Instantly, she gasped. A jolt went through her that shocked her so badly she jerked her hand away as fast as she’d set it in his. She stepped back, unable to control her strange reaction.
Pete tipped his head to one side. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Must have shocked me.” She forced a smile. Pete had shocked her all right, but not in the way she implied. Somehow she’d seen into his soul. And it wasn’t pretty. She’d never experienced anything like that in her life.
“Melinda?”
“Laurie?”
She could hear the sleep in her sister’s voice even through the connection.
“What time is it? You okay?”
“Not even close. Sorry to wake you.”
Laurie stepped away from the men and headed for the kitchen area as she communicated with Melinda.
“A group of people threw bricks through the windows in Corbin’s apartment and screamed their displeasure at our arrangement.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah, that’s not the half of it. There are two deputies here now, and I just had the weirdest thing happen.”
“Did you touch them?”
“How did you know?”
Laurie stopped in her tracks, grabbing the counter in the kitchen and staring at the backsplash of the sink without moving.
“I can feel your abilities growing stronger with each passing day. I have the uncanny ability to read people when I touch them. It’s not always clear, but I can tell if they are evil or basically good. Makes me wish I hadn’t touched people quite often.”
“That’s exactly what happened. This man made me jump out of my skin. He reeked of bad news.”
“What’s his name?”
“Pete something. He’s a shifter. He said he’d been friends with Corbin since birth.”
“Pete Sandhouse. I know him. He’s been at the sheriff’s office for over ten years. I’ve known him as long as Corbin, though not well. I don’t believe I’ve ever touched him.”
“Well, don’t. Unless you like to feel the darkness of a person’s soul.”
“Sorry, hon. I know that’s shocking, especially since I didn’t warn you it might happen.”
“Should I touch him again?”
Laurie cringed at the idea.
“To see if I can get more information?”
“No. Won’t do any good. Don’t put yourself through it. I almost never get anything specific. Just a feeling. Which you already have. No need to torture yourself. I've even vomited on occasion.”
“Shit.”
“I’ll come over first thing tomorrow morning. We can talk. Or better yet, meet me at Mimi’s. Let’s see what we can hash out between the three of us. You’ve hardly spent any time at all with Grandma. It’s time we rectify that. She’ll rock your world. The woman can pack a punch for such a small frame.”
“Okay. I doubt we’ll stay here tonight. Both the front and back windows are smashed. I’ll meet you at Mimi’s in the morning.”
“Perfect. And Laurie?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m so sorry. I know your world is upside down. It must seem like a mess right now, but trust me, you’ll get used to all this. Eventually it will be second nature.”
Laurie didn’t comment. She let the connection sever and gripped the counter harder with both hands, wondering how she was going to live through this ordeal. Melinda was right. Her world was upside down. She hadn’t asked for this. Any of it. And she was growing increasingly convinced it was her that was causing the shit storm. If she left town… Maybe people’s lives would go back to normal…
“Babe?” She flinched when Corbin set his hand on her lower back. “You were a mile away.”
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be. What happened?”
She turned and found they were alone. “The deputies left?”
“Yes. There wasn’t much else to do tonight. They’ll come back tomorrow and look into things further.”
Zach came into the kitchen from the back room wearing his shoes and holding his coat.
“We’re going to go back to your place, aren’t we?”
“Yep.” He grabbed her coat from the back of the couch and brought it to her.
She shrugged into it and turned toward Corbin who leaned against the counter now, his legs crossed at the ankles.
She shook her head. “You’re not staying here.”
He grinned. “I’ll be fine.”
“No.” She grabbed his hand. “We can’t let them win. If we separate, I’ll lose my last brain cell, and I’m holding on by a thread.”
Corbin pulled her hand up to rub it against his cheek. “Babe, no one is winning. But I don’t have windows. I can’t leave the apartment. And it’s not safe for you here.”
Why didn’t she believe him? It seemed the enemy was indeed winning. In fact, it seemed the enemy was everywhere—both towns, both shifters and humans.
