Feral Awakening (The Feral Series-Book 2) (30 page)

 “I did. I own my own
business along with a friend of mine. Actually Ava used to work there with us. It’s
how we met. I finally bought my own home a couple of years ago. It’s a little
two bedroom farm house but it’s on ten acres and it backs up to a wildlife
reserve so of course I fell in love with it.”

 Connor’s friend Liam
raised an eyebrow at her answer, he was the smaller of the four men and his
blond hair lay in waves almost to his collar. “You lived there alone?”

 “Um, yes. My mother
disappeared seven years ago and I was on my own after that.”

 Clearly Liam didn’t
like her answer as he stood frowning at her. “You should not have been left
alone like that, unprotected. Wasn’t there a male in your life to look out for
you, even if it was a human male?”

 The others snorted in
response, clearly they didn’t think a human male would have offered much
protection for her. Again she tried not to be offended. The Lykan culture was
much different than the human. Her independent lifestyle was probably very
strange to them.

 “Well I wasn’t always
alone. I had friends. Ava is like a sister to me and I met my friend Patrick
while I was in college. A few years ago Patrick inherited some money from an aunt
who had passed away and we bought a shop in a historic shopping district. Shortly
after that I was able to buy my little house. It was a bit of a drive to get to
work but to me it was worth it. The trails behind the house are amazing. I went
hiking almost every day.” Kat’s eyes lit up as she talked about her home. The
joy in her expression had the men around her spell bound as they watched her.

 “You like to hike?” One
of the other men asked her in surprise. She thought that Elana had said his
name was Tanner. He was the darker of the four, his coal black hair and blue
eyes a stunning combination Kat would have to be a fool not to appreciate.

 “Oh yes.” Kat smiled
at him in response. Now they were talking about something else that was dear to
her heart. “I did a bit of trail running too. I would love a chance to explore
some of the woods here. Everything here is so wild and beautiful I bet there
are all kinds of things to see.”

 Connors eyes turned
calculating and he elbowed Tanner standing next to him.

 “You thinking what I’m
thinking?”

 “Yes, I am. We were
planning on getting together in the morning to go for a run. You should come
with us.” The look in Tanner’s eyes had become quite predatory, daring her to
join them.

 The look on their
faces made Kat want to squirm but she firmly held her ground in front of the
wall of testosterone she faced. “Oh, I don’t know. I don’t want to interfere
with guy time.”

 “You’re not
interfering. I don’t think anyone would mind a beautiful woman joining in. Don’t
worry, we will be perfect gentlemen and there will be four of us to look out
for you. We usually run it pretty hard but we could slow things down for you.”

 That did it. Kat’s
female pride would never back down from a challenge like that. Connor didn’t
know it but he had just waved a red flag in Kat’s face. She would love to show
these men that a women could run with the big dogs.

 The men all looked at
her expectantly. Clearly they were intrigued by a female that actually wanted
to run with them.

 “Okay, I’m in. There’s
no need to slow down for me though, I can handle it.”

 “Oh really.” Tanner
grinned at her cockiness. “Well see about that little girl.”

 Kat laughed at the
look on his face. She was thrilled to find that she was really enjoying their
company. She found herself beginning to relax around them, that was until she
glanced across the room for a moment and caught Ronan’s eyes. He was scowling
darkly at her and by the way he was clenching his fists she was sure he was
imagining it was her neck between his hands. With a gulp she forced herself to
look away from him. Let him glare all he wanted, what did she care. The flutter
she felt in her stomach betrayed the brave words in her head. Kat straightened
her shoulders in response, she refused to let him ruin her night.

 Seeing her reaction
and the direction of her gaze, Connor looked at her in concern. “Kat, I hope
you don’t mind me asking but you and Ronan…”

 Kat became aware that
the little circle of men had suddenly become quite tense as they waited for her
answer. Her first instinct was to tell him it was none of his business but she
figured it was best that she clear up any confusion. She was pretty sure Elana
had already told them anyway. Her chest felt tight as she prepared to say the
words. For some reason making it public knowledge made it seem more real and
final. “Um, there is no Ronan and I. He is not planning on staying. We are not
completing the mating bond.”

