Winter (Rise of the Pride, Book 2) (7 page)

“No,” she replied, shaking her head. Her
short blonde hair had grown out some since the beginning of school.
He liked the longer look, but then again, anything on Evie was
beautiful. “I have a ton of homework.”

“I’ll drive you home,” he told her, making a
left onto the road leading back to the mated cabins. Her home was
far back from the main house and he sure as hell didn’t want her
walking alone. He’d be an idiot to send her off by herself.

She’d shown signs of panic when she would be
left at home. Her mother had called the alpha two weeks prior,
begging him to come talk to Evie. Talon had immediately found Kye
and suggested he go to check on her. Her parents had planned on
going out for the evening, her brother was out on a date. She’d
cried, begging them not to leave her, saying she couldn’t be alone.
It was only after Kye had entered the home that she had calmed and
snuggled into his arms, eventually falling asleep curled up on his
lap. Talon had sent her parents on their way, promising that Kye
would be there until they returned. She never would talk about her
panic attacks or even give him an idea of what was going on in her
head, but he knew. She was obviously suffering from some sort of
post-traumatic stress from the kidnapping.

When they arrived at her home, Kye jumped
out of the truck, reaching his hand in to help her out of the cab.
She smiled warmly and grabbed her backpack, allowing him to walk
ahead of her. He pushed the door open and was relieved when her
mother peeked around the corner from the kitchen.

“How was school?” she asked, wiping her
hands on a dishtowel.

“Good, Mrs. Sawyer.” Kye smiled, turning
toward the girl that owned his every thought and his heart. “I’ve
got to go to work. You’ll call me if you need me?”

“Yeah.” She smiled weakly, standing on the
tips of her toes so she could kiss his cheek. “Call me when you get
home?”

“I will,” he promised, waving toward her
mother.

He had to run to the house to change,
expecting to find Talon waiting on him. His brother was probably
already tapping his foot in the foyer, preparing an ass chewing for
being two minutes late. When he entered the house, Kye frowned
because his brother was nowhere to be found. If he was going to be
told to help cut firewood, Talon better show up soon. It was cold
outside, the temperatures quickly dropping with the end of the day
approaching. It was November and they’d been having unseasonably
cool weather.

He hurried upstairs to his room. Liberty’s
sister was staying in the room just across the hall from his.
Really not paying much attention, Kye stumbled and froze. Winter,
in his panther form, was asleep right in front of her door. One eye
opened, then narrowed. Kye raised his hands in a sort of surrender,
letting Winter’s panther know that he wasn’t there to cause any
trouble.

Whatever the hell that was all about, he
sure wasn’t going to ask. That wasn’t the first time he’d found the
cat outside the human’s door.

When he quietly left his room, Kye didn’t
even look to see if Winter was still at the door. He had other
things to take care of, and figuring out that male’s infatuation
with the human was not going to impede on his work.

“Where have you been?” Talon asked, standing
at the bottom of the stairs.

“Took Evie home and came right back to
change,” he replied. Whatever crawled up his brother’s ass was
going to make for a long afternoon helping out with the pride.

“She okay?” he asked, walking toward the
back door.

“No,” Kye answered honestly. The female was
all he ever thought about. She was his and he felt it was his duty
to make her better. She’d been through so much during her time with
the wolves. The injuries had healed, no scars remained, but her
mind still played those horrible few days on repeat.

“The healer is on his way to see her,” Talon
said as they stepped off the porch. “You need to stay away until
later tonight.”

“Fuck you, Talon,” Kye snapped, feeling a
stirring of power emanate from his body. His power was nothing more
than a breeze compared to the push of power he got in return from
his brother, the rightful alpha of the pride. “I’m sorry. I’m just
on edge when it comes to Evie.”

“It is important she heal on her own, Kye,”
Talon said, handing Kye an ax. “She can’t rely on you to hold her
when things get too hard. I understand your desire to protect her.
Hell, I understand it more than I ever did before, but you are not
her crutch.”

“I don’t like seeing her upset.” Kye
frowned, swinging the ax over his head. The log split in half and
he watched as Talon picked up another piece, setting it on the
stump they were using as a flat surface for splitting the
firewood.

“Harold is visiting with her now,” Talon
began, but held up his hand when he noticed Kye’s eyes flicker
toward the road leading to her home. “He’s going to give her some
medicine to help her sleep.”

“Okay,” he sighed in defeat. Evie hadn’t
been sleeping well. The anxiety when she closed her eyes was almost
too much to bear.

“Let’s work for a few hours, then you can go
see her,” Talon said, then smirked. “You have that pile to split.”
Kye looked over his shoulder and cursed at the amount of wood that
was left to cut. He really wished the cabins would upgrade to gas
logs, because this cutting firewood every year was for the
birds!

Chapter Five

Nova sat at the kitchen table, laughing at
the woman who helped keep the children of the pride while their
parents worked throughout the day.

“June,” Nova snickered. “How in the hell do
you keep all of their names straight?” There had to have been
twelve kids all under the age of six there during the afternoon.
Talon’s home had a large playroom just off the kitchen that doubled
as a daycare of sorts. There were toys and desks all over the room,
colorful posters of numbers and letters adorned the walls. It
looked like a kindergarten classroom.

“It’s easy,” June said with a shrug. She was
a beautiful woman, her hair a bright blonde that flowed down her
back in small waves. Her icy blue eyes made her look like a
fairytale princess. “When you’ve been doing this as long as I have,
you get really good at remembering their names and who they belong
to when their parents come at the end of the day.”

