“So?” Clara bristled with anticipation. Kate had taken far longer than she’d expected with the pregnancy test, leaving Clata pacing outside the bathroom door.
“So…So, it was positive! I’m pregnant.” Kate squealed, jumping up and down, grinning wildly.
Clara matched her decibel, wrapping her arms around her sister, overcome with joy. “God, I thought you were never coming out of there. It’s bad enough you made me wait a whole week for the verdict.”
“I know. Jason and Will have been at me to go ahead and take the pregnancy test, but I was so afraid.”
“Afraid of what?” Clara would have taken a test the instant she suspected a pregnancy.
“I don’t know. I guess I’ve been so happy, with you here and my men. And now that we’re finally getting joined. I’ve been afraid something would go wrong, and I guess I wanted to hold on to the idea that my life really could be this perfect for as long as possible.”
Clara laughed and shook her head. “You always were a little nutty. Seriously, though, I understand why you felt that way. What finally made you decide to go ahead and do it?”
Shrugging, Kate sat on the bed and looked up at Clara. “I figured it was time to stop holding my breath, so to speak, and just live. With all the talk about war, you just never know what might happen.”
Joining her sister on the bed, Clara leaned over to wipe a tear from her cheek. Despite how upset and confused she’d felt over the last few days, her heart was full at the sight of Kate crying tears of joy.
“I want you to be as happy as I am,” Katr said through her tears.
“Let’s not talk about that. It’ll just bring you down.”
“Are you kidding me? That’s not even possible. I feel too high right now. Besides, my happiness won’t be complete until you’re joined with your men, too.”
“I doubt that’s going to happen.” She let out a rueful chuckle. “Adam barely talks to me, and when he does, he’s super polite, as if he doesn’t even know me. And Xavier won’t stop apologizing for him. But I can’t even get Xavier to change his mind about me staying. Nikki says not to worry, that most shifters can’t stand to be separated from their mates, but what if they’re not like most shifters?” Clara couldn’t sit still and popped up to resume her pacing. “I feel like I finally decided I wanted them, and then, bam! They’re slamming on the brakes. What if it’s not really my safety that made them change their minds? What if it’s really because I can’t give them babies?”
“Adam and Xavier are two of the most honest men I have ever known. If they say it doesn’t matter, it does not matter to them. They’re just being overprotective. Sending you back home is one way to keep you safe, but it’s not the only way. From what I’ve been told, women and pups are so protected during battles that what they’re doing is overkill.”
“Jason and Will are just as protective of you. Why aren’t they trying to ship you off somewhere?”
Kate sighed. “Well, it’s different for me. I’m one of them now. I wouldn’t necessarily be safe away from here. Ulric and his pack could come after me for leverage, or worse, some wolf out there could try to mate with me if I was on my own.”
“Really? That happens?” Clara was surprised. With so much talk of fate and destined mates, she’d figured that was the only way wolves got together.
“Well, yeah. Some people don’t hold out for their fated, and others have lost mates. We can join with anyone we choose. It’s just that the fated have an incredibly strong instinctual bond, and most shifters want that.”
“What happens if someone marries…er…joins with someone and then his fated comes along?”
“Honestly? Things can get pretty ugly. I’ve heard that some manage to make it work, but I’ve never seen it in action. I guess that’s not saying much, though. I haven’t been one of them for that long.”
“I wish I hadn’t fought them so much at first. If I’d just accepted it, they’d have claimed me by now, and they wouldn’t be able to send me away, either.”
She’d hated the idea at first, then she’d simply been afraid of becoming like them. But since she’d begun to fall for Adam and Xavier, she couldn’t imagine going back to her normal life. The idea of leaving them, even temporarily, made her feel six kinds of hollow inside, and who knew how long the threat of war would last? It could all be over in months or she could spend years waiting for them to come for her. And that was if Adam planned to come after her at all. She believed Xavier did, but Adam hadn’t made any such promises. “I can’t believe I let my chance with them slip away.”
“How could you have known? I mean, what human is just going to jump at the chance to be bitten and join all this weirdness? I sure didn’t. They chased me for months before I finally gave in.”
“We don’t have months.”
“Are they still sharing your bed?”
“I usually end up sleeping with Xavier. Adam hasn’t touched me since the big announcement. I’ve tried giving Xavier the cold shoulder, just because it makes me so angry that he’s on board with this, but it’s like I can’t stop myself.” She'd given in to her body’s desperate need for him more times than she was proud of. It was a near thing with Adam, too, and she’d found herself on the verge of barging into his room on more than one occasion. She’d only just managed to hold herself back, mostly because of her pride. She felt incredibly rejected.
