Protective Instinct (3 page)

Especially one as alpha as Aldric. With a military precision buzzed haircut, his hard features stood out even more. And his grayish-green eyes were so bright it was hard not to get ensnared by them. Not to mention his body…something she’d spent way too many hours fantasizing over. But it wasn’t just the physical stuff that pulled her to him. He took her on some of his investigations or bounty hunting jobs with him and treated her like an equal. And the male was funny. His sense of humor was subtle and he rarely opened up to anyone but her and her sisters. Something she liked. It made her feel just a tiny bit possessive of him.

She swallowed hard and struggled to find her voice. She was afraid she would accidentally let out a moan at the feel of his talented fingers on her, even through the material of her socks. “So how did last night with you and Jayce go?”

He lifted his big shoulders into an awkward shrug. Both he and Jayce were similar with that silent, brooding attitude. “Good, I guess. We had some beers, watched some stupid sports thing on TV.”

“What did you talk about?” she persisted.

“Weapons.”

She blinked. “What?”

“You know, guns, blades, stuff like that. He got some new ones and showed them to me.”

She raised her eyebrows.

“What?” he demanded.

“Nothing.” The two brothers hadn’t talked for hundreds of years. Aldric’s mate had been killed and he’d gone off the deep end, leaving his family behind and roaming the globe, but not before attacking and scarring his brother Jayce. At least that’s what he’d told Natalia. He and Jayce had so much to talk about, so much to catch up on, freaking metaphorical fences to mend. They shouldn’t have been talking about weapons. Males were so weird.

When he slid his thumb down the middle of her arch, a groan escaped and she swore she felt the action all the way to the juncture between her thighs. On instinct she started to pull her foot back. She needed to get her body under control and this wasn’t helping at all. She was actively masking her scent but wouldn’t be able to do it for much longer.

Aldric’s fingers tightened around her foot and she couldn’t get a read on his expression. He was always so hard to read and it made her crazy. “You don’t want me to finish?”

“That’s okay. I want to start dinner anyway. Rosa and Gloria will be back soon.” And she really didn’t want to start making orgasm sounds from his touch.

His fingers tightened again, holding on just a little longer than necessary before he let her foot go. “I can help if you want.”

“Of course.” He’d been having dinner with them three or four nights a week and damn it, she knew she was getting far too used to it, but she couldn’t help it. She liked having him around. “So,” she started as she swung her legs off him and stood, “how long do you think you’ll stick around here?” Thankfully her voice sounded normal, casual even, as she started for the kitchen.

“As long as Connor lets me,” he murmured, closer than she realized.

Natalia turned to glance at him and found herself looking up. “Really?”

He shrugged. “It’s the longest I’ve stayed in one place in…pretty much forever. I like it.”

She nudged him with her hip as they entered the kitchen. He traveled on and off for bounty hunting cases he worked, but it seemed as if the Armstrong-Cordona ranch had become his base. “I’m glad.”

His gray-green eyes flashed with something she couldn’t pinpoint, but it made her feel warm inside. And when he put his hand on the small of her back, just for a fraction of a moment, fireworks might as well have exploded inside her. But it was short lived because a second later she heard the front door opening and her two sisters returning home.

Just as well. Nothing was ever going to happen between the two of them. Natalia refused to come in second place to the memory of his dead mate anyway.

* * *

Teresa silenced the ringer on her phone and tucked it into her purse. Too bad she couldn’t silence the guilt battering against the inside of her brain as easily. Gah. Now that she was on the road with Rafael she felt bad for not telling Ryan she’d be taking a quick trip.

It wasn’t like he told her everything he did for work, but still, this felt wrong.

“Your sisters don’t mind you going on this overnight stay?” Rafael asked as they pulled out onto the highway.

She shook her head, surprised by the question. Her sisters were all adults. “No, they’re good. Besides, Aldric will probably be having dinner with them tonight.”

At her words, Rafael frowned.

“You don’t like him?” Both males were new to the pack, having joined around the same time. Though technically Aldric wasn’t a member, she knew it was going to become official soon.

He gave her a casual shrug. “I don’t know him.”

“That’s not an answer.”

He shrugged again and shot her a look that might be considered amused. At least he was talking. She didn’t want silence the next couple hours. “What do you think of the human, Matt Dunlauxe?” he asked, taking her off guard.

The question was pretty random, but… “He’s cool. So is his mom. We’ve known them since before we came out to humans.” They ran a Native American shop in town and had openly accepted the pack before it had been popular to do so.

“Rosa’s been spending a lot of time at his shop lately.” The statement was casual but she noticed that finger clench thing again. Interesting.

“Yeah, she likes getting off the ranch.” And since Matt’s mom had hurt her hip last month, Rosa had been helping out at the shop. Deciding to see if her guess was right, Teresa continued. “Plus I think she likes Matt.”

Rafael’s claws tore into the steering wheel and Teresa snickered.

Narrow-eyed, he looked at her again. “You’re messing with me?”

She pressed her forefinger and thumb together. “Little bit. So…you’re into Rosa?” When he didn’t respond, she continued. “Come on. You just tore up the steering wheel over that little mention of her and someone else and I desperately need to get my mind off stupid males. Give me something.”

A low rumble came from Rafael and it took her a moment to realize he was laughing. “Fine, yes, I like Rosa. She’s been very kind to me.” And that was apparently all he planned to say on the matter.

“How do you like living in North Carolina—” Her words were cut off as someone suddenly rammed into them from behind. The crunch of metal rent the air as they careened into the railing along the side of the road. She cringed at the scraping sound, her wolf clawing to break free at the threat.

Rafael tried to twist the wheel to the left, but the vehicle crashed into them again.

