Ashwood Falls Volume Two (16 page)

His heart swelled, washing away the initial fear at seeing them touching. Then he had a thought. Had Max been able to heal Addyson’s sensitivity to touch? It was possible. The kid was an Empath and a Healer. Even at his young age, his powers were strong.

Max twisted his head in Keegan’s direction and started wiggling until Addyson put him down. The three-year-old ran to Keagan and held his arms up. “Up, Grandpa.”

Keegan lifted him up and smiled. “What are you up to, little man?”

Max smiled shyly and said, “I healed Addy.”

Keegan moved his gaze to Addyson, who was walking toward him now. She smiled at him and ran a hand down Max’s back. “My heart has been stolen by another.”

Grinning, Keegan shrugged. “I can’t compete with this one.”

She laughed. “Our little Healer is amazing. I mean, Ana had already showed me how to create a shield that worked and with my memories unlocked it became easier for me to build shields and hold them, but Max just touched my temples, and everything snapped in place. Now I don’t have to focus as much to shield against others. I’m also gaining more control over my gift.”

Keegan leaned in but jumped when Max yelled, “Mommy!” Then he wiggled until Keegan set him on his feet. Keegan looked at the door and saw Graham and Cameron walk in. Cameron caught Max as he jumped at her.

Shay patted him on the back. “Go sit. Blaine wants to brief us before we have dinner. I’m going to check on Rhea in the kitchen. I thought I saw Alec go that way.”

Keegan chuckled and watched Shay dart off. Addyson laughed and tugged him to the sofa. When he sat with his mate snuggled in next to him, Blaine started filling him and everyone in on Onyx and the Council.

“Hayden said the onyx den was empty, expect for a couple of crypt keepers.”

Everyone laughed, and Hayden spoke up to correct Blaine. “I said gatekeepers.”

Blaine’s lips twitched. “Same, same. Anyway, Kieran doesn’t believe it was an actual setup. He seems to think it was more bad timing on our part. I agree. But I also think Felix was tipped off somehow and decided to go on the run.”

Keegan grunted in disgust. “Damn coward. He can’t run forever.”

Hayden spoke next. “He sure can’t. We’ll give him a little rope and let him think we’re as dumb as he thinks we are. In the meantime, I got a couple of leads on a human rebel group called Shield. Their HQ is a few miles outside Memphis, Tennessee. I’m heading out there first thing in the morning, set up shop, and see what I can dig up.”

Luna didn’t look pleased. “Take Tanner with you.”

Hayden smirked. “Mom, that sounded so mom-like. ‘Take your little brother with you.’”

Luna growled. “You know what I mean. His telekinesis will come in handy.”

Hayden walked over to her and picked her up in a tight hug. Keegan could see her smile, even though she tried to hide it from her son.

Keegan squeezed Addyson closer and met her gaze. Her violet eyes held so much light now, so much hope for the future. “I love you, and I’m so happy to be your bonded mate for the rest of our existence.”

She teared up and threw her arms around his neck. “I love you, too. I’m yours... forever.”

She kissed him, and their souls reached for each other and twisted together, strengthening the connection that bound them as lifelong mates.

The End!

W
idow and mother of five full grown males, Sarah Matthews lives the best she can—one day at a time. Now that her babies are having babies, she relishes in spoiling her grandkids. But her inner mountain lion is restless and Sarah can’t shake the feeling something is lurking in the woods surrounding her home. The unease becomes a reality when a man she thought died with her mate five years ago comes back into her life with trouble on his heels.

Damian Palmer never considered revealing his existence to his best friend’s widow. Hell he didn’t know how she’d react to knowing that he was alive for the last five years while her human mate was dead. When he got word that Sarah has become Shield’s—a human rebel organization set up to hunt and kill shapeshifters—next victim, he must go to her and uphold his best friend’s dying wish to keep Sarah safe.

Buried pain, old lies, and dangerous secrets aren’t enough to keep the sparks from flying as they try to survive a new threat against their race.