“It’s the mate bond. He won’t be able to fight against it for long. Just be patient.”
“How am I supposed to be patient? I simultaneously want to slap him and fuck him at all times now.” It was crass but true. Clara sighed heavily, realizing how self-centered she sounded. “I’m sorry to talk so much about me. I’m thrilled for you, so let’s concentrate on that. When will you tell your men?”
They were deep into their discussion of all the possible ways Kate could tell them, ranging from the romantic to the hilarious, when Kate’s phone rang. She took one look at the caller ID and beamed. “Hey, big guy. Miss me already?”
Clara smiled and walked away to look out the window. It had been weird staying with Adam and Xavier after their big announcement, but she’d refused to even consider staying at the lodge. She needed to be near them. Even now, after only being away from them for a couple of hours since breakfast, she looked forward to seeing them again. Despite the awkwardness with Adam, she’d rather be with them than not.
Kate’s gasp snapped her out of her thoughts, and she turned to see her sister’s shocked face. “Kate, what’s wrong?”
“It’s Will. He’s hurt…He’s been in an accident.”
***
“You’re crazy if you think I’m staying here. I have to go to him!”
Clara struggled to hold her sister back. She looked ready to tear through Adam and Xavier to get to Will.
Xavier tried to reassure her. “Zion is already on his way to the site with a group of men, and Adam and I are leaving now. We only stopped to let you know we were going. The best place for you is here, where it’s safe. We don’t know what to expect out there.”
They’d tried reasoning with her for longer than Clara thought either of them wanted to, but Kate was having none of it. And Clara couldn’t say she blamed her. Waiting for the news that someone you loved had died? Clara wouldn’t wish that on anyone, and clearly Kate thought that was a possibility. “Kate, it’s going to be okay.” They were empty words, but what else could she say?
“You don’t know that. No one knows that. Just…just…let go of me!” Kate wrenched herself from Clara’s grip and flew at Adam where he stood, blocking the door. “Move out of my way, Adam. I’m not going to ask you again.”
“No, Kate.” From his expression, Clara could see he was sympathetic but had no intention of letting her pass. “I’m not letting you go.”
The crack that split the air as Katr slapped Adam made Clara jump. She didn’t know what she expected the big man to do, but he surprised her. Instead of reacting in anger, he grabbed Katr in a fierce hug. “I know you’re upset and worried, but I promise you we will do everything possible to get Will back here safely. Your men would never forgive me if I let you go out there and get hurt.”
“Listen to him, Katr,” Xavier said. “We’re wasting valuable time here, when we could be out making sure you get both of your men back in one piece.”
Adam, still hugging Kate, looked at Clara over her shoulder. “You will stay here, one way or another. You’ll either calm down enough that we can walk out of here and know you are safe, or I’ll send men to guard you…both of you.”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to do that. I’m calm now.” Kate’s voice did sound more controlled. Adam stepped back and Kate adjusted her clothing, suddenly, eerily calm. “Go, then. Bring my man back safe.”
“Stay with her,” Adam admonished Clara.
“Of course. Where else would I go at a time like this?”
The moment the men were out the door, Kate grabbed her phone and her purse. “Let’s go.”
Clara didn’t have to ask where. “Are you sure, Kate? You heard what they said.”
“I don’t have time to debate this with you. You’re either with me or you’re not. There’ll be guards outside this door any minute.”
“What? Adam said—”
“I know what he said, but he’s no fool. They’re on their way as we speak.”
There was nothing to think about. If it was her man, Clara knew where she’d want to be, and there was no way she’d let Kate go without her.
***
Clara pulled the car over to the side of the road at the end of a line of cars and emergency vehicles. As she’d passed the site of the most activity, she’d seen a guardrail torn away but hadn’t been able to spot much of anything else. The moment the car stopped, Kate jumped out and raced back toward the scene. Clara raced after her, barely able to keep up and grateful Kate hadn’t shifted into her four-legged self and shocked any human onlookers. Despite her fear for her mate, she still seemed conscious of the need to protect the clan’s secret. She’d almost made it to the guardrail and Clara grabbed for her, worried she would dive right over the edge, but a police officer caught her around the waist.
