Mating Hunt (13 page)

If she survived Tristan but didn’t control her wolf, life would fry her.

A few minutes later, Kyle escorted a sleepy Jessie back upstairs as she washed the empty cup. Arianna went into the living room and removed the fleece throw, tossing it into the washing machine. Her arousal stamped the fabric, and Kyle was cranked up enough.

When he returned, he paced back and forth on the floorboards. She sat on the sofa, watching him.

“I told you to stay inside, and you disobeyed my order.”

“My emotions took over again, and I had to shift. That Skin had a shotgun, Kyle.” She drew in a trembling breath. “I’ve seen what shotguns do to wolves. I saw what happened to my parents.”

He whirled, his green eyes flaring with emotion. “And you saw what I can do, Ari. They were no match for what I can turn into.”

Kyle still looked wild and dangerous. Yet she must know. Had to ask him, because if she became terrified of the one male who promised never to hurt her, she could never gather the courage to mate with him.

Taking a deep breath, she asked the burning question. “What exactly did you turn into?”

Her guardian went still, searching her face. The green of his eyes deepened. “You know what I am, Ari. I’m the beast you’ve dreaded since childhood.”

D
EEP DOWN
,
HE
suspected she’d known all along. His revelation was more an acknowledgement of what she’d tried to forget.

Kyle tightened his jaw. Finally it came to the hard truth. For years, he’d kept his nature secret, revealing it to a select few, like Darius and Aiden. He never wanted to tarnish her shining image of him. But if they were to mate, and his fierce Satyr blood was determined to have her this night, Arianna must know.

“The beast you saw in bed with a woman when you were fifteen.”

“A Satyr.” The word came in a hushed whisper.

“Hybrid. Half Satyr, half Lupine.”

Arianna bit her lush lower lip. He steeled himself against a sudden surge of desire. Damn, the things he’d love to see her do with that mouth of hers...

Kyle leaned against the wall, studying his charge. “Tell me what you want to know, Arianna.”

“What you did out there, that wasn’t Lupine. No Lupine can run that fast.”

“Satyrs are creatures of the wild. My powers link me to nature’s elements and endow me with certain gifts. Speed, taken from the wind. And strength, taken from the earth herself.”

He did not mention his other, more well-known endowment. Gods, he hoped like hell to show her later, after he’d loved her with tenderness and taught her about passion.

Fisting her hands in her lap, Arianna stared at the fire. “When you turned like that ... was it like shifting into a wolf?”

Kyle joined her on the couch, watching her guarded expression. “A little. Except I sometimes can’t control it. I did just now when I became enraged and purposely released the beast. But sometimes others prod its release, such as what Aiden did when he provoked my basic instincts. And during the full moon.”

Throat muscles worked as she swallowed convulsively. “Let’s leave the full moon for later. So is this why you’ve never settled into one pack, why you wander?”

Acid churned in his stomach. “A Lupine pack is about security, stability and belonging. They don’t welcome freaks into their fold.”

“Freaks?” She finally turned to look at him. “You mean like me? Someone too scared to try sex?”

“No,” he said quietly. “You suffered a trauma. Your sensual nature will emerge when the time is right, when someone takes the time and patience to teach you.”

He wanted to have that honor. But first, she must know the truth about him.

Heart beating fast, he looked deep into her eyes, his stomach tight. “I’m talking about a freak who is the lowest of the low. Zeta, the kind who doesn’t belong anywhere. Me.”

Silence draped between them, broken only by the occasional snapping of logs on the dying fire. His heart pounded hard against his ribs as he waited for a response. Zeta, the last letter in the English alphabet, not the Greek. He remembered the mocking words, how he wasn’t even good enough to be considered Omega. Because Omegas belonged with pack.

He did not.

Arianna moved over until their thighs touched. She gently traced the cruel brand on his cheek. Kyle steeled himself against the temptation to draw her into his arms and hold tight.

“Zeta. That’s where the Z came from. Your pack did this to you?”

At his nod, she growled low. “Bastards. I’d love to kick their asses.”

Her defensive attitude touched him. “They had their reasons. I was different, and pack doesn’t like different.”

“Your parents?”

Kyle stared at the tip of his worn boots. “Ari, my father wasn’t a wild Lupine as everyone told you. He’s a Satyr.”

