Desperately Seeking Shapeshifter (26 page)

Savannah had disappeared, citing a headache. Austin had driven her home and offered to stay with her.

Speaking of Russells—the scent of one in particular touched my nostrils and I turned to see Beau working his way through the crowd. My sister hadn’t noticed yet, and I shared a conspiratorial smile with him as he snuck up on her, a bouquet of roses in his hand. I put a hand over my bruised
cheek and played with my hair, pulling it forward so it wouldn’t ruin the adorably frisky mood he seemed to be in. He was so cute with her.

He was dressed in a casual gray suit and looked rather dashing. Beau slid behind my sister and I gave her a sideways glance, waiting.

Sure enough, she yelped in surprise when one arm snaked around her waist and the other presented the roses. At the sight of those, she relaxed backward. “Hey, baby.”

“Hey, sweet Bathsheba,” I heard him whisper in her ear. “Miss me?”

My sister’s blush told him everything.

“I’m going to check on our supplies.” I turned and left, allowing them a few minutes of privacy. As I crossed the room, I scanned it for Ramsey. I missed him, which worried me. Did he miss me like I missed him? Or was he enjoying a few minutes away from me?

I uncorked a few bottles of wine and smiled at those who stopped at the table for refills. Not surprisingly, people were filling up on the free booze and ignoring the sandwiches and barbeque. That was okay. As far as dances went, this one was firmly in the “win column.” The dance floor was packed, people were smiling, and I could have sworn I’d just seen a fey lord dance with a were-otter. Those who weren’t dancing seemed to be having a good time anyhow. Every woman was surrounded by a bevy of admirers; Alliance men outnumbered Alliance women over three to one. Every woman but my
sister—who was human and taken—and myself, who was wolf and only sorta-kinda taken. No one approached to chat with me, but I understood their reactions. Most of the Alliance had a big question mark as far as I was concerned. If Levi and Maynard were the kind of wolves they ran into, I didn’t blame them. So I smiled and filled glasses and asked people how they were enjoying the dance.

I watched Beau lead Bath around the dance floor, his arms around her waist. My sister’s cheek lay against his shoulder, and Beau’s eyes were closed as they swayed to the music, simply enjoying being in each other’s arms. I felt a sweet piercing in my chest and realized it was happiness for my sister. That she’d found someone to lean on. That she was so content. I loved her happiness . . . and I envied it, a little. What would it be like to be able to relax in your man’s arms and not have to worry if the next change was going to make you vomit your spleen, or if the wolves were going to show up and demand a threesome?

I was so very tired of wolves.

A throat cleared and a wobbly, long-stemmed daisy appeared before my eyes.

I looked up into Ramsey’s face, a smile curving my mouth. He’d put a suit jacket on over his Russell Security T-shirt, and his hair was wet and slicked away from his face, as if he’d just jumped out of the shower minutes before. “I’m late,” he said as the music switched into another slow song.

I put down the wine bottle. “That’s okay,” I said
with a smile, moving around the table toward him. “Busy night?”

“Yes.”

“Anything you want to tell me about?”

“No.”

I took the flower he held out to me and smiled up at him. “Did you forget the rest of the bouquet?”

“You’re not a bouquet kind of girl.”

I laughed. “I’m not. I’m glad you got me this.” I twirled the flower. “I like daisies.”

“I wanted something for your hair,” he said in a gruff voice and took the flower from me. He snapped the stem and tucked it behind my ear, his fingers trailing along my jaw once the flower was in place.

A soft warmth swept over me and I stepped closer to him, tugging the lapels of his jacket. “You’re a good man, Ramsey Bjorn.”

His fingers stopped tracing my jaw. “Why are you bruised?” The rage in his voice was palpable.

“Broke up a fight earlier. It’s no big deal.” When he looked skeptical, I wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned in. “Want to dance?”

“No?” he said with a hopeful note.

I slipped my hand into his and tugged him closer so I could whisper in his ear. “I’m not much of a dancer either, but my sister wants us to try. For show.”

He gave me a resigned look and led me onto the dance floor.

Okay, so my sister really hadn’t said anything
about the dancing, but I knew it’d be good for the relationship. Plus, it gave me an excuse to snuggle deep into Ramsey’s arms and forget about all my worries.

