Tarnished (2 page)

Shit. She groaned and glanced back at her mother. “One day. I’m not attending tomorrow. Just today. And only so long as nobody tries to claim me. If they do, I’m out of there.”

Her mother smiled. “Agreed.”

— • —

Drake Spencer dragged himself out of the hotel bed and headed for the adjoining bathroom without opening his eyes more than a slit. It was late—later than he ever slept at home—but he’d needed the catch-up sleep, and now he felt groggy because of it.

“What time is it?” his brother asked.

“Sorry, man. Didn’t mean to wake you. It’s about ten. We need to get a move on. Dan and Scott are probably wondering what the heck we’re doing in here. I’m jumping in the shower.” Their brothers were in the next room down. He didn’t hear a sound coming through that wall. Perhaps they were sleeping late also. His parents had the room on the other side, and he knew they’d left earlier.

“’K.” Jerrod flopped back down and pulled the blanket over his head. He was only eleven, the baby in the family and an accident of maximum proportions, but Drake adored him, as did everyone else.

A quick shower and Drake was back in the room, tugging on his favorite jeans. “Move it, buster.” He swatted his brother on the back. “We don’t have all day.” Though, Lord, he wished they did.

The stupid gathering he attended with his family every other year made him groan in frustration. It wasn’t as though he would find a mate. Unless some unknown wolf clan from some distant planet suddenly made an appearance, he couldn’t imagine how there would be a match for him. He’d met everyone over the years. And the only woman that had made him raise an eyebrow left with another wolf at the last gathering. Drake hadn’t been quick enough.

At twenty-eight, he was a seasoned bachelor and proud of it. His life was perfect. Raised on his family’s dude ranch in northwest Texas, he had everything he could ever want. Space. Freedom. Trees. The perfect life. Several years ago, he’d built his own place on the property and lived alone. He’d never wanted to be anywhere else but right where he was, tending horses and assisting visitors with their once-in-a-lifetime vacations.

Jerrod climbed out of bed, his hair a tussled mess. He didn’t say a word as he clamored to the bathroom and shut the door.

Drake sat on the edge of his bed and pulled on his socks and boots. He flopped backward to stare at the ceiling. It was going to be a long two days. Even though he found the gathering to be a waste of his time, he was still expected to attend. Plus, his parents relied on him to be a good example for Jerrod and keep an eye on him. Daniel, twenty-five, and Scott, twenty-three, were adults. They could handle themselves, but realistically, the two of them would probably abandon Jerrod and forget about him. They weren’t as reliable. They had one goal in mind. Finding a woman.

Did Drake even want a mate? Not after the last gathering. He’d spotted the perfect woman from across the room only briefly, but he could picture her in his mind as though it had been just yesterday. Long, brown curls hung down her back, making her distinct from any other woman in the room. At least in his eyes.

He’d not noticed her before that meeting, but perhaps she’d been too young. She’d seemed rather young even that day. What stood out in his mind was the way she turned and met his gaze from across the room as though she’d felt him staring at her back. Her smile had been tentative, and she’d lowered her eyes quickly, but he’d felt something nevertheless. He’d sucked in a breath and closed his eyes for several seconds as he honed in on her scent and separated her from everyone in the room.

When he opened his eyes again, he found her being led from the room by a young guy with a huge grin. Drake had nearly groaned out loud.
Fuck.

She’d never resurfaced after that, and he had to assume she’d been claimed by the quicker man. In any case, her image was burned into Drake’s retinas, preventing anyone else from taking her spot. He’d know her scent anywhere and prayed she didn’t show up this weekend to torment him.

She’d undoubtedly be at the gathering, but not likely at the meetings where young single people mingled. A claimed woman would have other seminars to attend.

When the bathroom door banged open, Drake flinched.
God, I’m losing my mind.

“I’m ready,” Jerrod declared.

He looked anything but with his hair dripping uncombed and his collar tucked under his shirt. The kid wasn’t even in puberty yet. He had no sense of fashion or care for conformity. His pureness made Drake smile.

“Let’s go then.” Drake tugged a dark T-shirt over his head and grabbed his jacket. It was spring in Oklahoma but still chilly in the morning.

