She nodded. “Kurt.”
The stranger looked at him. “Kurt Moore. I’ve heard a lot of good things about you Mike,” he said, holding out his hand.
He had to drop Becca’s hand to take it. He didn’t like that but he didn’t want to be rude either.
“Thank you. I’m sorry but I can’t repeat the compliment yet.”
Kurt nodded. “I spoke to Price Zachary and his mate Casey yesterday. Casey assured me you would be able to help take down whoever was after the Pack.”
He really shouldn’t have been surprised. It seemed the feline Prince knew everything and everyone. Casey, who had been his unit’s leader, was just as bad.
“Well, I have yet to fail and there is no way this will be the first time,” Mike assured him. He didn’t know why but he had the strongest urge to pull Becca into his arms. To claim her before the stranger. He barely resisted. “Kenny said you wanted to speak with us?” he questioned.
Kurt nodded and spoke to Becca. “I’m sorry about your cottage. I know how much you loved that place.”
“Thank you,” Becca responded softly.
“We were following a lead. Clint”—he motioned back to his man—“caught a scent that didn’t belong after the last fire. We found several human males staying in a cabin about fifteen miles out of town.”
“Are they involved?” Mike asked quickly.
Kurt shook his head. “We don’t know, but we believe so. We overheard several conversations about getting rid of the ‘unnatural creatures’ but they were still at the cabin at the time of the fire here.”
“They could be working with someone else,” Mike offered.
“Someone in the Pack,” Kurt finished.
“Do you know who?” Becca enquired.
“I have it narrowed down to three people. I left two men watching the humans. They’ll call us if they move. But I wanted to see the fire myself. I asked Kenny to let me tell you.” He said the last part to Becca.
Mike didn’t like this at all. But he was pretty sure he had it figured out.
Becca shrugged. “It’s fine with me.”
“Who’s on the short list from the Pack?” Mike probed.
“Shawn Cross, Fred Withermore and Owen Nobles.”
“Owen Nobles? The officer working the case?” Mike asked. He was already checking out the other two men who Kenny had also thought of.
Kurt nodded. “What better cover? Plus he was at the main house tonight and he knows you’re looking into the fires. Add in your…relationship with Becca and I think that’s why he went after her. To send a message.”
Mike was watching Becca. He saw her eyes narrow in annoyance.
“That’s not
anyone’s
business,” Becca snapped. The emphasis on anyone was not lost on Mike or Kurt for that matter.
Kurt held up his hands. “Becca…”
She waved her hand in the air. “Whatever, go on.”
“We’ll continue to watch the humans if you’ll keep an eye on the other three. We don’t want to get too close. Alpha Nelson and Kurt knew we were here but no one else does. I think it’s best we keep it that way.”
“My dad knew?” Becca asked.
Kurt stepped towards her. “It’s complicated.”
She backed up and turned on her heel. “It always is. If you’ll excuse me, it’s cold out here and I’m going back to the main house.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Mike promised. “I’ll let Kenny know what I find and if I need to get with you.”
Kurt sighed. “Thanks and…” He trailed off and looked after Becca. “Just watch her. There’s no telling what she’ll do,” Kurt requested.
Mike bristled. Becca was his to worry about. He had a pretty good idea she and Kurt had been involved at one time but now Mike was in the picture. He wasn’t going to just step aside. Not unless Becca told him to.
“I’ve got her. Don’t worry about that.”
Kurt turned away. “Yeah.”
Mike didn’t say anything else, just jogged after Becca. He caught up with her long, angry strides but didn’t comment. Didn’t ask the questions he was dying to get answers to.
Becca stomped into the house through the patio doorway. Alpha Nelson and his Beta, Eric, were standing inside the living room.
Alpha Nelson hurried to his daughter. “It was best you didn’t know.”
Becca shook her head. “That wasn’t a decision you should have made for me. And I can’t believe you did.”
“Becca…”
She stepped away. “I’ll be upstairs.”
Mike wasn’t sure whether to follow or not. Alpha Nelson made the decision for him by placing his hand on Mike’s shoulder.