S
arah Matthews was tired. Life had become lonely and less exciting. Sure she had her kids, but they had their own lives, their own families. It just wasn’t the same, and considering she’d lost a part of her soul it had become an effort to just get out of bed some days. Her mate had died a little over five years ago in a car accident that, until today, she’d believed just that.

An accident
.

A case of being in the wrong place and all that.

However, today she received a package that made her wonder if her mate was indeed murdered. She opened the mailbox and frowned at the small box inside. Pulling it out, she studied it, suspicion twirling inside or mind. She put the thing to her ear and listened. She didn’t know what she’d expect to hear. A ticking from a bomb? Now she was being ridiculous. She rolled her eyes. “Ever so suspicious,” she muttered to herself.

There was no return address, nor was there a receiving one. That was odd. It was like someone had placed it in the mailbox. She didn’t hear any vehicles stop or even slow down in front of her house last night or this morning except for the mailman a few minutes ago. With her supernatural hearing, she’d hear a car pull up. Even her puma would had sensed another shifter in the area. Yet her senses didn’t go off.

Another mystery about the box in her hand.

The only writing on the top of the box was her name, hand-written.

Curiosity crept in, and after a quick sniff to make sure there weren’t any non-ticking explosives inside, she opened the box. Cold sensation went up her spine, and a hot fear burned her belly as she peered at the contents. Tears blurred her visions, and each heartbeat hurt as the wound that had slowly healed over the years was ripped back open. Inside the box was a gold wedding band with the words
my love, my soul
engraved on the inside. It was identical to Walt’s.

The ring he’d said he lost while working.

Underneath the ring was a slip of paper that read:
You’re next
.

Unable to go back into the house she and Walt had bought together, lived in, raised Nevan, and filled with their love, she ran into the woods, seeking some kind of peace. The tears fell in fat drops, soaking her cheeks and making it even harder to breathe.

She came to a stop at a large oak tree and dropped to her knees while she cradled the ring to her chest. The raw pain transformed into anger toward the sick bastards that could have done it. Whoever they were.

She peered back at the note. The two ugly words blurred as a tear dropped on them. Did this mean that Walt had been killed? If so, why? What would be the point of killing her? She didn’t have any enemies that she knew of anyway. And Walt...he was the most gentle and caring male she knew.

The sound of footsteps running in her direction made her stand and shove the note and ring into her pocket as her cat instantly went on alert. She scented the air and was relieved when she didn’t smell the acidy sweet smell of the Onyx Pack’s mutants. The half-animal, half-human creatures were not only gross; they were more powerful than she was.

The scent she did pick up belonged to a human, but there was another scent she couldn’t place, though it seemed familiar. The pounding of shoes hitting the earth grew closer, and she ducked behind the tree, unsure of what the human was doing in this part of the Smoky Mountains.

A human male ran past the tree, turned to look right at her as if he knew all along she was there, and pointed a gun right at her. Sarah gasped and fell to the ground a split second before he fired. Scrambling on hands and knees, she crawled around the tree and froze as another man barreled past her toward the human. The new man wasn’t a man, but a male puma shifter.

And she knew him.

Damian Palmer.

No, not possible. Damian had been in the car with Walt at the time of the accident. He’d died right along with his best friend. She’d seen his body, damn it.

She slowly moved so she could peek around the oak. The puma had the human pinned to the ground with one hand around his throat, trying to take the gun with the other. The human pulled a knife from his boot and, before Sarah could warn Damian, stuck him in the side. It gave the human enough leverage to knock the shifter off him.

The human turned, and Sarah didn’t waste time to see what he would do. She just reacted and ran into his back, knocking him off balance. It also knocked her off balance, and she tumbled to the ground. She started to push herself up but froze at the sight of the human’s shadow falling over her.

Shaking, she peered up and into the barrel of the gun.

She braced herself, knowing this was it. Her only thought was of her kids and grandkids. It had been a few days since she’d talked to them. A tear fell down her cheek, and the human paused as if confused. Then Damian tackled him to the ground. They rolled on the ground, fists pounding into each other as they fought for control of the gun until a shot went off, echoing through the forest.

