Winter (Rise of the Pride, Book 2) (6 page)

“Thank you,” she said, scooting up in the
bed. Winter set the tray beside her, but not over her lap. The no
touching rule he adhered to was driving her mad. She looked away
from him and pulled the food closer for her inspection. She needed
something to do with her hands and eating kept her eyes off of
Winter and her mind off of his touch.

“Look,” he began, taking a deep breath.

“No, Winter,” she interrupted him, staring
at the bowl of soup on the tray. “Just don’t, okay?”

“I’m sorry,” he said, moving forward. Nova
still wouldn’t look up from her food because tears had gathered in
her eyes and she didn’t want him to see her upset. “Look at me,
Nova.”

“No,” she replied, a stubborn bark to her
words. “Please, Winter. Just leave.”

Nova gasped when he took a seat on the edge
of the bed. Her eyes lifted to see him staring at her. The moment
he saw the tears in her eyes, amber sparks fired in his eyes. His
jaw tightened and he cursed loudly.

“I want to touch you,” he admitted, running
his hand through his blond hair, tugging on the short ends. “But I
can’t.”

“Why, Winter?” she asked, pushing the food
away. It no longer appealed to her.

“I wasn’t born a panther,” he explained.
Nova’s eyes widened, her mouth dropped open, but no words escaped.
This wasn’t something she’d known. “I don’t think like they do,
even though I am ruled by their ways.”

“How…how long have you been one?” she
whispered.

“Five years,” he answered, his eyes
returning to the icy blue she’d become so fond of over the past few
months. “I cannot damn you to this life.”

“Is it that bad?” she asked, suddenly
worried for Liberty. “Is my sister going to be okay?”

“She’s going to be fine,” he replied, but
his eyes flickered toward the floor. Nova sensed he wasn’t telling
her everything.

“If she’s in danger…” she began, but Winter
shook his head.

“Liberty is going to live a long, healthy
life,” he said, moving off of the bed. “I have to go. I just want
you to know…if things were different…”

“Different how?” she asked, leaning forward.
When she reached for his arm, Winter stepped back, his nostrils
flaring.

“Rest,” he ordered, walking toward the door,
not looking back. “And eat.” He growled as he closed the door to
her room, leaving Nova with more questions than she’d had before
he’d walked into the room.

Winter stormed out of the house. He couldn’t
tell her. He couldn’t let Nova know her sister had screamed in pain
for those days she was going through the change, accepting the
panther inside her body. He wouldn’t bring anymore sadness to her
life. She’d been attacked for fuck’s sake! If he’d even given in
upstairs in that bedroom and touched her, and they’d been
mates…Winter would have never forgiven himself for the sudden need
to claim her body. He could’ve hurt her.

The mated males in the pride occasionally
mentioned the moment they’d found their mates. One couple had
touched by accident in the alpha’s house and when they realized
they were mates, they had solidified their mating in the tool shed
out behind the barn.

If Winter had touched Nova, and then taken
her like an animal while she was recovering from her injuries, he
would’ve hated himself forever. He was too much of a gentleman to
rut into her with the bruises still healing.

It was Monday and he wasn’t expected into
the office until the next morning, because Talon had told him to
take the day off to help bring Nova home from the hospital. He
needed to lose himself for a few hours. It was early afternoon, and
he had plenty of time to let his panther free. When he was human,
he’d always wished there’d been a way to escape his thoughts for a
short period of time. One of the perks of becoming a panther was
the fact that he could, in fact, let his human side take a
break.

Not wanting to leave his truck at the main
house, Winter drove to his cabin, parking in front of his garage.
He shut the door to his truck and made his way to the porch, not
even caring about throwing his things inside. He stripped right
there on the steps, dropping to his hands and knees as soon as he
felt his panther push forward.

The panther stretched lazily, his lethal
claws digging into dirt as he took his first step off the porch.
The cool air was nothing to his thick, black coat. Noises were more
defined as he trekked off into the surrounding woods. The scent of
his family…his pride, surrounded him as he moved silently through
the thicker part of the land, keeping a steady trot on his hunt for
something that wasn’t human.

A rabbit scurried out from under a fallen
log, but the panther had no desire to feed. Winter’s beast had his
own objective, and that was to find Nova. Winter tried to calm his
panther when it turned for the alpha’s house, demanding to taste
the scent of the human female. He wanted to be close to her…she was
injured. A mournful cry escaped as the panther felt anger at the
male who’d hurt Nova.

“
No
,” Winter warned inside the
panther’s mind, but he wasn’t listening, fighting the human side
who wanted out.