When we made it to the dance floor, he placed a large hand on my shoulder and the other hesitated, as if he was unsure where to put it. I guided his hand to my waist and then slid my arms around his back, pressing my cheek to his jacket. Ramsey’s scent and warmth immediately enveloped me, and I closed my eyes with pure pleasure. I desperately wanted to tell him about the wolves at the agency earlier, or Connor, but it was too crowded. I’d have to tell him later.

We swayed to the music, Ramsey’s steps halting. He was clearly uncomfortable but trying for my sake, and I appreciated it all the more. When the song ended, I smiled up at him and tugged his hand. “One song is enough to prove your devotion. I won’t torture you with more.”

He flashed into one of his rare smiles, clearly grateful for the reprieve. My heart stuttered at the sight of it. Ramsey was rough around the edges, but when he smiled at me . . . My skin heated with my thoughts, and I forced them back to more polite channels.

“I’m glad you’re here,” I said softly, knowing he’d be able to pick up the words with his shifter hearing.

“Why?” His brows furrowed and the scowl retook his face. “What’s wrong?”

Couldn’t a girl just be glad to see him? But he was right—something
was
bothering me. I thought of Maynard and the others from earlier today and shuddered. “Can’t tell you about it here.”

His big hand clasped the back of my neck and he pulled me close—the Ramsey version of a comforting hug. It was a gesture that made me feel totally owned and overwhelmed by his strength, but in a pleasant way. His light clasp said that he was there for me, that he’d protect me. Not that he would force me to bend to his will.

Yet another thing I liked about Ramsey—he knew what frightened me and strove to make me comfortable around him at all times. I had the lead in the relationship. A girl could get used to that.

Provided the wolves would ever let me.

I took his big hand in mine and tugged. “Let’s go outside?”

I led him through the crowds of shifters and gorgons and lord knew what else. I thought I might have seen a vampire, but their lack of socialness didn’t surprise me—vampires were about as comfortable around shifters as shifters were around them; which was not at all. Plus, I imagined that being around a bunch of sweaty, delicious people made it difficult. It’d be like taking a starving man to an all-you-can-eat buffet and then telling him he could only taste if the dinner allowed him to.

We made it to the doors and escaped into the cool night air. The parking lot was cram-packed with vehicles of every make, with a very large percentage of trucks. Cars were double-parked behind
one another, and a few people hung out on the hay bales near the entrance, drinking beers and chatting. I continued past them to the far side of the parking lot, where others wouldn’t be able to hear us over the music and chatter closer nearby.

When I stopped, I dropped his hand and raised my chin, sniffing the air for any lurkers. The parking lot for the community center was too small for the crowd, and like any Texans worth their salt, people had parked in the open field next door. Trees dotted the distance, and farther away, I saw the occasional flash of headlights from the highway. This was about as private as we’d get.

“What is it?” said Ramsey. His tone was disapproving, but I knew him now, and I knew that he was disapproving not of me but of the things that made me anxious.

I crossed my arms over my chest, uncertain how to begin. He wouldn’t like what I was about to say.

He mistook my crossed arms for human chills and shrugged off his jacket, then pulled me close, wrapping me in it. I was going to protest that I no longer suffered from the weird chills now that I shifted on a regular basis, but the scent and warmth of his jacket were intoxicating. I snuggled deep, and when he leaned against a nearby truck, I let him pull me into his arms and rub my back.

If wolves could purr, I’d have definitely been purring at the moment.

“What did you want to tell me?” Ramsey asked in his rumbly low voice.

“The wolves showed up at the agency today.”
He stiffened, his hands stopping on my back. “Yeah, it’s exactly as bad as you’re thinking it is. Maynard and Wyatt and Buck showed up and did the wolf equivalent of flirting. They reminded me that they wanted me for their wife and I wasn’t going to get away so easily.”

“They?” he said, his voice a low, angry growl.

I nodded, shivering at the memory. “Maynard made it quite clear that he likes to share his toys. They creeped me out.”

“Where was your sister? Where was Gracie?”

“Bath was here getting ready for the dance,” I explained. “As for Gracie, I’m pretty sure she invited them.” When the growl formed low in his throat, I placed a hand on his chest. “Gracie is Gracie. She’s harmless herself, and I think she likes me, but her allegiance is never going to be to anyone but the pack. We just have to keep that in mind.”