“Stop looking at me like that. It’s just for the rest of the night. A few hours really. I can handle myself. I’m a deputy, remember? And a badass wolf when I need to be.”
She scowled. “You can’t exactly shift and go all
American Werewolf in London
on me.”
Corbin laughed. “Not a chance. Don’t worry. I can hold my temper. I’ve got a lot of practice as a deputy.”
She grabbed both his biceps and lifted onto her tiptoes to kiss him soundly. “You’ll let us know if anything else happens.”
“Of course.”
She wouldn’t be able to sleep, no matter what Corbin said, but she didn’t need to say that out loud. It would only stress him more. “Be safe.”
Zach opened the front door as she headed his direction. He nodded at Corbin. “Keep us informed.”
“I will.”
∙
•
∙
Zach held the steering wheel stiffly as he began the forty-minute drive back to his condo. It was three in the morning. His mind raced with the possibilities.
This entire situation was insane. He couldn’t imagine a way out of their predicament. If people from both towns intended to get nasty, they were in for a lifetime of pain. And he didn’t want that for Laurie.
If his parents didn’t need him so badly at the resort and Corbin wasn’t needed as a deputy, he’d say fuck it and move his new family as far away as possible. But that wasn’t an option. Too many things were in the way.
Even though it didn’t seem Laurie was easily going to get a job in either town, they needed to stay and see this through. Surely after a few weeks the rumors would die down, wouldn’t they?
Hell, the problem was they weren’t rumors. They were all true. He had indeed mated with not one but two people, and indeed one of them was Native American and the other was half. There was no refuting those truths, and if the townspeople, both shifters and humans, wanted to get nasty about things, there was no stopping them.
They lived in small-town America. There were still small-minded folks in small towns.
“You okay?” Laurie asked, setting her hand on his thigh.
Instantly he switched his attention to his mate. His cock stiffened. Now wasn’t the time, but there was no telling that to a newly mated wolf. He nodded. “Fine.”
“Uh-huh. As in super-duper okay with all this. Walk in the park,” she mocked.
What could he say? Things were a disaster. And he couldn’t see a way to fix them.
Laurie sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder. She squeezed his thigh and inhaled deeply. Suddenly, she sat up. “Pull over.”
“What? Here? Why?” He glanced at her and then back out the windshield. They were in the middle of nowhere between the two main towns. It was dark. Really dark. Not that they couldn’t see fine in the dark, but why?
“Just do it.”
Zach watched for a side street and finally made a right turn on a gravel road that led to someone’s remote house. He shut off the engine. “What’s this about, baby?”
Laurie popped off her seatbelt, scooted away from him, and opened the cab door. Before he could say another word, she jumped down and stepped away from the truck.
“Laurie?” She was making him nervous. He whipped open his door and rounded the truck in two seconds, following her farther into the brush. “What are you doing?”
She didn’t respond. She stopped moving at her breakneck pace several yards from the truck, set her hands on her hips, and spun in every direction for a minute, as though looking for something.
The spirits?
Suddenly, she whipped off her coat and then grabbed the hem of her shirt and tugged it over her head.
“Laurie?”
She still didn’t look at him or speak. Instead, she stripped off the rest of her clothes and shifted right in front of him.
“Shit,” he muttered as she roamed away as though in a trance. Zach quickly followed her lead, left his clothes on top of hers in the snow, and assumed his wolf form. He hit the ground on all fours and dashed to catch up with his mate.
“Baby? You’re scaring me. Where are we going?”
She glanced at him and then looked forward again and kept moving. Her pace increased until they were at a full-out run.
Zach easily kept on her heels, deciding to let her do whatever it was she felt necessary without interruption.
She ran hard, dodging trees and jumping over downed logs and branches. As though she had all the stamina in the world, she didn’t let up her pace.
Zach was in excellent shape. Meeting her step for step wasn’t a problem. Worrying about her state of mind was another story. Was she hoping to encounter a spirit along the way? Or maybe she needed to blow off steam. This would certainly do it.