Her eyes widened.

“My mother was a full-blooded Lupine, like you. She mated with the alpha of a very powerful pack, who wanted her pure bloodlines for his offspring.”

Gods, he knew where this was going and hated it, hated his father for what happened.

“But my mother couldn’t conceive. Two years went by and talk started that my father would take another mate to sire an heir. One day when she was walking alone in the forest, a Satyr spotted her. He was instantly smitten, and it was a full moon.”

Insides turning to ice, he whispered his next words. “That man was my sire. He kept my mother trapped in his lair and raped her until he tired, and then released her, pregnant with his bastard. She managed to fool the alpha at my birth, until I was five years old. And then she finally became pregnant again. My mother died giving birth to the alpha’s real heir, a stillborn son.”

Arianna’s mouth wobbled as she stared at him.

“As she lay dying, she confessed she was raped, and made her mate promise to not take revenge. Her sister swore a blood oath to raise me to adulthood. The pledge was honored until I turned twelve and shifted into Lupine, but hours later, manifested signs of my Satyr side. I managed to hide it for two months until a full moon when I transformed into the beast. The pack leader said since I had shifted, I was an adult and the pledge to my mother no longer stood.”

Arianna gasped.

“The next morning, they dragged me into the barn. And marked me.”

They’d held him down as that bastard leader heated the iron, and then pressed it to his face. The agony had been so intense, he’d bitten his tongue to keep from screaming. No way would those sons of bitches have that satisfaction.

Tapping his left cheek, he closed his eyes. “Zeta, the lowest of the low. A warning to others to stay away. Then he threw me out of the pack.”

Silence for a moment. When she spoke, her voice was low and anguished. “Twelve years old, the age when all Lupines struggle to learn how to shift and hunt. How could he have done that to you?”

He steeled himself against her sympathy. “I wandered in the forest. Kept shifting from Lupine to Satyr form. Makes for piss poor hunting when you’re trying to flush out game to eat. Got so hungry I couldn’t bear the pain anymore. I called out to Tristan and begged him to kill me.”

“What did he say?”

“Tristan told me my sorry ass was too tough to kill. Took me to a magic pool to heal and restore my health. Then he taught me to control my shifting, to hunt and survive. He even ordered his attendant, Elric, to find me a new pack. The alpha apprenticed me to a great hunter who was also an expert horse trainer. I stayed four years, until the pack started whispering about my hybrid blood. Kept roving, hiring myself out until I came to the Mitchell pack.”

Kyle gave a rough, humorless laugh. “That’s why I never stay in one place. I don’t truly belong anywhere. My pack drove me out because I’m a dangerous beast with insatiable sexual cravings.”

“No,” she whispered. “They drove you out because you were stronger and they feared you. You’re better than they were, Kyle. Faster, more virile, passionate and compassionate enough to rescue hurt things from the wild. Like me.”

She went into his arms and hugged him tightly. He stiffened, but she did not release him, only stroked his spine with long, tender caresses. Never had he asked for her comfort, but damn, it felt good now.

Something inside him broke. He’d revealed his dark secret, and she did not recoil in horror, only reacted with compassion and sweetness.

“You’re so special to me, Ari.”

Overwhelmed by the emotional intensity of the moment, he could not say anything more. Always, he’d been the one comforting her. Kyle felt vulnerable, all his barriers lowered before her. It felt good, and yet it scared the hell out of him.

Moonlight shone off a single tear trickling down her cheek. Arianna wiped it away and turned her head, as if she didn’t want him to catch her crying.

“You must be quite strong to control your beast like you do.”

Not as strong as I’d like
.

“I wish I knew how to control my wolf the way you can control your beast.”

Teaching Arianna came naturally as breathing and he’d rather do that then drag out his sorry past.

“Emotions ruled you, and you gave in to your beast. Can’t do that, Ari. No one wants a Lupine who can’t control his shifting. No one wants a wild card who doesn’t fit into the deck.”

Pulling away from her, he dragged in a deep breath. “Rules of the pack. Mark those who don’t fit in to warn others, and then kick them out. Never let them know you’re different because you’ll pay the price. Others can make mistakes. You can’t. You have to fight tougher, be smarter because you’ve got much more to lose.”

