Micah (13 page)

Micah dozed off and on for an hour or
so, holding her when she became restless but watching for anyone
that might come upon them as well. Her breath was hot against his
chest, and he loved the way she curled her fingers into his hair.
Micah’s cat enjoyed it as well. When Reggie lifted her head and
looked at him, Micah smiled up at her.

“
We had sex.” He grinned
and nodded at her. “It wasn’t my intention to have sex with you.
Ever.”

“
Why not?” She sat up and
he could see that he’d been a little rough on her. There were bite
marks on her breasts, her ribs, as well as her throat. When she
didn’t answer him but reached for her clothing, he put his hand
over hers. “Why not?”

“
I don’t love you.” He
understood that. Micah didn’t like it, but he understood. “And
we’re not going to do it again.”

He pushed her back on the ground and
took her breast into his mouth. It was dirty play, but he wanted to
show her how much she wanted him as much as he did her. She
responded just as he’d hoped she would, arching her back up and
curling her fingers into his hair. He lifted his head and looked at
her.

“
I’m in love with you. I
know you don’t love me, and while that hurts, I can understand
that. As for not having sex, that is so going to happen. A lot, as
a matter of fact. I need you. My cat needs you. And if you’re
honest with yourself, you need us as well.” She didn’t speak but
watched him. As the tears fell from her eyes, he felt his heart
break for what he’d done to her. Before he could tell her he was
sorry, she spoke to him in a soft, hurt-filled voice.

“
They took a lot from me.
I can’t…your mom wants grandchildren. Your grandda nearly had me
measured to see if I could birth a child. I can’t have any.
Everything is gone.” He nodded. Nolan had told him that when she’d
been operated on; her medical records had been sent to him so they
could add it to her already extensive notes. “I can’t do that to
your family. Or to you.”

“
I don’t care about kids.”
She shook her head as if she didn’t believe him. “I don’t. I want
them. Lots of them, but there are more children out there, even our
kind of children out there, that have no one. We could, you and I,
bring those into our lives, give them all we have, and love them
forever. I love you, not what you might or might not be able to
give me in way of children.”

“
You say that now. What
happens—?”

“
I say that forever. I
will never lie to you, Reggie. And starting now, I won’t keep
things from you. Not telling you about what I was scared me. I was
afraid of what you’d do, what you’d think. And to be honest, I knew
about your surgery a few days ago. Nolan found out from your
records, and he told me.” She asked him if Nolan told him to run.
“No, he said that you’d been hurt, and badly. And if they weren’t
already dead, he’d find them and kill them all over again for you.
He said that he admires you and respects how far you’ve come after
that.”

“
What about Boyd? I won’t
abandon him. He’s all I have.” He kissed her on the mouth and stood
up. He heard something…someone, and it wasn’t his family. He lifted
her from the dirt. “What is it?”

“
Get dressed. I don’t
know.” Instead of getting dressed, he shifted. His cat snarled at
the sudden change but crouched down when he heard it too. He was
glad that Reggie dressed quickly and quietly. And when his cat put
his paw on her thigh, she dropped down as he’d wanted.

You can talk to me this
way. Can you hear me?
She nodded, her eyes
darting around the area, looking as well.
Don’t leave this place. I don’t know what or who is out
there, and I’ll feel better if you’re in one place. I’ve called my
brothers. They’re coming.

Is…will they be panthers
too?
He told her yes.
Okay. A pack of…what is a pack of panthers anyway?

Leap. Or a group. Panthers
for the most part are very solitary animals. But as a family
we—
A twig broke nearby and he stilled.
Reggie lay down and didn’t move either. He was very proud of her at
that moment, but he was too afraid to speak. His grandda came out
of the clearing just as a big wolf came from a few feet
away.

He was a shifter, but he was snarling
at them like a wild animal and they were in his territory. Micah
stood up and roared back at him. Micah was bigger and younger too,
but the wolf was still advancing. Micah knew the exact moment that
his family came up behind him. And when Garth spoke, he knew he
hadn’t shifted.