Mindlessly kicking and struggling, Kate screamed at the officer. “Let me go! My man’s down there! Let go of me!”
Speaking in the same calm tones Adam had used earlier, the policeman pointed out an area near a cluster of police cars where she could wait. “We have everything under control, Kate. We’ll get him out.” Only then did Clara recognize him as one of the police officers who’d come to Adam’s and Xavier’s house after she’d first seen Adam shift. “I’m sorry. I understand how you must feel, but Zion and Grey are down there. So are the Black brothers. This is the safest place for you.”
“You don’t understand. If he dies and I don’t have the chance to say good-bye and tell him how much I love him…”
Officer Michaels shook his head, and Clara could clearly see the regret in his eyes. “You won’t get to say any of that if you fall down there, too. There’s too much debris, and it’s too steep. If there weren’t so many humans around and you could shift to make the descent, then… maybe.” He shrugged and raised his eyebrows at Clara.
“Come on, Kate. Let’s let them do their job. They won’t be able to take care of him properly if we’re in the way.”
“I need to be with him.” Katr lunged toward the guardrail again and Officer Michaels barely caught her this time.
“I don’t want to do it, Kate, but if you won’t cooperate, I’ll lock you in my squad car.” He held her by the arms, speaking sternly.
Kate’s expression was stormy and Clara thought she would continue to fight, but suddenly, the wind just seemed to go out of her. “Just tell me. Just tell me the truth. Is he dead?”
“From what I’ve heard over the radio, he’s pretty banged up, but he’s alive.”
Clara sighed, incredibly relieved for her sister. “Let’s go stand over there and wait. I’m sure it won’t be long before they have him out of there and you can talk to him.”
As it turned out, she was wrong, and it was hours later that the rescuers appeared at the opening in the guardrail and a cheer went up as the crowd caught sight of the man on the stretcher. His eyes were closed and he was covered in cuts and bruises. Blood was everywhere, but his loud moan of pain was proof that he lived.
Kate rushed toward him, and this time no one stopped her. The men carried Will to the waiting ambulance and she climbed in after him. The doors closed, the siren sounded, and the ambulance sped away before Clara had time to think about anything other than how glad she was Will was alive.
“I told you to wait in River Springs.” Adam suddenly loomed over her, looking anything but understanding. “I told you it wasn’t safe to leave our territory.”
His commanding tone grated on her nerves, especially given the stress of the last few hours.
“He’s her mate. Did you really expect her to just sit around waiting? You had to know she’d do anything to get to him.” In her view, he hadn’t tried hard enough to keep Kate in River Springs, and she wasn’t about to let him blame her for it.
“I sent guards.”
“They were too late.” They’d managed to slip out one of the lodge’s back doors. Clara had worried they wouldn’t be allowed to leave River Springs, but apparently, the guards had only been told to keep outsiders out, not to prevent anyone from leaving. She wasn’t sure they’d actually recognized who was in the car, anyway. Kate had yelled at her to gun it, and the guards had scattered to get out of the way.
“And no one tried to stop you?” Adam looked hard at her, obviously finding that difficult to believe.
“We didn’t exactly give them a chance to.”
“Whose car did you come here in?”
“Kate’s. It’s parked down there.” She held up the keys.
Adam snatched them. “Wait here. I have to talk to Xavier. Then I’ll take you home.”
***
The car was silent for much of the way back to River Springs. He wasn’t sure what kept her so quiet, but he was too angry for words. She’d put herself in danger. Who knew where the rapists were at that point? It had taken everything in him to tell her she’d have to leave after the joining, and he didn’t know how he would find the strength to follow through. But the thought of those men hurting her made him crazy.
“Will they take him to a regular hospital?” She’d finally broken the silence.
“No, there’s a chance he would shift unconsciously and scare the shit out of the doctors. They’ll take him back to River Springs. Fortunately, both of the EMTs are clan members, so Grey and Zion can work it out.”
“Will he make it?”
“He’s hurt badly, but he’ll survive. We can’t cheat death, but we do heal rapidly. There’ll be a lot of pain as he heals, but he’ll be back in shape in about a week, especially with the healing herbs and medicines our doctors use.”
Clara sighed loudly, and Adam only then considered how worried she must have been. “I’m sorry. This must have been hard for you, too.” He reached over and put a hand on her leg, feeling a jolt when he touched her and fighting against the dual urge to pull the car off the road and kiss her until she couldn’t breathe.