 Conner and several of
the men grinned broadly at her. “I’m sorry to hear that.” Kat almost laughed at
him. The dimple in his cheek when he smiled at her definitely contradicted how
“sorry” he was to hear that.

 Kat watched as Connor
and Liam seemed to have some kind of discussion between the two of them without
actually saying a word. With a nod Connor placed his warm palm at the small of
her back and guided her to stand in front of him as he and Liam moved behind
her. Kat was startled as his hand touched bare skin on her back and lingered
for a moment before releasing her.  Kat smiled as she realized she was now
completely blocked from Ronan’s angry gaze. Hmm, it looked like Kat now had her
own personal body guards, to her surprise she found it kind of sweet, if not
suicidal.

 “So Thomas said that
you had a run-in with Darrin.” Caleb, the fourth man in the group said to her.

 Kat looked at him in
confusion. “Darrin… Oh, you mean the feral. Yes, I guess you could say that.”

 “Is it true that Ronan
took him down by himself?” Clearly they were all in shock that one man could
take on a feral all alone and live to tell about it.

 “Um, well yes. The
feral caught me alone on one of the trails behind my house. He, um… he injured
me pretty badly and he was close to killing me when Ronan saved my life.” Kat
could hear Liam growl low when she mentioned that the feral had hurt her.

 Connor reached out and
ran his hand down her arm in an instinctive need to calm her. “You must have
been terrified.” The men around her all nodded their heads in sympathy and fury
that she had been harmed.

 “I’ve never been so scared,
it was about to kill Ronan too but I managed to put four bullets in its chest
before it could and then Ronan took its head.”

 Silence surrounded her
as the men stared at her with their mouths open. “You shot it?” Tanner’s voice
broke as he asked.

 “Well, yes. It was
about to kill Ronan. I’m sorry, maybe we shouldn’t talk about this. I know
Darin was a member of your family at one time.” Kat bit her lip in worry,
unaware of the hungry looks that slid to her full lips, she was afraid she had
said too much.

 About that time Elana
sailed back into the room and came to her rescue. “There you are. Gentlemen, thank
you for keeping Kat company for me. There is one last couple I want you to meet
before dinner.” Kat smiled at her and said her good byes, promising to meet her
new friends in the morning.

 The four men watched
helplessly as Elana stole her away from them. “Ah, I think I’m in love boys.” Connor
grabbed his chest as though he was in pain. Tanner elbowed him roughly in the
ribs. “I saw her first.”

 “Race you for her.” Liam
chimed in.

 Caleb growled at them
all. “You’re all crazy. I’m just going to wait for Ronan to kill you all and
then I will have her all to myself.”

 Kat walked across the
room oblivious to the hungry eyes that followed her or the chaos she had left
in her wake.

 The rest of the evening
went quickly. At dinner Kat found herself seated next to Elana and Ava. Ava
seemed to be doing well and it seemed like the pack was treating her kindly whether
they agreed with her mating or not.

 Avoiding Ronan had
turned out to be a fairly easy task since he also seemed to be avoiding her. She
could still feel his eyes burning holes in her borrowed dress from time to time
though.

 Finally having a
moment to herself after dinner, Kat quietly opened the door to the back patio
and stepped out into the night with her stolen throw. Wrapping the blanket
around her shoulders she walked across the patio and down one of the walkways
until she was out of sight of the windows. She needed a few minutes alone to regroup
before returning to the party. It was exhausting meeting so many new people.
Everyone had been very welcoming but she was still stressed.  