“
You’re on private
property. Show yourself.” The wolf snarled at him and barked,
snapping his sharp teeth at Reggie. “You want to die, you fucking
idiot? Any of us are well within our rights to kill you. And if you
touch that woman, we’ll all tear you apart. She’s our
family.”

He shifted; the wolf went from wolf to
man in seconds. But Micah could see what it cost him. He wasn’t
just old, he was really worn down as well. When he stood up, even
from where he was, Micah could see that he’d been hurt, and
badly.

“
I’ve only come to hide
out.” No one said anything, but his grandda moved to stand over
Reggie, hiding the naked wolf from her sight. It was to protect
her, he knew, but was afraid Reggie wouldn’t know that and shove
him away. But like in a lot of things she did, she surprised them
both by curling her fingers into his fur and staying still. “I’d no
idea that this land was claimed.”

Hiding from who?
Micah asked Garth to relay that to the
man
. And ask him who his alpha is. We
don’t need a shit storm of problems from a pack.

When Garth asked him the questions,
Micah moved to stand next to his grandda and Reggie. She didn’t
move, but he was worried for her. She was the only one that would
get hurt if the wolf decided to attack. And he’d go for her
first.

“
My alpha is dead. Killed
yesterday morning in a fight to take over. He was…it was my son
that was killed. And in accordance with the law, the new leader
killed his family as well.” The man dropped to the ground and
sobbed. “Killed them all. Even the children. Why would he do
something like that? I know that it’s allowed, but what would a
child know of him being their new alpha?”

Reggie stood up and before Micah could
stop her, she went to the man and leaned her head on his. The man
took her hand when she offered it to him and held it as he cried.
Great sobs of pain tore from his throat and body. Micah and the
others watched them, and Micah felt his heart break for the two of
them.

After a few minutes, he regained
control and thanked Reggie. He must have realized then that he was
naked and covered himself with leaves. Reggie moved away from him
and never once looked at him. He was so proud of her that he wanted
to howl.

“
You can stay here if you
want. Just so long as you let us know that you’re about. There are
others here, family around that might be frightened by your
presence.” The wolf nodded and thanked her. “Don’t thank me yet. To
stay here you have to do something for us. I’m not sure what it
will be, but we’ll think of something. What is it you specialize
in?”

“
I’m a physical therapist.
Or I used to be. Not very strong now days, and the last few years
I’ve been…my grandkids took a lot of my time.” He looked away
again, no doubt trying to control his pain. “I’ll work for you. I
need a safe haven. I won’t cause you a bit of trouble.”

Micah put his head under her hand, and
she scratched him behind the ear as she stood there. He wanted to
tell her she’d done well, but there were problems with what she’d
done as well. Their grandda was in charge of the leap. It was only
his decision that would allow the man to stay or not. As she moved,
walking back toward the house, all of them watched her, including
the man.

“
You’re a very lucky cat,
sir. Very lucky indeed.” Micah nodded at him. “If I were you, I’d
change her right quick. She’s going to be one hell of a leader when
she’s in charge of a pack. The name is Fred Rowe by the
way.”

Garth cleared his throat.
“You can stay. Just know that if we have any problems, and we
mean
any
, you’re
dead.” Fred nodded, and Micah had a feeling they were not even
going to know he was there. That the man was that afraid of his new
alpha.

As they walked back to the house,
Garth had to stop and lean against a tree. He was still leaning
there as the rest of them walked by him. He tossed Micah the
clothing that he’d had on and said nothing. It wasn’t until he
shifted and was dressed that Garth finally spoke.

“
She scared the fucking
shit out of me.” Micah agreed. “Mother fuck. He could have killed
her before any of us could have gotten to her. He would have died,
but fuck, that was…Grandda is about to bust.”

“
He’s mad? I’ll talk to
Reggie. I’m not sure what she saw in the man to do such—” Garth was
laughing and shaking his head. “What is it?”