“I’m sorry I left, but I had to help her. I couldn’t let her come out here alone, not knowing if he was dying or already dead.”
Silence descended on the car again. Maybe he shouldn’t have ordered them to wait at the lodge, but if he apologized for that, would she feel free to disobey him again? And would her disobedience get her hurt next time?
“Is that Xavier behind us?”
Adam looked in the rearview mirror, realizing the headlights of the car behind them were getting closer and closer. “No.”
***
The crash and grind of metal against metal caused Clara’s heart to race, and the screech of tires made her tense up and instinctively grab for something to hold onto, but it was the jerking, followed by the spinning of the car, that caused her to scream in terror. A strong arm reached across her, and she only barely registered that Adam held her as the car spun and eventually came to a noisy halt.
He leaned in close, quickly examining her for signs of injury. “Are you okay?”
“Okay” she was not, but she had no injuries, so she nodded. She didn’t feel capable of speaking yet.
“Stay in the car,” Adam ordered, kicking the damaged driver’s side door with both feet until it surrendered and opened with a sickly sound. To Clara, it looked as if he shifted before his feet touched the ground. A fierce growl split the air, and Adam was no more. A huge black wolf stood in his stead.
From the direction the car faced, Clara could clearly see the car that had hit them, its front crumpled like an accordion. A man climbed out of that mess, shifting just as quickly as Adam had, and another man followed, shifting, too, but not before Clara recognized him. Goose bumps cropped up all over her body as she realized he was the bald scum who’d attacked her in the bar, so it wasn’t hard to guess the identity of the other man.
The three wolves circled each other, teeth bared, their loud growls sending chills up and down her spine. Adam was the largest of the three, but Clara worried for him. He’d already had an exhausting day, and there were two to fight off. The other wolves, one a faded grey and the other grey and black, darted forward and lunged back, snapping and retreating while the black wolf appeared to bide his time.
Suddenly the black wolf gave an eerie howl and lunged, catching one of the smaller wolves by the leg. The two wolves bit and clawed at each other, rolling around in the middle of the road. The other gray wolf joined in the fray, keeping to his bite-and-retreat dance. After diving in again and again, he struck home, sinking his teeth into Adam’s back.
Clara’s scream mixed with Adam’s howl as he tried to shake him off. When that failed, Adam lunged heavily to the side, managing to throw the biter off, even as he continued to wrestle the gray-and-black wolf.
Clara didn’t know if it was his sheer size or his fighting skill, but he caught the gray-and-black wolf by the neck this time, shaking the animal around like a rag doll. The animal clawed and fought, but it was obvious he’d already lost the fight. Adam tossed him away like he weighed nothing and lunged for his partner in crime.
Every growl pierced Clata’s body as she watched, knuckles white from the tightness of her grip on her seat. Should she do something to help? Could she help? What if Adam lost?
When Adam suffered a bite to his leg, Clara quickly scanned the car for something, anything to use as a weapon. She grabbed the only thing she could find, a rusty old tire iron from the floor in the back, and slid out of the car, darting toward the fight before she could stop herself. She’d hit the devil wolf over the head and stun him enough to make the fight easier for Adam, even with his injury. At least, she hoped that would happen.
She’d almost made it to the tangled knot of fur, claws, and teeth, when she was thrown to the side, the tire iron flying from her hand as something knocked the wind out of her. Clara scrambled to get to her feet, realizing belatedly that the wolf she’d assumed dead was still alive, badly injured but strong enough to stagger toward her, baring his teeth. His sick growls filled her ears as she lunged for the tire iron and practically fell on it, turning at the same time.
Everything happened so quickly. She gripped the tire iron in both hands, feeling sick to her stomach with dread as the wolf stumbled closer. The menace in his eyes was as clear as when he’d been human. Clara lifted the tire iron, yelling with fury, determined to put him down for good just as he lunged for her. She swung and missed, the force of her blow sending her careening to the side just as Adam slammed into her attacker, knocking him off his path. Her heart beat wildly in her throat as she watched the huge black wolf, her Adam, leap on him, viciously tearing his throat out before her eyes. Adam turned to stare at her then, blue eyes practically glowing in the darkness.
She had only a moment to feel relieved before the battle resumed. The other wolf was bleeding and obviously weak from the fight but apparently not ready to give up. Clara couldn’t understand why he hadn’t just run away while Adam was busy with the other one or why he continued to fight. His friend, partner in crime, buddy, or whatever wolves called each other was dead, and Clara had no trouble predicting his future. Adam would kill him, too.