“You are not going to be alone with her anymore,” Ramsey said in a voice hard as iron. “If I’m not with you, one of the Russells must be.”

There’d be no complaints from me. It sounded like a pretty good plan. I nodded.

Ramsey’s big hands rubbed my back again, as if he could soothe away the fear. “I should have been there at your side.”

“You have things to do, too,” I said softly. “Your job. People you protect. Helping Beau. You can’t babysit me the rest of my life.”

“I can if it’ll keep you safe,” he growled.

But what if this takes ten years? Or twenty? What
about when you decide that you want to rejoin the bear clan and leave me to go back to your bear bride?

A wolf howl pierced the air in the distance.

I stiffened and Ramsey sprang to his feet, pushing me behind him so I was between his big body and the truck. I tried to peer over his shoulder. The wind was high tonight, and in the wrong direction for me to get a scent.

“The pack is back,” he said with a growl.

“Not all the pack,” I said, listening to the howl. “Just one. Connor was here earlier.”

“Is it him?”

The tone changed and I suddenly realized that I could tell who it was. “It’s not him,” I said. “It’s one of the others. Owen.”

Ramsey began to strip his clothes off. “I’m going to teach that fucker a lesson,” he said with a snarl. “He won’t touch you, because I’m going to rip his arms off.”

He stripped off his clothes and I gathered them, tucking his shoes in my arms. “Go back inside,” he said, then his skin rippled with fur, and he crouched to change. A few moments later, I was staring at the massive brown-furred form of an enormous brown bear.

I gave him a worried look. “Be careful, all right?”

His nose touched my arm and then he swung his head, indicating that I should return inside. Then he turned and began to lope toward the trees. The howl broke off, then continued again, retreating.

I stacked Ramsey’s clothes neatly, something
about this bothering me. I took his jacket off and placed it over the clothes, then headed back toward the center. There was definitely something wrong about the situation. All the times I’d met the wolves, they’d never gone anywhere alone. And that howl hadn’t been anything specific, it had just been a . . . greeting?

I stiffened as a thought occurred to me, and I raised my head to sniff the wind. I caught the faint scent of hay and . . . wolves.

My senses immediately went on alert.

My breath ripped from my throat, panting fast. I could hear them now, the soft crunch of boots on gravel, the scent of man mixed with wolf. I assessed my surroundings—barely a few feet between each car in the packed lot. Plenty of room to hide and sneak up on someone. I looked back at the entrance to the dance. A hundred feet away, but I might be able to make it . . .

A shadow fell in front of me and I looked up in dismay as Buck Anderson rose from the back of a nearby truck and hopped down to the ground. He grinned at me, then spat a wad of tobacco off to the side. “Looks like we’re just in time for the party, ain’t we?”

Someone came up behind me, and I turned just as Maynard grasped the lacy edge of my skirt. I jerked the material away from him as he whistled.

“Well,” he drawled. “We’re shittin’ in high cotton now, ain’t we, boys? Our little woman looks mighty delicious.”

The skin on my body crawled fiercely, and I knew I’d start sprouting fur if I wasn’t careful. I bit the inside of my cheek hard and edged backward. “I’m not yours. I’m taken.”

“You keep sayin’ that, but I ain’t seeing an alpha here with his arm around you, am I?”

As I took another step backward, I smelled someone else coming up alongside of me on the opposite side, blocking my way out from around the large black truck.

I was trapped.

“My mate is a bear,” I said calmly. “And he’s going to have you for breakfast if he finds out you’re harassing me.”

One of them—Wyatt—reached out to touch my hair. “Just a friendly pack greeting, is all. Heard we weren’t allowed at the dance. Gracie was quite upset.”

“That’s not true,” I protested.

Maynard seized my arm and I let out a wolflike yelp. He wrapped an arm around my waist, holding me against him as if he wanted to dance. His eyes were gleaming with menace. “Does that mean we get to dance, then?”

I felt another walk up behind me, press his hips against my own from behind, and I was sandwiched between Maynard and Wyatt, their scents choking me. “She can dance with both of us.”

I struggled against their grasp, my breath coming in short, terrified rasps. Memories of Roy flashed through my mind, fast and hard, and I tried
not to think about them, even when Maynard began to hum and swivel his hips against mine.