“
He’s not mad. Christ, no,
he’s nearly bursting with happiness. Said that he’d never seen a
ballsier woman in his life, and her being a human nearly made
him…well, you know Grandda. He wants to take her under his wing, he
said. Christ, he was giddy with his pride for her. Said Dad would
have loved to have seen it. I’ve not seen him that happy…well,
since before Dad was killed.”

They walked back to the house in
silence after that. He could hear his brother laugh, more than
likely thinking of his grandda, but all Micah could think about was
Reggie and changing her. It had never occurred to him to do
something like that. When he got to the house, his mom’s house, he
decided it was time to move home. To their home. And he was going
to see about Boyd too. He was an easy target right now, and Micah
had yet to tell his family about the mad man that was stalking
her.

He’d seen him twice now. Nessie Curtis
had been standing outside her house the day it had burned to the
ground. It was just by chance that he’d seen him there. And the
only reason the man had stuck in his head was because he’d put him
on a list of suspects about the landlord murder. But his problem
was, he couldn’t just go and tell his boss that he’d been in the
man’s mind and knew that he’d killed him. Not only that, but he
knew where he’d disposed of the body as well. But it wasn’t until
later—the day he’d gone to see him at his house—that Micah had
realized the mistake he’d made. There were two of the Curtis men,
and each of them were just as deadly as the other.

Micah walked into the house and found
his family there. Reggie was standing near the sink, and the rest
of them, including May, were sitting at the table. He pulled her
into his arms and kissed her deeply, much to the amusement of his
brothers. Then he dropped to one knee in front of them
all.

“
Regina Ann Webster, will
you do me the honor of being my wife? My mate for all time, my
heart for the rest of my days? Will you raise children with me?
Help me to be a better man? Will you, someday, consent to becoming
a cat as I am, shifting with me and my family and running in the
woods?” Reggie looked around the room, then back at him. He was
sure she was going to tell him no, so when she spoke, he nearly bit
his tongue off trying not to laugh.

“
You bastard.” He grinned
bigger. “You do this in front of your entire family because you
think I won’t tell you no. Well, buster, you’re wrong about that. I
can’t marry you. For all the reasons that I told you before. I’m
not in love with you. I can’t give you children, and I for sure do
not want you…what are you laughing about?”

“
I love you. I told you we
could adopt. I don’t…I can’t remember all the other reasons. But
your brother? He’s not a reason for you not marrying me. We’ll all
love him as if he were our own. We don’t care what kind of care
he’ll need. I have, as far as I’m concerned, another brother to add
to my family. Boyd is as much my family as I’d like for you to be.”
Micah turned when his mother touched his shoulder and took the ring
she’d slipped off her finger. Micah stared at it before taking
Reggie’s hand into his. She jerked it back so quickly that he
nearly dropped the ring.

“
I can’t take that.” Micah
watched his mom kiss Reggie on the cheek and put her hand back into
his. “It’s your ring, Mrs. Gracie. I can’t take that from
you.”

“
You’re not. I’m lending
it to my son to use to propose to you. He should have planned
better, but then you can’t train them in all things.” She hugged
Reggie to her again. “My husband—his name was Micah too—didn’t have
a ring to give me either when he asked me to marry him. His mom,
Katie there, lent him hers. I have it upstairs in my jewelry box
now if you’d rather have it. It’s very lovely as well.”

“
You want me to…you know
that I have a lot of sh…baggage, right?” Gracie said that she did.
“And you don’t care?”

“
Not so long as both of
you are happy, no I don’t care. And we will help you with Boyd. I
cannot wait to meet him. As for the rest…children are a blessing.
And it matters little how they come to your heart.”

Micah slipped the ring onto her finger
and was profoundly happy she didn’t toss it back in his face. It
was the little things, he knew. Laughing again, he pulled her into
his body and announced that they were moving. Today, as a matter of
fact.