Getting to her feet again, Clara noticed a bright light in the distance, growing closer by the second. They were headlights. “Adam! A car’s coming. Get out of the road!”
The wolves broke apart, darting out of the way of the quickly oncoming car. It screeched to a halt just feet away from where they’d been fighting. She recognized it. The car belonged to Xavier.
Wasting no time, Xavier slammed out of his car and took in the scene, glancing quickly her way before shifting into a wolf every bit as large, dark and menacing as Adam.
The gray wolf stood his ground for the briefest of moments before turning tail and sprinting away. Clara was surprised he could run so swiftly, given his injuries. She watched as Adam turned his huge head toward Xavier, who took off after him, disappearing into the brush.
Another howl from Adam brought several other wolves racing toward him, and a silent communication Clara didn’t understand sent them in the same direction as Xavier.
With the fight over, she wrapped her arms around herself in an effort to contain the tremors that took over her body. The man she was coming to love, the massive black wolf with the lethal jaw, trotted over to sniff the body of the dead wolf. He had killed someone, and as if he’d heard her thoughts, he turned his head toward her, his eyes boring into hers, filled with emotions she could somehow feel but not name.
As Adam stalked toward her, his large form threatening yet beautiful, Clara backed up, not thinking, unable to process what she felt, her feet moving of their own accord until she felt something hard and rough against her back and realized she’d backed into a tree. Fuck.
He stopped, stared at her for a long moment, and then shifted from the lethal black wolf back into the man who’d somehow taken hold of her heart. “Are you afraid of me, Clara?”
Should she be? “No… It’s just that…you killed that man.”
“I’d kill an army of men to protect you and never lose a moment’s sleep after.”
“What about the other one?”
“I sent Xavier after him.”
“What if something happens to him? What if he gets hurt out there? There could be more shifters waiting to jump him!”
“You saw the other wolves, right? They’re from River Springs. I sent them after Xavier. He’s fine.” He advanced on her, and she took in his raw, naked form, the intensity of his gaze--his cock. Oh God, he had an erection.
“If you’re not afraid of me, why are you trying to press yourself into that tree?”
He was right. Her back ached from the pressure of her back against the tree bark. She’d never witnessed a death before, and he was the one responsible for this one. Protecting her or not, thefact that he’d killed someone in front of her sent her reeling. “I just never saw anything like that before.”
He was so close she could smell him, his scent, dirt, and sweat. “This is the life of a wolf shifter. We live like humans in many ways, but we will fight to the death to protect those we love.”
Love? Was he saying he loved her? She opened her mouth to ask him, fear fading in the face of that question. But before she managed to get it out, he was on her, hard, naked and molding himself to her body.
His lips slid down her neck as his hot breath growled in her ear. “This is what I’m trying to protect you from. This fight was nothing compared to what you could see if we end up at war.”
His words were far from sweet nothings, but she couldn’t care less. The heat of his body had inflamed hers, and her pussy was as wet as if he’d spent the last several minutes stroking her. She felt his hands at the waist of her jeans and heard the snap pop and the rasp of her zipper before he tugged them down. “Here? Now?” Had he forgotten the body lying in the road?
“I need you, Clara. I need you so badly it hurts. I thought…he…he could have killed you.” He nuzzled her thighs as he bent to push her jeans further down and she stepped out of them. “I could have lost you today.”
She couldn’t speak. It felt as if his hands were everywhere on her body, though she knew thatwas impossible, and when he ripped her shirt in an effort to free her breasts, she groaned and moved forward, trying to press her pussy against his thigh. Nothing mattered at the moment, not the attack or the body, only Adam. He needed her.
Where the unbridled desire came from or why it had caught fire in her, she couldn’t say, but she couldn’t have denied him if she’d wanted to. The more he touched her, the more the world around them receded. Perhaps she should worry about the fact that he’d just ended a life with his teeth. Maybe she should feel bothered as that same mouth seared kisses along her neck, her breasts, her shoulder. But all she could bring herself to care about was the feel of his big palms as they squeezed her ass and lifted her up higher, the strength of his arms as he held her in midair, and the eagerness of his cock as he drove himself into her without further delay.
Instinct took over, pushing fear and shock away as she wrapped her legs around his waist and hooked her arms around his neck. He threaded one hand in her hair, pulling her head back to expose her neck, and buried his face there as he pounded into her pussy hard and fast, commanding, pushing her inexorably toward a blinding release that left her whimpering in his arms and capable of thinking only one thing. Never let me go.