It was nearing dinner time and there were
only a handful of kids left in the room. Nova was sitting with June
at the kitchen table only three or four feet from the threshold to
the room. There was a short gate that attached to the wall and
swung open after you released a latch.

She looked up at the sound of boots entering
the kitchen. Winter and Savage strolled toward the refrigerator and
Winter reached inside to grab two beers, handing one to Savage. He
cracked open the top and took a long pull. When his head leveled
out, his eyes immediately fell on Nova, narrowing when he saw that
she was not in her room resting. She was so tired of resting. It
was time for her to go back home, but Liberty had begged her to
stay just a few more days.

“You okay?” he asked, his voice deep and not
sounding the least bit concerned. Damn, he looked amazing. He
must’ve just gotten off of work because he still wore the black
collared shirt that had the name of the security company Talon
owned on the breast pocket. His jaw held just a sprinkling of hair
and Nova’s mind drifted to what it would feel like against her
skin.

“I’m tired,” she said, standing up from her
seat. She hurried out of the kitchen, cursing herself for running
out of there with a bullshit excuse. As she left, she threw an
apologetic smile over her shoulder at the sweet woman. June just
gave her a knowing smirk and walked into the room with the
children, ignoring the Guardians who were left standing in the
kitchen.

Nova’s steps became quicker when she heard a
heavy set of boots echo through the hallway coming from the
kitchen. She hurried into her room, slamming the door loudly. Geez,
did she have to make such a damn scene? It was embarrassing, and
Nova promised to apologize to anyone that may have heard the
sound.

Except for the man currently knocking on the
bedroom door.

“Go away, Winter,” she sighed. Maybe she
really was tired? Tired of his bullshit, she told herself.

Looking at the door, wondering what the hell
he wanted, she felt her shoulders slump. What was she even going to
say to him?

“Open the door, Nova,” he snarled.

Nova glared at the door for a few seconds.
She knew he’d bust the door down if she didn’t open it willingly.
Those Guardians were all alpha males in some sense, demanding and
growling to get their way.

“What?” she barked, pulling the door open
wide. She didn’t even wait for him to enter before she turned for
the bed, climbing beneath the covers.

“Talk to me,” he said softly, standing a few
feet from the edge of the bed. He didn’t move any closer, and Nova
saw him stiffen when she looked at the empty space between
them.

“About?” she asked innocently.

“Are you ready to go home?” he asked,
clearing his throat. Nova had a feeling he wanted to ask her
something entirely different.

“Yes,” she answered honestly.

“What are you going to do about the bar?” he
inquired. Winter eased his way over to the bed. Nova pulled her
feet up as he made a move to sit at the end, his large body taking
up most of the bottom corner of the bed. Even his weight registered
as the bed dipped. The last thing she wanted to do was be the cause
of their accidental touching. She wouldn’t do that to him. Plus,
she was feeling pretty deceitful and refused to be the one to force
the contact.

“I need to go back, but…” she paused,
touching her swollen eye. “I don’t know if I can cover this up.
It’s hideous.”

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered.

Nova ignored his comment, knowing he only
said it to make her feel better. Which was the exact opposite of
his anger at her getting hurt. It wasn’t like she asked for Perry
to take her out to a corn field and beat her senseless for
information.

“Can you ask Dane to take me home?” She
glanced up into his beautiful eyes that had turned from ice blue to
glowing amber.

“Dane is
not
taking you home,” he
growled, leaning forward. Nova leaned back when his eyes narrowed,
his panther taking over. She gasped when Winter opened his mouth to
speak and his canines had lengthened. “I trust no one but myself to
keep you safe, Nova.”

“Are you just going to yell at me every time
I do something stupid?” she whispered. “Because, Winter…I don’t
think I can handle that.”

His look of shock and predatory snarl froze
Nova in her spot for a moment. His head tilted to the side and he
leaned forward. She felt the heat rolling off of his body… even
smelled the scent she’d come to associate with Winter Blue. It was
the same scent she remembered from her dreams. The wildness to his
scent drove her insane with lust for this man, this animal. Her
breasts tingled and a heaviness settled inside her stomach.

Winter’s glowing eyes locked onto her lips,
the tick in his jaw relaxing as he let out a tortured breath, then
he inhaled again long and slow. Nova braced for the kiss that she
knew was coming. She wanted it…she wanted
him
. A thrill
raced through her veins as she realized he was going to finally
make contact.

Nova was frozen in her spot on the bed, not
moving…not even breathing. Winter’s face showed the war that was
raging in his mind. She knew he had to touch her to know if they
were mates, but she wanted so badly to just close the distance
between them…to take that decision away from him.

But she wouldn’t do that. He had to come to
her, because she already knew her feelings toward the Guardian.

“I would never yell at you,” he said, his
voice nothing but a deadly whisper. His warm breath caused bumps to
raise on her neck. She felt her body relax, although her sex
clenched with need. Nova’s breath hitched as he stared deep into
her eyes. She wanted to close her own eyes, but wouldn’t. She
needed to see the moment they touched for the first time.

“Nova?” Liberty called out as she walked
into the room. Winter jumped up from the bed like he’d been struck,
shaking his head to clear whatever was on his mind. “I’m so
sorry.”

“I was leaving,” he muttered, walking toward
the door. Liberty had to step to the side to allow him to pass, but
didn’t say anything about what she’d walked in on.

“I want to go home,” Nova said, her voice
cracking as her heart beat faster in her chest. “Liberty, I just
want to go
home
.”

“Okay,” Liberty sighed, looking toward the
door. “Okay. I’ll take you home.”