“She’ll be okay once she calms down. She sees this as a kind of betrayal. From me and Kenny. Her anger is just covering her shock. I know the way my daughter thinks.”
Mike didn’t comment, just nodded. He could see Becca’s point of view, but he was unsure where it left them.
“Give her time to get over the shock and she’ll prove how remarkable she really is,” he added.
“I can already tell,” Mike confessed.
Alpha Nelson locked gazes with him and smiled. “Yes, I believe you can.”
With that said, the Alpha patted his back and Mike was dismissed. He wasn’t sure where Becca had gone or if she even wanted to be found. Maybe she just needed time like her father had said.
He climbed the stairs to his room. He had some calls he could make. And maybe he needed to make the one to Nikki. She might be able to give him some history on Becca and Kurt Moore.
He opened the bedroom door and stopped short. Becca stood at the window, staring out at the darkness.
He was relieved she had gone to his room. That said something about her feelings, didn’t it?
“You okay?” he asked, closing the door.
She sighed. “It was just so unexpected, you know. The fire, seeing Kurt…”
He didn’t like the softness in her tone when she’d said his name.
She turned and he realised he was growling. She lifted an eyebrow. “I guess I should explain.”
Mike shrugged. “Only if you want.” That lie barely came off his tongue.
Becca laughed. “Really? So you’re not wondering what happened between him and me? You’ll just wait until I feel like telling you?”
She was challenging him, and while he respected that in the woman, his wolf scratched in dominance. To prove and fight for his female. Mike gave in to the wolf side.
“No. I don’t want to know what happened. I don’t want to hear if you were in love with him, or if it was just sex, or why it didn’t work out. I want you to tell me he doesn’t matter.”
She pressed her lips together and Mike regretted his outburst. It wasn’t his place to demand anything.
“Well, you get to hear it all,” she told him. “You get to know whether you want to or not because I won’t let this push us apart.”
“Us?” he probed. “So there is an us still?”
She smiled. For the first time since she’d found out about the fire she looked at him with the same passion as earlier. “You won’t get rid of me that easily.”
Mike sat on the bed. “Then what are you doing way over there?”
He chuckled as she launched herself from the window to him. He caught her weight easily and wrestled her under him.
“If you’re going to tell me about an ex I want to be able to touch you. To make sure you know it’s my hands on you, not his,” Mike confessed.
She reached up and cupped his face. “I know who I’m with, Mike Jackson.”
He bent and kissed her gently, holding himself in check so as not to get carried away.
He pulled back. “Tell me about him,” he requested.
Becca pushed on his chest and he sat back up. She scooted close to him, though, sitting cross-legged in front of him, her legs over his, which made both the human and wolf sides happy.
“I started to date Kurt before I graduated high school. He was older and at first my dad didn’t like it but Kurt promised my dad that nothing physical would happen as long as I was under age. He kept that promise.”
She looked up at him as if gauging his reaction. He gave her a small smile. It was all he could manage.
“I was still in school when he went into the service. The plan was he’d do his time while I finished high school and started college. He came back whenever he had leave. Everything was going okay.” She started to play with the edge of the comforter. “Then it changed.”
Mike sat silent waiting for her to finish.
“He was supposed to be getting out and would become the head of security for the Pack. I was planning our mating ceremony.”
Mike sucked in a breath. He hadn’t even considered their relationship had got that far.
“He surprised me by coming home one weekend. I was excited, thought he was home for good. That’s when he told me he’d re-enlisted. That he wasn’t going to mate me.”
Mike dropped his head. Did that mean she still loved Kurt?
“I was devastated,” she told him honestly. “Everyone was. It was supposed to be the perfect match for the Pack. And instead Kenny had to put his fire training on hold and I was alone. Tonight was the first time I’ve seen Kurt since.”
Mike was afraid to ask but he had to. “Do you still love him?”
Becca laughed, a small sound but happy. “I will always love Kurt. He was my first love, you know.” She reached for his hands. “But I am not in love with him. I don’t think I was even in love with him when I was planning our ceremony.”
Mike frowned. Now he was even more confused.