***
Adam hadn’t planned to take her, certainly not out there in the woods with a wolf carcass just yards away. But the thought of what could have happened to her if he’d lost the battle or if those wolves had come upon her and Kate alone had left him raw and exposed. He needed to be inside her, needed it to hold himself together, but also to hold back the anger that simmered just under the surface. She’d disobeyed and put herself in danger, but he couldn’t think about that just then, not with her scent in his nose, her smooth skin yielding to his touch, and her pussy squeezing his cock like a vice as she found her release.
He couldn’t have held back even if he’d wanted to. The climax built in his body like an explosion and roared out of him like a freight train. He claimed her mouth and kissed her deeply as he shot his seed deep inside her. Her pussy’s last post-orgasmic contractions milked his cock until the last drop had left him and he stood, heart beating frantically, holding her in his arms and trying to catch his breath. Kissing her neck, her forehead, he pulled out of her, wishing for all he was worth that the rest of the world would simply go away.
Damn she was beautiful, even covered as she was in his sweat and the leftovers of his battle. “Fix yourself, and I’ll take you ho—” He’d been on the verge of saying he’d take her home, but River Springs wasn’t her home, and maybe it never would be.
She pulled her jeans back on and did what she could with her shirt, then stood with her arms crossed, shivering again, though the early-evening air wasn’t truly cold yet. “What about Xavier?”
“He’ll meet us there.” In the moments before he’d turned back to Clara, he and Xavier had quickly communicated the basic plan. “He’ll catch the prisoner and meet us back at the lodge.”
“How do you know? What if something happens to him?”
“Nothing will happen to him,” he snapped. “He’s strong enough to handle one wolf by himself. Now, come on and get in the car.” Adam couldn’t curtail his frustration. She just didn’t get it. The world he lived in could be calm, peaceful, even beautiful, but it could also be violent and harsh. When he gave an order, he expected those he protected to follow it. Otherwise, they could fall victim to whatever he sought to protect them from.
In her world, things were different, but hadn’t she just seen the result of disobedience in his? “This is exactly why you have to go back to your own town. And the sooner, the better. You don’t belong here.”
Clara glared at him. “You’re still trying to send me away, even after…after that?” She gestured toward the tree she’d pinned herself to trying to get away from him.
“That…should never have happened. It was wrong of me to take you like that, after what you just witnessed.” He walked over to take her in his arms again. “God, I’m sorry, Clara. I lost control. I know you must be frightened by all of this.”
“I was upset. I was scared to death, but all of that faded when you touched me.” She looked up at him expectantly. “It’s always like that, whenever you and Xavier touch me. Is it the same for you?”
Adam fought the part of him that was thrilled to hear that. “I have to get you back to River Springs where it’s safe. Get in the car.”
“No.” She walked back over to the tree that had just recently helped support her and leaned against it again. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“Why are you acting like this? I’ve told you Xavier is fine.”
“So I’m just supposed to let you take me back there where you can continue ignoring me and refusing to talk? No, I’m not leaving until you get it through your thick head that I can’t go back to my world. It’s too late for me. I belong with you and Xavier. This is my world now.”
He’d wanted to hear those words from her so many times, just not now. “Do you think this is ajoke? What if someone else comes along and tries to hurt you while we stand out here debating where you belong?”
She appeared to reconsider and took a step toward the car before stopping in her tracks. “You think those two weren’t alone?”
“No, they were definitely alone. If there were others nearby, they’d have attacked by now. I’m sure they were alone.”
It was the wrong thing to say. She turned to him, hands on her hips and irritation in her eyes. “Then I’m not really in any danger, am I? You just don’t want to talk about it, so you want to hurry back to River Springs where it’s easier to avoid me.”
She was right. He didn’t want to talk about it at all. He was too afraid she’d talk him out of doing the right thing. “Get in the car, Clara. I mean it. Now.” Adam kept his voice low and even in an effort to keep control of himself, but when she shook her head again and refused to move, his patience snapped. “Get your ass in that car now! When I give you an order, I expect you to obey it.”
Clara actually looked surprised, lifting her eyebrows at him, but she didn’t look inclined to move. “What’s this, the army?”