With a sigh of resignation, Drake led Jerrod out the door.

“Geez, are we late?” Jerrod leaned forward to peer out the window at all the cars inching their way into the gravel parking lot.

Drake veered to the left, spotting an open space. “Nope. There is no such thing as late. We get here when we get here.”
And we leave as soon as your brothers get their itch scratched.

“Will they have stuff planned for guys my age?”

Dan swatted Jerrod on the head from the back seat of the cab. “Nope, you’ll just have to find a woman and start kissing.”

Drake glared at his brother in the rearview mirror. “Stop it, Dan.” He turned to Jerrod. “Of course. You’ll have plenty of activities with the middle school kids. It’ll be a lot more entertaining than last time when you were with the babies.” He grinned at himself, knowing Jerrod thought of himself as all grown up now that he’d hit double digits.

“I hope so,” he grumbled. “I don’t want to do no kissin’.”

“And Dan and Scott won’t be doing any kissing either if they know what’s good for them.” He shut off the engine and turned around. “Girls don’t like to be pressured. And you guys know that. Act your age. You’re grown men, for Christ’s sake.”

The four brothers piled out of the truck and headed for the entrance with hundreds of other wolf shifters from all over the country. The venue was perfect. Smack in the middle of the country, it was easy to get to from just about anywhere, and the family that owned the land had been gracious enough to host the gathering for twenty years. The property was far enough outside the city of Tulsa to not attract too much attention. And the Albertsons had enough outbuildings to accommodate all the seminars and sessions.

The older members of the wolf-shifting world united to discuss wolf politics and the future of their existence. Drake’s parents had most likely arrived before eight in the morning so they wouldn’t miss anything. The younger members mostly socialized. The twenty-somethings were the most eager to attend in the hopes of finding the perfect mate and claiming a wife or husband.

Scott pushed through the front door of the main conference room, and Drake let his other two brothers enter first.
Let the fun begin.

As soon as they checked in, Jerrod raced off with two other boys his age, shouting over his shoulder that he’d meet back up with Drake at dinner.
What the hell did I come for?

Dan and Scott scurried off to the main singles hall with Drake on their heels, in no particular hurry to race to
that
finish line. He had no hope of finding a mate at this event. Nor did he care.

In fact, he sauntered forward without watching where he was going, thus crashing into someone as he rounded a corner in the crowded hall. “So sorry,” he muttered. “Wasn’t watching where I was going—”
Oh my God. It’s her
. Drake gulped.

The woman nodded, her head bowed, and kept right on walking. In retrospect, she’d also not been watching where she was going, and she looked as though she was about as excited to be there as he was. Her arms were crossed under her chest. She wore blue jeans and a long sweater that covered her ass as she continued down the hall away from him.

Drake stood frozen to the spot. Why wasn’t she with the man from two years ago? He took a long whiff of her lingering scent. She wasn’t mated at all.

She disappeared in the crowd, never glancing back. Her hair was longer. Glorious brown curls that reached way down her back. He swallowed again and itched to run his hands through the locks, pull her head back, and get a good look at her face. His memory was vivid, but he’d been quite a ways from her last time he’d seen her. He remembered her smile, the one she clearly didn’t wear on her face today.

Why did she seem so sad? Was he making this up? Not really. Her distress was in the air, filling his nostrils and mixing with her personal scent. Something floral, probably her shampoo, combined with her pheromones to make him groan inwardly. He stepped forward and then halted.
What’cha gonna do, big guy?

•

Kenzie shivered, clear to the bone. It was him. The guy from last time she’d spotted across the room just before jerkface had grabbed her arm and led her unceremoniously from the meeting hall. What would have happened if she’d not been so naïve that night? She’d known she wasn’t attracted to … Mark? Marvin? Marcus? Yeah, that was it. Marcus. The bastard.

He’d seemed certain, so she’d naïvely given him a chance. As soon as he had her alone in the hall, he’d smashed his mouth to hers without a word. His lips had been rough. Disgusting. Putrid. And as soon as she’d broken free of his clutch, she’d headed for the ladies room and sat in a stall until she was sure he had given up.