Teresa’s heart rate kicked up. This was intentional. There was nowhere to go on this stretch of road, not as they curved around a winding bend. She grabbed onto the hand rest, tensing for another impact, and turned around in her seat.

Even with her acute vision, it was too dark to see who was driving. All she could make out was the silhouette of a driver and a passenger. “Looks like there’s two of them.”

“Call Connor,” Rafael ordered, even as Teresa was already grabbing for her purse to do just that.

The SUV lurched forward under the force of another impact. Her head snapped back, the jolt sending pain shooting down her neck.

“Shit,” Rafael muttered. “Brace yourself.”

By the time she’d sat up straight, they slammed through the side rail, careening over the edge of a snow-covered mountainside.

Chapter 3

Frida slowed her SUV and pulled off to the side of the road. There was a wide pullout around thirty yards ahead of where she’d just sent that bitch wolf over the incline. Not bothering to wait for her companion, Frida exited the vehicle and raced down the road to where the metal railing had given way.

“They won’t be dead,” John murmured as he hurried to stand next to her in seconds. Though he wasn’t as old as her, his vampiric speed was still impressive. He placed a hand on the small of her back in a way she knew he meant to be possessive. It grated against her nerves, but she ignored it.

“They will be when I’m through with them.” Though she didn’t care about the male at all. It was just the female she wanted dead. After what that bitch’s sister had done, Frida was going to destroy everyone close to Natalia Cordona.

Starting with her oldest sister, Teresa.

However, Frida would have to kill the male too. He wouldn’t stand idly by while they kidnapped Teresa Cordona. That might get tricky. She’d wanted to kidnap and torture Teresa as a giant ‘Fuck You’ to Natalia, but if she had to simply kill both wolves now so be it.

She took a step forward, ready to climb down the snow-covered incline, when John grabbed her upper arm. Before she could ask him what he was doing, two headlights flashed over them.

A car pulled up next to them and a group of four young kids got out. They were likely in high school or college by her estimate. Not that she cared. She’d kill these fools if they got in her way.

“Are you guys okay?” one of the males asked, his gaze roaming appreciatively over Frida. “We saw that SUV fly over the edge.”

“We’re fine,” John answered for her, his voice taking on a possessive note as he stepped closer to her. He didn’t even like other males to look at her, which was ridiculous. Of course males were going to look at her. So did females. Frida knew what she looked like and reveled in it.

“Cops are on their way. Luckily they’ve got someone close by,” another boy said as he walked to the edge and looked over. His cell phone was in his hand, likely the one who’d called the police. “Shit, you can’t even see the SUV from here. It’s too dark.”

As he spoke another set of headlights flashed, coming up the winding road toward them. Not police but they would be here soon enough it seemed.

Frustration detonated inside her, but she kept her expression neutral as she gently nudged John. It was time to leave. She didn’t mind killing some idiots but if she did it would draw too much attention to her situation.

They moved back up the road as the boys peered over the edge of the cliff. When she knew they weren’t watching, she increased her speed. Seconds later she and John slid back into her SUV.

“That would have been a perfect opportunity,” she growled, angry that her chance for vengeance had been taken. She knew she needed to be patient, but it was growing more difficult.

“We’ll find another one,” he said, looking behind them.

Easy for him to say. He didn’t crave revenge the way she did. Emil had been her lover, her maker. And he’d been taken from her by some whore shifter. Worse, Emil’s brother, one of the fucking Brethren of their race, had declared that the female was off limits. Juhani had gone even further, stating that the entire Armstrong-Cordona pack was off limits. Emil’s death had supposedly been self-defense and his coven would respect that or face decades of torture before death.

Frida called bullshit on that. Juhani just hated Emil so he was letting the death go unpunished. For three months she’d tried to put her pain out of her mind, but the sweet lure of retribution called to her. She couldn’t just walk away.

She needed to avenge Emil. He’d turned her, given her immortality. He’d taught her how to use her body to get what she wanted and deserved out of life. He’d embraced everything it meant to be a vampire unlike that pussy Juhani. Her maker deserved to be avenged. “Perhaps we’ll try one of the other sisters tomorrow. I can order one of our humans to take her.” The one named Rosa had been working in downtown Fontana the past couple weeks according to their intel. Unfortunately Frida hadn’t been able to see for herself because she wasn’t a daywalker and most of the shifter pack in the area was on their ranch by sundown. And she would never attempt to breach their land. That would be suicide.

She wasn’t suicidal—though she would die to avenge Emil. She’d loved him so much it hurt. Now she faced an eternity without him.

“Tomorrow might be too soon, especially after this attack. Shifters can be very protective. They’ll likely close ranks and increase security. Our humans wouldn’t stand a chance against a shifter.” John snorted at the thought, clearly amused, sliding his hand up her thigh, squeezing possessively. “Unless of course we give them a few extra weapons.”

Ignoring his touch, Frida hated that he was right. Her fingers tightened around the steering wheel as they cruised down the dark road. She fought the urge to whip the vehicle around and head right back to where they’d come from and start killing everyone in her path.

She imagined the bloodbath and got instantly aroused. She could drink from everyone, until she was hyped up and stronger than ever. It would be perfect. Then she could slice that shifter to ribbons and cut out her heart while she was still alive. It wouldn’t be the torture she’d planned on but still bloody.

She’d send it to that little wolf, Natalia. The thought of the female opening that box, her look of horror as she saw her sister’s heart, got Frida even more excited. “What do you suggest we do?” she asked John, needing his advice.

He was a couple decades younger than her, but he was strong and smart and understood battle tactics better than she did. She’d wanted to go after the female’s family right after Emil’s death, but John had convinced her not to. He’d told her it would take planning, that they’d have to learn everyone’s schedule.