Really? She was giving him sass while they stood only yards away from the shifter he’d killed to protect her? “No, it’s the Liekos Clan, and here, mates obey or someone could get hurt or die. Do you have any idea what could have happened to you today? Those wolves weren’t after you for a friendly chat. They could have raped you or murdered you, or worse.” Adam didn’t like to think about what could be worse than death, but of course, he knew such things did exist.
“I’m not part of your clan, remember? You’re sending me back out into the human world the moment my sister is joined, and you’ve refused to claim me. So as far as I’m concerned, I’m no more your mate than I was when I got here.”
She lifted her chin and straightened her spine. He didn’t know what she was playing at, but he wasn’t having it. “You’ll move your ass now, so I can take you home, or I’ll move you.” He strode over and stood so close she had to crane her neck to meet his eyes.
“You won’t.” She sounded so confident. Too bad she was wrong.
Done with the debate, Adam picked her up and slung her over his shoulder as she kicked and screamed, slapping at him. “Stop struggling,” he ordered. She continued, so he delivered three swats to her bottom. They weren’t hard, just warnings, really, but she immediately froze. Then she did the weirdest thing. She started to laugh.
***
Clara laughed so long and so hard she almost threw up. She couldn’t stop, even as he deposited her into the passenger seat of Kate’s banged-up car and fastened her seatbelt. He’d tossed her over his shoulder like some sort of throwback caveman, and then, while she hung upside down, he’d smacked her on the ass. It hadn’t hurt, only stung a little, and she should be angry. Instead, she’d erupted into hysterical laughter.
She’d only just managed to move from crazy guffaws into a sort of weird combination of hiccup and giggle when Adam slid into the driver’s seat, started the engine, and turned to face her, wearing his concern for her like a badge. “Are you okay?” he asked, and that was all it took. Clara tumbled into a fresh attack of laughter.
“I’m sorry. I’ve just always had this weird reaction to stress. At the oddest moments, I just lose it and end up laughing instead of crying or screaming.”
Adam glanced at her and then back at the road. “Which was it this time?”
“What do you mean?”
“Did you want to cry or scream?”
Clara giggled at that question, and Adam gave her another worried look. “Don’t worry,” she said, holding up her hand. “I think I have it under control now.” She cleared her throat and thought about his question. “I guess I wanted to scream at you, but honestly, I was just shocked. I can’t believe you actually did it.”
“You practically dared me to.”
She had to agree with that. She’d had no good reason to refuse to go with him, but she’d takenpleasure in digging her heels in and provoking him. It had made her feel good, possibly a little powerful after what he’d said, the way he’d rejected her again. “I guess I didn’t really think I could get that much reaction out of you, except when we’re having sex.”
“I can’t think of anyone more capable of drawing a reaction out of me.”
“You could have fooled me.” Clara sighed, not wanting to bring it up, preferring to hold on to her pride but unable to just let it go. “You haven’t exactly been attentive to me since you made your big decree about sending me home.”
Adam’s hand tightened on the wheel, and she watched him clench and unclench his jaw. He was silent for so long she didn’t think he’d respond. “Look, I don’t want to send you home. It’s going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. We’re raised on stories about each wolf having a destined mate, or mates, and how that bond will be mind-blowing. But even after hearing that for so many years, even after witnessing others go crazy over their fated, I wasn’t prepared for how much I need you. I’ve had to put some distance between us. Otherwise, I’ll never be able to let you go.”
“Then don’t. Don’t let me go. When you first told me I was your mate, I thought you were a lunatic and then…well, once I realized you were telling the truth and there really was this whole supernatural world I’d known nothing about, I wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. I foughtagainst it until I realized fighting was hopeless. I don’t know what to call it…a bond? I feel it, too, and I can’t leave you. I won’t. I belong with you and Xavier.”
He pulled into the driveway and cut the engine, then turned to stare at Clara, an unreadable expression on his face.
She reached out to stroke the stubble on his jaw. It gave him a rugged, sexy look. “I thought we were going to see Will. Kate might need me.”
He sighed and ran a hand roughly through his hair. “We should both get cleaned up. It would probably upset her more to see you with blood smears on your clothes.”
She nodded. He was right. His clothes were a mess and he bore the evidence of his battle. And she’d become a mess simply from being pressed up against him. “We’ll be quicker if we shower together.” They’d have to be quick about it, but she didn’t want to be separated from him at the moment. Clara needed to be close to him, even if all they did was get clean. She lowered her hand and unfastened her seatbelt, then turned to grab the door handle.