Two of the pride’s females moved to the side
as he leapt onto the back porch of the main house. Evie’s mother,
Marie, held the door open, a soft smile on her face. No one said
anything to the panther as he prowled slowly through the living
room, turning for the stairs. The panther purred softly as he
caught scent of the human female. He turned left at the top of the
stairs and followed the sound of her gentle breathing, knowing she
was asleep in the room that held her scent. The panther curled up
outside the door, closing his eyes and falling into a contented
slumber.

Chapter Four

Nova wanted to go home. Her heart was aching
along with her arm. She leaned over, reaching for her bag from the
hospital. After digging around, she pulled out the bottle of pain
pills, shaking one into her palm. She needed to rest just another
day or two and she’d be good as new. After that, she could go back
to work and back to her pathetic life.

It had been two days since she came to stay
with her sister. Winter hadn’t been seen since the day he ran out
without explaining why he wouldn’t touch her. What the hell did he
mean he didn’t want to subject her to his life?

It didn’t matter anyway. She wasn’t going to
be around long. The bar needed her and Liberty couldn’t continue to
work as much as she’d been doing. The pride’s doctor ordered her to
rest for a few weeks or until the morning sickness subsided. Talon
had thrown a fit when Liberty protested, saying she could easily
sit in her office and do paperwork.

The sun was shining outside the windows as
she rolled to her side, adjusting her arm so it was propped up on a
pillow. She watched the tops of the trees sway with each gust. Even
with the soothing sounds, she was restless, worrying about
Winter.

She’d overheard Talon speaking to Dane,
telling him that Winter had been working with the sheriff since the
day before to help find a missing person that had been seen in the
area. Booth and Noah, the alpha’s brother, were on foot, checking
all of the wooded areas for the man’s scent. They still hadn’t
found anything.

As far as Nova knew, no one had found Perry,
and she was even afraid to bring up the subject because all of the
males would bristle at the mention of the man who’d seemed to
disappear into thin air. She wondered why Perry was so curious
about the pride and why he wanted to know where they lived.

Swinging her legs over the side of the bed,
she stood up slowly, thankful that the medicine hadn’t made her
head dizzy. She wanted to move around for a few minutes and maybe
head to the kitchen to see if Mrs. Shaw had made some more of her
sweet tea.

Nova took her empty glass and padded quietly
out of the room. She frowned when she thought she’d caught Winter’s
unique scent, but shrugged when she inhaled again and found
nothing.

Downstairs, people moved around, most of
them ignoring her. When she turned the corner into the kitchen, the
Guardian Savage was leaning against the counter, talking to a young
girl who was about sixteen years old.

“Nova?” Savage said as she walked into the
room. His heavily tattooed arms were folded across his massive
chest, his long hair hanging loose around his sharp jaw. “Are you
feeling okay?”

“Yes,” she answered and nodded. “I was
coming to get some tea.” She held up the empty glass and gave it a
little shake.

“You could’ve called down and one of us
would’ve helped.” He frowned.

“Thank you, Savage.” Nova smiled. “But I can
take care of this. I need to move around.”

“Hi,” the girl said, holding out her hand
for an introduction. “My name is Sofia and this scary guy is my
brother.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Sofia,” Nova
replied, taking the young girl’s hand. She was beautiful and looked
very much like Savage, except her long, brown hair was a shade
darker than his.

“I’m going back to the house,” Sofia
announced, smiling at Nova once more before standing up on her toes
to kiss Savage’s cheek. He patted her on the head affectionately
and shooed her out of the house with a promise to come by for
dinner.

“She’s very pretty,” Nova said, reaching
into the refrigerator for the pitcher of tea. She filled up her cup
and looked over at Savage. He was scowling at the empty doorway
where his sister had just exited.

“Yes, she is.” He wiped his hand down his
face and blew out a frustrated breath. “I’m not ready to start
kicking little cub’s asses for looking at her.”

Nova laughed and shook her head. “It’s going
to happen. Just remember that cats don’t do well in cages.”

“That’s the truth,” Savage agreed. “Can I
get you anything?”

“No, I’m good,” she yawned. “I think I’m
going to take a nap.”

“Call one of us if you need anything,” he
said, allowing Nova to leave the kitchen first.

As she walked through the living room, Marie
and another woman were just walking through the back door with
several bags of groceries. Savage hurried over and waited for the
women to pass before telling them he’d grab the rest. Nova made her
excuses and headed for the stairs. She would sleep and then make
her plans to head back to work in the morning.

Kye drove his old truck up the long, winding
road as he came home from school. He was so happy to have Evie
sitting beside him, his hand resting on top of her knee. They had
only two weeks before the Thanksgiving break and he planned on
taking her out over the holiday weekend. She’d not been herself
since the kidnapping and he was out of ways to keep her happy.

“Want to take a run with me?” he asked,
squeezing the top of her knee to get her attention. “I can be a
little late to work.”