Alpha Pack 4 - Hunters Heart (14 page)

wrong?”

“Your dad is fine,” Nick assured her. “No, it’s

something else. He wanted you to hear it from him.”

“He told you what it is?”

“Yes. But I think you should talk to your dad.”

Nick, what’s going on?
Ryon asked through his

telepathic link.

Daria will tell you when she’s ready. Just be there for

your mate.

So I’m here for moral support?

Basically.

That doesn’t help me much.

You’ll understand soon
.

Jesus! Half the damned time, that’s all the man had to

say. He would either speak in riddles or not give any

information at all. It made Ryon want to hit something.

Nick rose, signaling the conclusion of their brief

meeting. Ryon frowned at his boss, but the man wasn’t

giving anything away. After issuing a reminder to Ryon

that the team was leaving early in the morning, he headed

out.

Ryon took Daria’s good hand as they walked into the

hallway, and she looked at him in surprise. Pleasure also

blossomed on her face.

“It’s been forever since someone held my hand.”

“That’s a shame,” he said with a grin. “Because if ever

there was a pretty hand made for holding, this one is it.”

He brought said hand to his lips and kissed the back of it.

He loved her sweet scent, sort of like orange and ginger.

He’d smelled a candle like that once in some fancy bath

store. He liked it, a lot.

“What a sweet thing to say.”

Only her worry seeping through their bond regarding the

impending talk with her dad put a blight on his mood. Just

a temporary one, though, because in the wake of that came

a tentative caress against their bond. A brush of

contentment and well-being that couldn’t be faked. He

doubted she knew she was doing it, reaching out to him as

a mate, and that both scared and elated him.

The last thing he wanted was for her to feel trapped.

“Would you like to come to my room to make your

call?” he asked, trying to keep the boyish hope from his

voice. “I’d like to make you dinner instead of going to the

cafeteria.”

She brightened. “You can cook?”

“I’m a pretty damned good cook, if I do say so,” he said

proudly. “My mom made sure I knew how when I was

growing up, and I found it to be very therapeutic.”

“That’s cool,” she replied with enthusiasm. “I can’t

cook to save my life, except for the prepackaged stuff I

have to keep with me when I’m staying in the field,

performing my studies.”

“MREs. God, I remember those days from the SEALs.”

“Meals ready to eat, the bane of my existence.” She

smiled. “We have something in common.”

“Oh, yes.” He grimaced. “I had to endure those for far

too long. Every single one I choked down made me long

for my mother’s kitchen.”

“You’re lucky. My dad is a fair cook, but not a ton

better than me. We ate out a lot.”

“Nothing wrong with that, but it’s good to enjoy a

home-cooked meal once in a while. I’m going to spoil

you.”

“Well, Mr. Hunter, I’m going to let you.” She sounded

light, happy. It was a good look on her, too.

“Great! What’s your favorite food?”

“Um, anything someone else cooks?” She snickered.

“We already established I’m grateful for whatever isn’t

freeze-dried.”

“Seriously, there must be some hard limits. Stuff you

don’t like.”

“Hmm. I’ll eat almost anything, but if I had to say, I’m

not big on pasta.”

He gave a mock gasp. “What? That’s just wrong!”

She laughed. “I know I’m weird, but I don’t care for

slimy food. Don’t like calamari or escargot, either.”

“Okay. Squid pasta it is.” He loved the sound of her

voice when she giggled. “Nah, how about chicken

quesadillas? I grill my chicken and everything, don’t use

that precooked meat in the package.”

“That sounds fabulous.”

When they got to his quarters, he let them in and

gestured to the phone as he led her into his living room.

“Feel free to use my phone. I’ll be in the kitchen to give

you some privacy.”

“Thank you.”

Walking to the fridge, he opened the freezer door and

got out a package of boneless chicken breasts, trying not to

eavesdrop. Okay, trying not to
appear
as though he was

eavesdropping. She punched in the number and waited for

it to ring, and as she started talking softly, he felt guilty.

She had no idea that while a normal human man would’ve

had to strain to make out her words, Ryon had no such

problem.

“Hey, Dad! Yes, I’m fine, I’ve just been— No, no,

everything’s okay.” A pause. “No, there’s absolutely no

need for you to fly out here!”

He smiled at the hint of desperation flowing through

their bond. His mate definitely didn’t want her father

rushing to the rescue. Taking care of her was Ryon’s job

anyway—even if she didn’t know it yet.

“Just a few scrapes and bruises, nothing serious.”

Pause. “Yes, it was awful. I’ve seen death, but never

anything like that. Nobody here knows for sure what killed

that poor woman, but it was probably a grizzly.”

An outright lie. Immediately, remorse flowed to him

through their bond. She hated lying to her dad, but what

was she supposed to say?
Yeah, she was torn to shreds by

a wolf-tiger-bear-lizard-human monster and it’s still on

the loose.

Right.

“So, other than the poor hiker, why were you trying to

reach me? Has something happened?”

This time, Daria’s pause was longer, and after a few

seconds of listening to her dad, her gasp of shock and the

emotion behind it hit Ryon hard. Whatever her dad had to

relate, it was upsetting her. His wolf rumbled in

displeasure, not liking his mate to be unhappy for any

reason.

Daria broke in with one-word questions—When? How?

Why? To his frustration there wasn’t much he could glean

except something had happened to someone she knew, and

she wasn’t saying enough to tell him who or what.

At last, she wrapped up the conversation. “All right,

Dad, you take care, too. Call me if you hear anything else.

Love you more.”