His heavy sigh stopped her, and she knew she wasn’t going to like whatever he had to say. “I was wrong to take you like that today, Clara. Nothing’s changed about our situation. River Springs is no place for you.”
***
Xavier couldn’t wait to see Clara. He knew she was okay. Adam had sent word, but he wanted to see her with his own eyes and assure himself that she wasn’t suffering from the night’s events, physically or mentally. It was hours before he got to see her, though. First, there was the run to catch the surviving wolf and drag him back to River Springs. Then he’d had to help deposit him in the stockade and get him to talk before reporting to the alphas. Between one thing and another, it was close to dawn before he got to see his mate.
She’d been asleep in a chair at Will’s bedside when he arrived, but her face lit up when he woke her. They’d quietly left the room and she’d thrown herself into his arms, kissing him soundly. When he’d finally torn himself away from her, he’d looked her over carefully, needing to see for himself that what Adam had told him was the truth. She didn’t have so much as a scratch.
Xavier led her down to the large family room, which was deserted at that time of the night, and sat heavily, sighing with a mixture of fatigue and relief. It was finally over and he was back with his mate, where he belonged.
“No one has told us much about what happened to Will.” She slid over beside him on the couch and rested her head on his chest. “Can you give me any more details?”
“Well, we have the one who survived, Glenn, in our stockade for the moment, and we…uh…encouraged him to talk. It seems he and Jay came here after their pack broke up, with some of them joining Ulric and others going their own way. He and Jay didn’t want to end up fighting vampires, so they’ve been drifting from state to state. They stopped over in Kensington and figured they’d hang out a while. Anyway, they planned to track you down, finish what they started in the bar that night, and get revenge on Adam and me. We already knew they’d ransacked Kate’s house and caused some trouble near our borders, but apparently they’d discovered where Will and Jason worked as well. For some reason, today must have seemed like a good day to start trouble, so they followed Will from not far outside of River Springs as he headed toward Lupus Falls. He said they’d intended to get both of Kate’s mates, but they took different cars today. They’d missed Jason but took the opportunity to run Will off the road.”
“I just don’t understand. Why hurt Will? And why over me?”
“Their plan was to cause a huge rush of men to leave River Springs to go to Will’s rescue and then sneak across an unguarded area to find you. They didn’t account for the fact that we have more than enough men to guard our borders, even in these circumstances. So they doubled back when they realized they couldn’t get to you and picked up your scent out at the accident site. They pulled toward the end of the line of cars, and I guess we were all too distracted to notice them. When they saw you and Adam pull off to head back to River Springs, they followed you and attacked.”
“It seems stupid to attack so close to River Springs. I mean, I’m not sure how long it took the others to get there after Adam called, but it couldn’t have been that long.”
He smiled at her logic. “No one ever said criminals were smart.”
She nodded, then looked up at him. “I’m so sorry, Xavier. I know you didn’t want us to leave, but Kate was frantic over Will, and I couldn’t let her go alone.”
“You could have told someone.”
“I know, but…I knew she had to go to him. I would have done the same thing for the man I loved.” Clara sighed. “Adam is so angry, and I guess I can understand why. Are you angry with me, too?”
Xavier though about that. His first instinct had been disappointment and anger that she’d left the lodge and put herself in danger. Then, finding her like that by the side of the road, knowing those shifters had attacked with the intent of getting to her, he’d only felt relief that she was okay.
The anger had returned on his way back to River Springs, but by the time he’d held her in his arms again, it had faded. He felt nothing but relief, and sadness that Adam had been right. She would have to return to her own place in the world, until life in theirs was safer. “I’m not angry, but you have to understand that things here aren’t like they are in Philadelphia. Putting yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time could get you or someone else killed.”
“I understand now. It won’t happen again. I promise.” She snuggled into him, and he wished they could stay like that forever.
“I’m glad, but we’re not taking any chances. For the rest of your time in River Springs, if you’re not with me or Adam, you’ll have a guard with you for protection.”
“A guard? Really, Xavier, you don’t have to do that. I’ve learned my lesson.”
“I believe you, but like I said, Adam and I have to be sure you’re safe. And it won’t be for long. We’ll talk to Zion and Grey about moving the joining up so we can get you back home sooner.”
Clara jumped to her feet, glaring down at him. “You know what makes me angry?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “You two can’t see that this is where I belong and that I have no intention of going back to Philadelphia.” She stormed from the room, and Xavier, exhausted as he was, had no choice but to follow her.