes continued to curl through his vents, assuring him
he was on the right path. Finding Charles White came with a surprise,
one that left a bitterness in his spirit and an overwhelming ache in his
dick. He never expected to cross a white wolf in his days, believing
them all to be dead.
Only a week ago, a member of his pack came to him with
disturbing news: A white wolf had returned to Hood River, and there
might be more that survived the massacre. Well, he sure as hell found
another survivor.
As hard as he tried, Riley couldn’t erase the image of the woman
from the night before. He caught himself several times looking at his
latest bedmate, comparing Eliza to the brazen young white. Eliza was
beautiful, from the perfect contours of her curvaceous body to the
defined structure of the bones in her face. Most of all, she was an
expert in the sack and her endurance almost matched his.
But that damned white, who had to be Charles’s niece, plagued his
darkest thoughts. Every minute she toiled around his mind, the beast
in him wanted to come out. During their drive, the sexual hunger that
enveloped him left him shifting in his seat, trying to ease the pain in
his cock until Eliza soothed the ache with her mouth. He imagined
that pretty white wolf fucking him with her mouth, drinking him dry
and leaving him in a state of satiation.
That happened three hours ago and he hurt again. The delicate
features of White’s niece’s face burned against the back of his eyes.
He tried every way to extinguish the image to no avail, leaving him
even more agitated than he had been while waiting to burn Charles’s
house to the ground with the bastard in it.
Retribution was supposed to be gratifying. Instead, it left him
aching for something he couldn’t quite put a finger on.
Wrapped so tightly in thought, he nearly missed the turnoff he’d
been searching for. The brakes grinded. Tires squealed. He snapped
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the wheel to the right, barely turning off the road before passing the
driveway. Eliza cussed, rubbing the back of her neck. She threw him
an angry look.
“What the hell was that for?” she groaned.
Riley snarled, slapped the truck into park, and climbed onto the
side of the road. He took off up the tree-infested incline. Eliza hurried
up behind him, jogging every few steps to keep up with his long
strides. The car fumes intensified as he drew closer to the top of the
drive. He could hear rapid talk, none of which made sense this far
away. Scents of food combed down the mountainside, teasing his
hunger and making his stomach roll.
The wind shifted down and brought with it the sweetest scent he’d
ever experienced. Immediately, his erection swelled, and he groaned.
The muscles in his chest tightened. He fisted his fingers.
She was here, and she wasn’t alone.
Lenox, you prick.
The vile memories of years ago resurfaced in a flash of images.
He and Nox racing through the Oregon forests, hunting fresh meat
with claws and teeth. The two of them taking to the small towns,
winning over pretty women for a night. Nox coming to him the night
after the white wolf massacre, three wolves at his back.
Riley cursed him that night. His closest friend, the man who he
trusted with his hide, turned against him with a single sentence.
“The spirits have announced I am mate to a white wolf.”
Riley had been wild with rage. His wolf reared up in the wake of
his anguish and threatened to consume him. Somehow, he retained
enough human sense to denounce Lenox Carter as a friend, a
comrade, and an honest man. The closest thing he had to a brother
accepted a fate as mate to a white wolf, a creature who had slayed his
father.
The very next day, Riley learned Nox had left Hood River with
his new pack of male wolves. He never cared to trace the friendturned-foe.
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Until now.
Riley lowered on his haunches, tugging Eliza down behind him.
She fell into his back.
“Quit it, Liza.”
“Stop being a bully,
Riley
,” she sneered.
Riley craned his neck and peered around the tree trunk providing
cover for him. He saw the broken-down vehicle, steam swaying over
the truck in the gentle breeze. A group of feisty wolves sat around the
long porch.
Then there was Lenox. Riley anchored his fist against the rugged
ground and leaned farther out. The white wolf came into view, and he
all but fell onto his side. His body quivered at the sight of her, grimy
and hellish but delicious as sin.
A low growl vibrated in his throat. Why the fuck did this single
woman evoke such raw emotions in him? He wanted that
woman…
dead
.
Mase, Nox’s right-leg pack mate, crossed the front yard with a
large plastic bag. He handed the mystery items to Nox. His nemesis
pressed a hand low on the woman’s back, guiding her to a chrometrimmed black Silverado. Proper as always, Nox held the door open
for her, helped her into the high cab, and handed her the bag.
The truck door slammed. Nox turned, squaring himself toward the
forest.
His eyes flickered, holding steady on Riley’s location. Carefully,
Riley began to slink deeper into the protection of the trees. Eliza
scurried to him on hands and knees.
“He sees us?” she whispered.
“No,” Riley lied. He wasn’t sure if Nox saw him or not, but his
wolfish instinct told him the man knew they were watching.
“I’m waiting for you, Riley. It’s been a long time.”
After twenty-five years of silence over their private telepathic
link, Nox’s words confirmed his previous inclination. Riley’s blood
boiled. The hairs on his arms began to elongate as his wolf’s coat
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threatened to sprout from his skin. His fingernails stretched and curled