Damian went limp, and the human pushed him off. Sarah stifled a cry and swallowed. She wanted to go to Damian, see if he was okay. He was a shifter, and as long as it wasn’t a shot to the heart, he’d live. Sarah hoped. Her heart broke all over again.

Sorrow, anger, and adrenaline rushed through her, and she charged the human man. The surprise on his face told her he’d underestimated her. Ha! That was his mistake. Even submissive shifters were stronger than humans. She was no submissive; she was a maternal female. She protected those she cared about. Even though she was pissed as hell at Damian for making her believe he was dead for the last five years, she’d protect him any way she could.

He had been her best friend once.

But she’d deal with Damian later. Right now, she had a human to disarm.

She hit him full force, and they fell to the ground. He punched out, catching her in side. Pain shot through her ribs, but it only fueled her anger and her inner puma’s rage even more. She growled and allowed her fangs to drop. The human paled, and she breathed in the fear rolling off him.

With quick and efficient movements, she grabbed his head in both her hands and twisted. The man went limp under her.

She rushed over to Damian and knelt down beside him. His breathing was labored, but he was awake. He met her gaze with hazel eyes, and something deep inside her stirred. Heat twirled in her abdomen and headed south. She shook off the strange reaction to the male she’d buried with her mate and offered a weak smile. “I don’t have to tell you how pissed I am at you.”

He coughed then winced as if in pain. She peered down at his chest, and her heart stuttered a couple of beats. His shirt was soaked in blood. He lifted his hand and touched her cheek with the tips of his fingers. She grabbed his hand and squeezed.

“I’m going to have to move you. I need to get you back to the house so I can call a Healer.” He didn’t answered, and his eyes started to close. “Damian. Stay with me. Do you hear me?”

She tapped his cheek, and he opened his eyes. “I’m —”

He coughed again, and she shook her head and lifted him to a sitting position so she could get her shoulder under his arm. Damian was a good seven inches taller than she and weighed over two hundred pounds, most of it muscle. So she needed him conscious if they were to make it to her house. Even with her added strength from being a shifter, she wouldn’t be able to carry the male on her own.

It took about twenty slow minutes to reach her cabin. Once inside, she directed him to the bedroom and helped him lie down. As soon as his head touched the pillow, he passed out. With a sigh and a heavy heart, she picked up her cell phone from the nightstand where she left it earlier and called Danica Welsh-Mathews, her daughter-in-law and the Ashwood Falls’ leopard Healer.

****

D
amian opened his eyes and cautiously looked around the room, not sure where the hell he was. The room held a warmth to it. The single window was covered with red and gold curtains. The walls were a soft cream color. The whole room reminded him of something. No, someone. Then memories of the fight with the rebel human and Sarah...

Fuck.

He’d come here to protect her. Instead he gotten his ass shot, and she’d ended up protecting him. Way to go, Damian.

You’re such an ass
.

He sat up and sucked in a sharp breath as pain shot across his ribs. Peering down at his chest, he frowned and touched the red spot just below his heart. He let out a sigh and pushed to a stand, slower this time. He should consider himself lucky that Sarah had been there and the bullet hadn’t hit his heart. By the look of the healing wound, Sarah must had called a Healer, but from where?

As he got closer to the door, he heard voices coming from the living room. They were speaking low, but Damian could sense the tension in each syllable. A few of the voices were male and made Damian’s puma growl and claw at him from under his skin. Opening the door, he took slow steps down the hall and stopped at the sight of Sarah sitting on the arm of a recliner with her arms crossed over her chest. Her blond hair fell around her shoulders in soft waves, framing her slightly rounded face. A face that held a mother’s scowl, which did nothing to take away from her beauty.

Following her line of sight, Damian saw one of her sons, Graham, sitting on the couch, head in his hands.

Graham let out a sigh and said, “Mom, please. It is much safer for you at Ashwood. Plus you’ll be closer to Nev and me and the kids.”

Sarah snorted in an unamused way that made Damian smile. She was so beautiful. “You mean so you can keep an eye on me.”

Graham sat back on the couch and shrugged. “We can’t help it that we love you and want you safe.”