“Kurt was never cruel to me. You should know that. After we spoke he offered to give it more time, to keep dating and just hold off on the ceremony. To give me time to grow up. He could remain in the military, do one more tour, before coming back to mate with me and take the position with the Pack…if I could tell him I loved him more than anything in the world, and was ready to settle down for the rest of my life. That there was nothing and no one else I wanted. That I was okay with my life always remaining the same.”
She took a deep breath. “And I couldn’t do it faced with having him in front of me and asking for the first time what I really wanted. No one had really ever asked me that, not even my dad. Everyone had just assumed I wanted to mate and have us start our lives together. But I couldn’t do it. And Kurt had known.
“He made the hard decisions for me that night. Made himself the bad guy. I blamed him for a long time. For years I hated him, even if I knew deep down we’d been rushing into a commitment.”
“What changed?” Mike enquired.
“I did. I finished college and went on my first assignment away from home. I travelled for another month. Took my pictures and met good friends. I would have never have been able to do that. Not then.”
“I thought about writing to him a few years ago to see if I could repair our friendship because above all else we had been friends. Kenny didn’t know how to get hold of him and I couldn’t ask my dad. I was worried he’d think there was a chance of us getting back together.”
She pulled him closer. “I like my life. I am very happy. I wasn’t meant to be with Kurt. I know that and he knows that. I want more now.”
“What do you want?” he whispered and leaned towards her.
“I want everything. I want it all. My happily ever after. I deserve that. I was upset because my dad and Kenny kept something big from me. But I was scared that you would see Kurt and question what I felt for you.”
“Me?” he teased. “Worried about me?”
She grinned. “Yes. You are who I want, Mr Jackson. Already what I feel is stronger than anything I’ve ever experienced before.”
Pressing his mouth over Becca’s, he swallowed the sound when she moaned. He could work with that. Hell, he felt the same way. He wanted to mark her and let everyone know who she belonged to.
“Tell me you feel the same,” she pleaded.
“I do,” he told her quietly but truthfully. “You’re mine.” He moved his mouth to her neck, nibbling and sucking.
“Marking me?” she asked running her hands under his shirt.
Mike sucked harder before popping himself up on his elbows. “That’s just to start. Everyone will know you belong to me. That I belong to you.”
“Yes,” she urged. “That’s what I want.”
“I’ll give you what you want. What you need,” he promised.
She giggled. “Well then, have your way with me.”
Chapter Seven
Becca slowly woke wrapped around Mike’s solid form, her head on his shoulder and their hands clasped over his chest.
She felt lighter after her talk with Mike the night before. Her confession to Mike had opened old wounds but she was glad to have got it out of the way.
She was upset with her dad and her best friend but she knew why they had kept Kurt’s appearance a secret. And after thinking about it, she was glad they had. There was no way of knowing how she would have reacted knowing that her ex was close by.
She hadn’t lied when she’d told Mike she wasn’t in love with Kurt. It had taken a lot of years for her to realise that their relationship was what everyone else had wanted. She’d gone along with it for no other reason than it had been expected.
The Pack had wanted the connection. Wanted a strong mate for her in case something happened to the Alpha.
She would never regret her time with Kurt. And even better, she could look back at that time with fond memories, but that was all they would ever be—memories. She had a life without him. She was happy.
She crawled out of bed without disturbing Mike. She had to look down at him just one more time. Mike was handsome, strong and kind—just who she had pictured she would end up with. Not that she was in a hurry to mate. It would be a long time before she went down that road again. But she would like to spend time with Mike, to start to make new memories. She wanted Mike in her life.
The morning before—and God, did that seem like years ago now—she’d contacted her friend Nikki to get all the dirt on Mike.
They’d exchanged text messages, each one of Nikki’s consisting of her singing Mike’s praises. It had been obvious to Becca that Nikki wanted to play matchmaker. Becca took a lot of enjoyment in informing her that she didn’t need the help.
Nikki was pleased. Happy for her.
She’d met Nikki on one of her very first assignments away from home. Nikki had been writing an article on endangered red wolves in the United States. Becca had been asked to accompany her to take the photos.