“It’s not fair,” she whispered, her gaze stricken as she touched his cheek, and suddenly he realized she talked about his situation, not hers.

Kyle rubbed his scarred cheek. “It’s pack life and if you want to fit in, you must adapt. A shifter who can’t restrain animal instinct is dangerous to the pack. You rushed blindly into danger. Did you forget what I taught you? What’s the first rule of hunting?”

Arianna hung her head. “Never let emotion rule your wolf.”

He cupped her cheek. “Don’t go there, little pint. I’m not letting you retreat into that space inside yourself. I’ll teach you to be a weapon without fangs and claws, and pull the trigger when the time is right.”

Her skin was oh, so soft and warm. He rubbed his thumb over her cheek and desire flared. Feeling his beast growl deep inside, he dropped his hand.

“Are you afraid of me because of what you saw out there?” he asked quietly.

Hell, he never wanted to see the same terror she’d displayed when she caught him fucking. He’d rather cut out his heart.

“No.”

Intense relief loosened his tensed muscles.

“You did what was necessary to protect me, and most of all, protect the young. You make them feel safe.”

“And you, Ari? Do you feel safe around me?”

At her nod, his voice deepened. “What about later, when we’re all alone as the moon grows full? Will you feel safe knowing I need to mate with you? Are you afraid of what will happen?”

“Maybe a little,” she whispered. “But I’m going to trust you, just like I did when you rescued me when I was twelve.”

In her luminous gaze he finally saw all he needed to proceed. No fear. Only desire and anticipation.

A
S
K
YLE AWAKENED
, dawn broke in a wash of pale light spilling into the cabin. He’d fallen asleep on the sofa, reluctant to go upstairs because he wanted to keep watch.

A sharp rap came at the front door. Instantly alert, he assessed the threat. Intruders wouldn’t knock. He padded to the front window and looked out.

A couple, their faces alight with hope and worry, paced the porch.

He opened the door and greeted them, and led them upstairs. Arianna was already awake, looking sleepy and incredibly sexy as she emerged from the second guest bedroom. She introduced herself, and her soft velvet voice eased the parents’ tension.

“They’re in here,” she told them, opening the bedroom door. “I’ll go downstairs and prepare supplies for your trip back.”

Jessie instantly awakened as the door opened.

“Hey, kiddos,” Kyle said softly. “Look who’s here.”

He stepped aside, letting the parents enter the room. Jessie gave a strangled cry and leapt off the bed, racing into his father’s arms.

Daisy blinked sleepily and sat up, rubbing her eyes. “Momma?”

Emotion clogged his throat as the Lupines gathered their children into their arms and showered them with kisses. Their trauma would fade in time. They were safe and would return to a home filled with love and protection. But for Ari, there had been no joyful reunion, only the agony of a shattered life.

No wonder she’d squeezed the painful truth into a dark corner of her mind.

No wonder she’d had trouble controlling her wolf, her only protection.

Leaving the happy reunion, he went into the kitchen. He helped her stuff a spare pack with dried jerky and bottles of water.

When the parents finally came downstairs, Arianna handed them the pack and bent down to hug the children. Kyle’s heart twisted at the tears shimmering in her eyes.

Cold air stung his cheeks as they went outside. He shook hands with the father and pointed to the pathway snaking around the lake. “Take that trail. About two miles, on the lake’s other side, there’s a den of grizzly Wyldings. Shifter named Ben. Tell him who you are, and he’ll escort you and keep you safe.”

The parents thanked them profusely. Jessie solemnly stuck out his hand. As Kyle shook it, the boy gave him a look wiser than his years.

“Thank you for everything, Kyle. When I grow up, I want to be just like you.”

Okay, not getting emotional here, nope, not him. Words stuck in his throat, but the parents looked at him expectantly.

“Mind your father, Jessie. He’ll teach you everything you need to know.”

Jessie nodded. “I’d like to come back here some day. Maybe you can teach me about tracking.”

By then, I’ll be on the road again
. Kyle gave a gruff nod and accompanied them down the steps as Arianna remained on the porch, waving good-bye. Daisy snuggled into her mother’s arms while Amanda and Jessie clasped their father’s hands. A real family. A father who protected his son; not abandoned him.