Finally, she stopped dead in her tracks. She didn’t move for long moments, staring straight ahead and then turning in a circle just as she had in human form before dropping her clothes.
When she sat on her haunches and met his gaze, his heart beat faster.
“Laurie. Baby. Talk to me.”
She surprised him by shifting into human form. It was fucking cold. Snow was on the ground. She was naked. With her hands on her hips, she spun around again. And then she shouted into the night air. “Where the fuck are you now? Come out. Face me. What do you want?”
He knew she was addressing the spirits. And she was magnificent in her anger. Her body was on high alert. Her nipples beaded. Adrenaline leaked from her pores, enticing him with its smell. He’d never wanted her more.
He shifted next to her and breathed heavily as his cock grew stiff and jutted out. He could see his breath. He couldn’t feel the cold.
Anger wafted off his irate mate. Sexy. So fucking hot.
He couldn’t blame her for her frustration. Hell, he felt it too.
Suddenly, without warning, she jerked in his direction and glanced down at his cock. Shocking him further, she dropped onto her knees, grabbed his thighs with both hands, and sucked him deep into her mouth.
Zach nearly fell over backward. He wove his fingers into her hair and fought to keep from pushing her against his dick. Zero to one hundred in two seconds flat was astonishing. He couldn’t form words to describe how aroused he was.
His mouth fell open, but no sound came out.
Laurie sucked harder. Deeper. Almost too hard.
“Baby…” He pulled her head away from his cock and tipped her chin back. It was cold out. She was kneeling in the snow. Though admittedly, he felt nothing. All his concentration was on Laurie and her lips. He barely noticed the weather.
“Let me…”
He shook his head and dropped to his knees to face her. His cock bobbed against her belly. “Not like this.”
“Not like what?” She stared at him, her gaze whipping back and forth between his eyes at this close distance. “I need to feel you.”
“Fine.” He grabbed her shoulders. “Turn around. All fours.”
She hesitated and then smiled, quickly following his direction.
The second she landed on her hands and knees, he shoved her legs apart and reached between them from behind. He thrust two fingers into her pussy and moaned. She was so wet. So hot. “Jesus.”
She rocked into his hand, and he had to grab her around the waist with his free hand to steady her and keep her from getting away.
“Zach…”
“I know, baby. Let it build. Feel my fingers.” He turned them around and dragged them against her G-spot. He avoided her clit, knowing she would shoot off the second he touched the sensitive bud. She always did.
“Zach…” Her voice was weaker. Her head dipped as she relaxed her body and let him make her hum.
“That’s it, baby. Just feel.” He should be cold. It was below freezing out there. Why didn’t he notice anything but his mate? Why didn’t she?
When he thought she was as aroused as she could be without going over the edge, he released her waist, removed his fingers, and gripped her hips with both hands. Before she could catch her breath, he thrust into her tight sheath.
Laurie screamed. If there was any living being around, it had to hear her.
Zach smiled and fucked her harder, faster, in and out. Over and over. He didn’t let up until with a cry of sound that had no meaning, she came, her pussy gripping his cock so hard he shot off at the same time.
He emptied his seed into his sweet mate’s body and continued to rock forward until her arms grew weak and shook. Finally, he pulled out, loving the sound of their bodies separating, knowing his semen filled her.
He breathed heavily, his own arms shaking also. He reached for her shoulders and pulled her onto her knees, smashing his front against her back and wrapping his arms around her middle under her breasts. He kissed her shoulder and nibbled a path to her ear.
They stayed that way for a long time, silence their only companion. A welcome silence that allowed them to escape reality for this brief moment in time.
Without a word, or even a glance, they eventually separated and shifted back to wolf form. Their trip back to the pile of clothing wasn’t at the same breakneck pace.
Zach could sense the switch in his mate’s demeanor to something calmer, less frantic. He was concerned still, but at least she wasn’t screaming at the night anymore.
Though what worried him more, as they dressed and headed back to the truck, was her complete lack of emotion. She seemed defeated. Let down. Even her shoulders sagged under the weight of the world.