When she hung up, he pulled the now-thawed chicken

breasts from the microwave and began to rinse them. She

came into the kitchen as he was putting the last one on a

plate. “Everything okay?” he asked, reaching for a couple

of shakers of seasoning.

“Just some news from home,” she said evasively.

“Mostly he was checking on me, worried about the body

and making sure I hadn’t run into the killer or something.”

“You easily could have,” he said. That was one

horrible possibility that made him break into a cold sweat.

“Promise me you won’t go back out there until we catch

this thing.”

“I may be an independent woman, but I’m not a stupid

one. There’s a difference.” Her tone was light, but she

meant what she said—she wasn’t about to be dumb and go

off again by herself.

“So, you’ll stay at the compound with us for a while?”

“This seems really important to you. Why?”

He shrugged, trying not to get too heavy. “I saved your

bacon. I care about you, that’s all.”

“Thank you again for doing whatever it is you did to

save my life,” she said sincerely. But there was a light of

curiosity in her eyes. “I’ll stay, provided you tell me

exactly how you did it and why I’m already healed.”

Crap. Staring at her, he set the shakers on the counter.

He couldn’t tell her all of the truth. Not yet. But he did

owe her the simple version. “Remember that I told you

shifters heal fast?”

“It’s not the sort of thing I’d forget.”

“Right. Well, sometimes we can . . . pass along that

healing ability. Through our bite.”

She nodded. “I thought so. Is that what this is about?”

She held up her good wrist that sported the two faded

puncture wounds.

“Yes. I bit you,” he said quietly, unsure how she would

react. “If I hadn’t, you would’ve died.” And so would he

have, eventually.

“Hey, it’s okay,” she said, laying a hand on his arm. “I

understand, and I’m glad you acted quickly. If you hadn’t, I

wouldn’t be here about to enjoy a fantastic dinner with a

handsome man.”

His face heated. It wasn’t that he couldn’t take a

compliment. He’d just never had one offered so honestly,

so matter-of-fact, from a woman. “Thank you. I think it

was a selfish act on my part, because I couldn’t allow a

gorgeous lady like yourself to be taken from the world so

soon.”

Taken from me.
He was glad she hadn’t gone through

her first shift. When she did, she’d be able to hear his

thoughts. That was a gift reserved for mates. The other

Pack members could only hear Ryon if he pushed his

thoughts at them, and then they could reply. But mated

shifters could mind-speak freely.

The silence threatened to grow awkward as they stared

at each other. “Do you like red wine?”

“I do,” she said, appearing eager at the prospect of a

glass.

“Then how about I open us a bottle of Malbec? We can

lounge on the patio while I grill the chicken.”

“Quesadillas and wine? Why not?”

“There’s never a bad time for vino. I catch some

ribbing from the guys for liking it so much, but there’s

something about it I enjoy. It communicates a love of the

finer things, creates a certain mood.”

“And what mood is it you’re trying to create now?”

She was teasing, and he liked that. Her fine black brows

were arched over big brown doe eyes, her plump mouth

curved upward. Just when he wondered how to read her,

thinking she was so reserved, her passionate, fun side

peeked out from behind the cool veneer.

“I want us to enjoy each other’s company,” he said,

returning her gaze, making it clear that he was interested if

she was game.

The spark in those whiskey depths, the flare of heat,

made him want to shout. No celebrating, though. Not yet.

He didn’t want to give her the impression that this was

some attempt at a casual hookup where they’d go their

separate ways in the morning. No, his days of cruising Las

Vegas with his single Pack brothers, letting his dick lead

him to a cheap lay, were over. He couldn’t say he was

real sorry.

“Somehow I think we’re going to get along with each

other just fine.”

Yes!
His cock stiffened in his jeans, and he was glad his

T-shirt was loose enough to cover the problem. He wanted

to do this right, for everything to be perfect. From his

black wine rack in the wet bar area, he selected a bottle of

his best red and removed two glasses from the glass shelf.

“Do you bring your lady guests here often?”

He liked that she was blatantly fishing. That her teasing

held an edge, as though his answer was very important.

“I’ve never brought a woman here before.”

She appeared pleased by that. Maybe she didn’t know

relief was written all over her face. “Because of the

secrets about what you are and what you do?”

“That’s part of it, but not all,” he acknowledged. “Even

if we could bring our hookups into the compound—which

would never happen—I wouldn’t feel right about bringing

someone into my personal space who wasn’t special.”

Her lips parted and her eyes widened slightly. Had he

said too much? He didn’t think so, not if he wanted her

prepared to hear the whole truth. He didn’t elaborate

further, nor did she seem to want to press. They both

needed time to absorb being together, enjoying each

other’s company.

Taking the plate of chicken outside, he got the grill

started while she sipped her wine and watched. While the

grill heated, they made small talk.

“This is a nice setup. Each of your quarters is like a

condo with its own private patio and a small yard.”

“It’s nice, but not too fancy, and I like that. It’s home.”

“I like it, but it’s hard to imagine living among all of

these people. You’ve almost got your own town right

inside these walls.”

Anxiety made his wolf restless. Would she reject living

with him? What if she wanted to return to Missouri when

she was finished with her studies? What the hell would he

do then?”

He would move with her if she was determined to go.

That was a given. But what if she didn’t want him? God,

he was borrowing trouble before it even began.

“It took some getting used to, but once I did, I fell in

love with it here. Not just the compound, but the Shoshone.

You won’t find a more beautiful national forest anywhere

in the United States, and my wolf loves to run for miles

and miles without stopping.”

“You’re going to show me your wolf,” she said. It

wasn’t a question. He could tell she still needed visual

confirmation of his claims. Like Rowan had when she met

Aric, Daria required tangible proof. But she was tougher