She’d not told anyone about the incident. What if they blamed her? Had she encouraged him in some way? She didn’t think so, but she still had no interest in rehashing the event. Ever.

Kenzie wrapped her arms around her middle and followed on her family’s heels. Her sisters were eager to get to the main hall—more of a meat market, as far as Kenzie was concerned. A butcher zone she had high hopes of avoiding. First of all, she had no wish to repeat last gathering’s farce of an evening. And second of all, she had a boyfriend. A nice one. One she could count on. A chill went down her spine as she thought about what both her sisters had insinuated this morning. They had to be wrong. No way was she dating a gay man and didn’t know it.

As though conjured with her thoughts, her cell vibrated in the back pocket of her jeans. When she pulled it out and saw a text from Darrell, she smiled.

“I need to talk to you. Do you have a minute?”

Her face fell. What did he need? He’d said he was spending the evening with his family.

Kenzie ducked out a side door and stepped into the midday sunshine. Good. No one was in the area. She sat down on the concrete beside the entrance and leaned against the siding. It wasn’t comfortable, but it was private.

She pushed a few buttons on her phone and waited for Darrell to answer. Her body shook as though she were cold, even though she had on too many clothes for the warm day.

“Kenz?”

“Yeah, what’s up?” She gave her best casual voice a try, hearing a squeak leak out anyway on the last syllable.

“Um, Mackenzie, I wasn’t quite truthful with you earlier. I’m trying to balls up and be honest.”

“Oh, okay.”
Not okay. Not okay. Not okay.

“I’m not who you think I am.”

Yes, you are. Please tell me this is a bad nightmare, and you are exactly who I think you are
. She couldn’t breathe. She gripped the phone so tight it was a wonder the case didn’t break.

“I’m so sorry. I tried. I really did. I wanted to be who you needed me to be. I did … but I’m not. And it’s not fair to you or to me to keep dragging this out.”

What are you rambling about? Spit it out. Make it complete. Don’t make me say it for you.
She swallowed, her mouth so dry she could barely pull her lips apart.

“Kenz? You still there?”

“Yeah,” she muttered.

“I met someone.”

What? Met someone? Yeah, you met me. Months ago. We’re a couple.

“I mean, I sorta knew this would happen eventually, but I just … lied to myself.”

“What? Knew what would happen?” Why did she have to go and ask a stupid question like that?

“The person I met is, well … it’s a man.”

Fuck
. Why was she always the last to know these things? What the hell was wrong with her own gaydar? Kenzie tucked her head between her legs. That’s what people did to keep from hyperventilating, right?

“Kenz?”

She couldn’t open her lips.

“You still there? I’m so sorry. I really am. It’s not you—”

“Stop,” she croaked. “Don’t even give me the ‘it’s-not-you-it’s-me’ speech. Spare me that much, okay?”

He sighed. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I really am.”

“I know. It’s okay.”
It’s not. But I’ll survive.

“Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For not yelling at me. Or whatever. This is really hard for me. I haven’t even told my parents yet. I figured I owed it to tell you first and … just thank you for not going crazy. That’s all.”

“I guess I sorta knew it.”

“You did?” His voice rose.

“Well, not specifically, but I should have.” She lifted her gaze and squinted into the sun.
Shit. Damn.

“I’m gonna go. Can we talk again later?” He sounded so hopeful.
Desperate.

“Sure.”
Not a chance in hell
.

“Thanks again, Kenz. You’re the best. Some guy is going to be very lucky to get you.” He clicked off, leaving her holding the phone to her ear while praying the last few minutes had been a joke.
April fools.

What the hell had happened today? She’d woken up this morning with the world in her palm, and it had slowly turned out to be made of sand, which was now slipping between her fingers until soon not a grain would be left. Would her boss call and fire her in a minute?

She tried to catch her breath.
Great
. Now she had to go back inside and play nice to make her mother happy. No way was she going to fess up anytime soon about Darrell. The last thing she needed was gloating sisters.

Suddenly the door opened, making her flinch. She tipped her head up and covered her eyes against the bright sun. Her private reverie had ended. A man stepped outside.