Soul of Flame (11 page)

Her mother rolled her eyes. “I had such high hopes for you, daughter, but your heart is as soft as your father’s. Please, spare me your prattle about true love and fated mates.”

Ceara’s laugh vibrated through him as he stepped behind her, pulling her hard up against his body. The need to touch her overrode any sense of self-preservation. He needed her in his arms. She lifted her hand, cupping his cheek where it rested against her shoulder. “Ah yes, there is all that of course, but the best thing my mate has given me is my own volcano to play with.”

Silver hair rippling, Ainfean shook her head in amusement before signaling to her guards to collect the unconscious Isolde. “Go and play with your black beast and your volcano, child. I expect to see you at court to pledge fealty.” She turned away in a swirl of silver, the guards forming up around her. The procession marched away, and her final cool words drifted back. “Make sure you bring your cubs with you, when you come. I shall want to meet my grandchildren.”

Shim spun his mate in his arms until she faced him. She stretched up on tiptoes, and he bent to allow her to capture his lips. The slow deep kiss stirred his cock. He took his time, relishing the sweet temptation of his mate’s mouth. She rubbed against him, moaning, and he pinched her ass as he broke their connection.

A wicked gleam lit his mate’s brown eyes. “So, what do you think of your mother-in-law?”

He growled in disgust, tossing her over his shoulder. The damage to his back had already begun to heal, his shifter metabolism further boosted by their mating bond. Their bags rested against the portal door, Rekkus having tossed them through before the portal closed. He gathered them in one hand, his other resting possessively on her ass.

“Let’s find an inn for the night, so I can show you what happens when you keep secrets from me,
mi tesoro,
” he growled, no heat in his words. Laughing so hard, she almost bounced right off his shoulder. He tightened his grip, flexing his fingers against the ripe cheek beneath it.

Her laughter faded, her smoke-and-spice arousal ripening the air. “I cannot wait, my love.”

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Chapter One

A force of nature, more power than grace, the gray wolf pounded through the trees. His scent overlaid the familiar route, providing a territorial marker and guiding his passage. He twisted through the towering pines, sending a shower of pebbles flying as he loped up an incline and down toward a clearing in the trees.

The click of his claws on the stones, the whisper of the breeze through the trees, and the splash of water in the nearby river were the only sounds. Birds and other forest dwellers fell silent in his path, and his tongue lolled out in a grin as he barreled along. Top of the food chain, predator elite, no creature in the vicinity could offer him challenge. He was magnificent, a dominant in his prime, the undisputed master of his surroundings, king of all he survey….

“Hey, kiddo.”

The wolf drew up so sharply, his rear paws collapsed beneath him, leaving him sitting like a fucking lapdog at the feet of Gee Rivermoon, bear shifter, enigma, and one huge burr in his fur. At six foot seven, Gee was one of the very few men associated with the Tao pack who over-topped him in his two-legged form.

The wolf had very little time for two-legs these days. He could patrol more efficiently as a wolf. Two-legs had an annoying habit of talking, something he preferred to avoid in either of his forms. The bear gave him a look he recognized all too well from his wayward youth. Gee had something to say, and he’d better damn well listen.

“We need to talk, Ven.”

Being right sucked ass. The wolf growled and retreated a few steps from the huge shifter.

“Shift.” Gee spoke softly, but his thick arms were folded in a take-no-nonsense stance. The wolf curled a lip and growled his defiance again, making sure to be out of swiping range first in case the bear decided he’d pushed his luck. A sharp scent caught his attention, and his head whipped around to face the new threat. A large reddish wolf paced from beneath the pines, the flecks of gold in his thick fur catching the sun as he prowled closer. Ven shifted his position until he could watch both the bear and the approaching wolf. The Enforcer had come for him.

He was royally fucked. Wolf burger with a side order of those nasty fried pickles Gee loved to dish up in his bar.

Lowering his massive bulk, he adopted a stance close enough to deferential to get away with it. Tension vibrated through him as he braced for the first sign of attack. A shimmer in the air caught him off guard as the reddish wolf transformed into his human form.
Why would he shift to a weaker form if he’s come to kill me?

Ryker rose to his feet, long black hair drifting gently in the breeze doing nothing to soften the stark planes of his face. The blunt features and black eyes spoke of their shared Native American heritage, but the Enforcer was no brother to Ven. Angling his body to mirror Gee’s, face expressionless, Ryker spoke a single word.

“Shift.”

The dominance in the command rolled across the open space toward him, compelling the most instinctive part of his makeup. Ven reached for his human form, shocked when his wolf resisted his command. He gave a hard mental shove and tried again but his animal snarled its defiance inside his mind. Digging deep, he tried again.

And again.

Panic rose as the wolf refused to shift and Ven cast around the clearing, keeping his head down to avoid eye contact.
If the Enforcer thinks I’m deliberately disobeying him….
The trickle of water over rocks caught his attention and he loped quickly over to the river. It ran slow and smooth here and the surface barely rippled as he stared into the reflective surface.

The black-eyed wolf, the other half of his soul, regarded him, lips curled away to reveal sharp white teeth, thick gray hackles raised across his shoulders.
This is how we should be, always. Strong, protected, invulnerable.
The wolf held firm and a ripple of fear struck Ven.

Focusing hard, he looked beyond the reflection as he pictured himself in human form. Long dark hair secured off his face with two braids, dark skin like burnished mahogany, black eyes set deep above a sharp, proud nose. Full lips twisted in a perpetual sneer above his pointed chin. Once he had his face set, the rest of his image snapped into place. He was a big man, maybe an inch or so shorter than Ryker, but thicker through the chest and solid muscle.