 Speaking to the other
female Lykan’s, Kat was surprised to find them so… passive. They were very
sweet and soft spoken and their mates hovered over them possessively. If these
were the kind of women Lykan men preferred, no wonder Ronan didn’t want someone
like her. Kat felt a jolt of pain in her chest as her thoughts turned to him. She
noticed he seemed to keep to himself quite a bit. She hadn’t seen him talking
with the other guests much. In fact they had all steered a wide path around
him. She had been surprised at how nervous the other Lykan were around him. She
could understand though, with the look he had on his face tonight. He clearly
didn’t do well in crowds. The fuller the room had got the deeper his scowl had
been.  Kat realized it must have something to do with why he left his pack.

 With a squeak of
surprise, Kat felt someone grab both her arms and then she was spun around and
slammed into a hard male chest. Ronan’s grip on her arms bordered on painful
and she could feel the tension in his body where she was pressed against him. His
beautiful chiseled jaw flexed as he ground his teeth and fumed above her. She
had never noticed that little habit before since his beard had hidden it.

 “You will not go
running with those males in the morning.” Ronan snarled above her. Kat looked
up at him in shock and then her temper kicked in. With a jerk she tried to pull
her arms out of his tight grip but was miserably unsuccessful.

 Leaning her head back
she glared up at him, not intimidated in the least. “
You…
do not get to
tell me what to do anymore Ronan. Your mark may still be on my wrist but as far
as I’m concerned our bond is broken. This was your choice. You don’t get to
have it both ways.”

 Ronan’s eyes glowed a
Lykan gold with his fury. “Dam it Kat. I won’t sit here and watch as you throw
yourself at them.” Kat gaped at him, stunned speechless for once. Pain speared
her and was clearly visible on her beautiful face. She stilled in his grip, the
fight slipping out of her with his harsh words.

 “Is that what you
think of me? That I’m some kind of slut because I had a conversation with
another man and agreed to go hiking?” Ronan regretted the words as soon as they
left his mouth. He had just been so frustrated sitting there watching her smile
at the other men while she had completely ignored him all night. She had been
right. He no longer had a claim to her but dam it he couldn’t stand seeing her
with them and he had seen the hunger in their eyes as they had looked at her. It
had taken all of his strength not to beat Connor senseless when he touched her.
It was only his alpha’s restraining hand that had saved the young Lykan
tonight.

 Pain twisted in his
gut as the glow of her eyes faded, only to be replaced by tears. “Just… just
get away from me.” Kat shoved weekly at his chest.

 “Kat… I…”

 “Please Ronan!” Kat
had to escape him and fast. She was about to come apart and was hoping to
salvage some part of her dignity.

 “Kat, I’m leaving
tomorrow morning.”

 “What!” Kat looked up
at him as a crushing pain filled her chest.

 “I don’t belong here
and I can’t watch you with them. Every time I see one of them touch you I want to
tear them apart. If I stay, someone is going to get hurt. It’s why I left the
first time. Nothing has changed. If nothing else it’s even worse now than it
was before.”

 “It doesn’t have to be
this way Ronan. Just… stay. Stay with me.” Kat held her breath as she waited
for his response. She had done it. She had swallowed her pride and asked him to
stay. She hadn’t planned on it but the thought of him leaving and maybe never
seeing him again filled her with panic.

 With a groan Ronan
stepped back from her, releasing her and dragging a hand through his hair in
frustration. “I can’t, you don’t understand. My beast… “

 Kat was suddenly
filled with humiliation. She had taken a risk and yet once again she was
rejected. Thankfully she could feel her anger rising in self-defense.
Of all
the stubborn, pig headed, thick skulled…
She was tired of his excuses. “That’s
bullshit and you know it. If you don’t want me than you could at least be man
enough to say it.” Kat’s emerald eyes began to glow with her growing fury.

 “Kat.” Ronan growled
low at her in warning. He could feel his beast rising to the surface.

 Kat walked closer to
him and slammed her hands against his chest pushing him back, her blanket
falling forgotten to the ground. She didn’t think that she had ever been this
mad before in her life. “You say you can’t control your beast. You say you
don’t want to hurt me! I think its bullshit! I think you’re scared! Scared of
having to give a dam about someone other than yourself!”