With a grunt of effort, he forced his wolf down far enough to transition to his human form. The shift seemed to take forever and sweat soaked his skin by the end of it. Crouching on the ground, lungs sawing with effort, he scooped one hand into the water of the river and splashed his face. The shocking cold chased away the last vestiges of fear, and he became aware of the two men standing close by.

Hating the vulnerability of kneeling before them he shoved hard to his feet, ignoring the ache in his muscles. He staggered. Gee grabbed his arm in a meaty fist, preventing a humiliating tumble onto his naked ass.
Naked ass
.
Where the hell are my clothes?
He’d never not manifested his clothing during his shift before. Not all wolves could do it, but he had the ability to shift without stripping down to his skin.

“How long had you been wolf?” Ryker spoke in a mild, deceptive tone. Never one to shout, his calm, measured voice turned Ven’s blood to ice.

Brow furrowed, he tried to remember when he’d last stood on two legs and found he couldn’t place it exactly. There had been the first dusting of snow on the ground. Now the trail edges were a sea of yellow flowers, early spring sunshine bringing the meadow zizia into full glory.

Tugging his arm free from Gee’s grip, he braced his bare feet to make sure he held his stance. Since childhood, his best form of defense had always been attack and he channeled the ever-present well of anger bubbling in his gut. Better to be angry than scared. His lack of awareness of the passing of time seriously spooked him. He twisted his upper lip into a sneer, an expression he’d perfected and wore like a shield.

“What the fuck difference does it make? I run my patrols. I keep this northern section safe. Why do you care whether I do it as wolf or man?” His belligerence was legendary amongst the pack. Whatever else people called him, and they had a few prime choices, Ven would never be called a people-person. Or a wolf’s-wolf.

What-the-fuck-ever.

“It makes a difference when it takes you ten minutes to shift. It makes a difference when I have to put you in a hole in the ground because you forget your humanity and go rogue.” Ryker’s tone never altered throughout his speech. And, for a wolf who rationed the words he used to the point of being monosyllabic, two sentences counted as a speech.

Shock rippled through Ven.
Ten minutes to shift?
Flicking his horrified gaze to Gee, the sympathy shining brightly in the old bear’s eyes morphed Ven’s horror to anger. He hated pity more than anything else. Disdain, anger, disappointment rolled off his back like water. Pity carried ghosts of the past. Ghosts the pack seemed determined he should never forget.

He’d had a gutful of it when his feckless parents abandoned him, leaving a confused eleven-year-old to cope with the vicious rigors of pack life under Magnum Tao. And the very unwelcome attentions of his Uncle Silas. He had learned too young and too often the one lesson he needed to survive. Keeping the nasty bastards in life from attacking meant becoming the meanest of the lot.

The ghosts rose, the way they always did when he lowered his guard. Foul breath huffed against his neck. Jagged nails scraped against his skin. His stomach heaved in reaction. He clamped his jaw tight, grinding his teeth to hold in the pathetic whimper crawling up his throat.
Never again.
Never. Again.
The litany echoed in his head until the roiling in his gut subsided.

“It’s time to change your mission, and now that I’ve seen you, I’m worried we have left it too long.” Ryker’s deep voice chased the last cobwebs of memory away. He glared in the direction of the Enforcer, although he kept his eyes averted to the left. Ryker raised an eyebrow and Ven lowered his head farther as his wolf strained hard to be free again. The wildness of his other half rode him hard. A sprinkling of hair flashed and receded along his arms as he battled the urge to shift.

Gee spoke, his deep voice a gruff but welcome diversion. “The gas station on the approach into town has been ruined too long. We can’t afford to leave any part of our territory unprotected. Given the recent murders, Drew has ordered all remote members of the pack to be rotated closer to home.”

“Murders?” The word blurted from between his lips. His lack of awareness prompted a long meeting of eyes between the bear and the Enforcer. Embarrassment prickled his neck. The silent disapproval of the two had been a regular feature of his youth. At thirty, he couldn’t keep screwing up this badly. What the fuck had been happening in town?
How the fuck did I lose track of an entire season?

He forced the unease down and focused on the rest of Gee’s words. The gas station stood at the opposite end of pack territory. Its position about ten miles out on the only road into town made it the last place Ven wanted to visit. The road meant people, the gas station meant people stopping. And talking. He shuddered at the very idea of it.

“What does the gas station have to do with me?” Ven had a sneaking suspicion about the direction of the conversation, and he didn’t like the sound of it.

“Your new assignment is to refurbish and run the gas station.” Ryker spoke this time. He and Gee were a regular conversational tag team.

“Fuck, no!” He couldn’t suppress the snarled words. Fisting his hands, claws dug and cut into his flesh as his wolf battered against his skin, fighting to be free. The fury and force of its challenge for dominance nearly dropped him to his knees.

“Don’t make me do it.” The Enforcer’s expression remained unreadable, but Ven knew he’d crossed the line. Crossed it hard.

Gee reached out and touched Ryker on the shoulder and the Enforcer swung away, striding toward the tree line. “Explain it, Gee.” His soft voice carried easily. The air shimmered, like heat haze on the horizon and the man departed in a flash of autumn-colored fur as he raced into the shadows beneath the pines.

Ven glanced at Gee, hating the sympathy once again written on his face.

“It’s a good idea, Ven. Whether you realize it or not, you need to reconnect with the pack.” The big man shifted his stance, subtly creating distance between them that gave Ven a chance to leash the wolf tighter. “As the town grows, the traffic into Los Lobos is increasing and we need someone we can trust guarding the road. Rumors are spreading into the local community as the demand for supplies draws attention. We need you there to keep an eye on who is coming into town and to act as a sentry point. Strangers tend to stop there and fill up, check for directions, grab a cold soda. Your job will be to discourage the curious. With your winning personality, you’ll be perfect for the job.”