Winter (Rise of the Pride, Book 2) (9 page)

Nova walked into the house, shutting the
door and throwing the deadbolt. Those damned panthers were
not
coming in her house and dripping blood all over the
clean floors.

She finished making her sandwich, dropping
into the rickety wooden chair and taking a bite. She hummed softly
to herself when there was a knock on the door. She tuned it all out
and let them stand out there while she ate her dinner in peace.

“You need to leave,” Winter said.

“Nope.” Dane smiled. “She’s not my mate.
Now, I can help her with whatever she needs.”

“You can’t help her when you are laid up
from your arms and legs being broken,” Winter warned. He knew Dane
was just trying to goad him, but he really wasn’t in the mood to
deal with the Guardian’s bullshit.

“Ahh, come on, brother,” Dane smirked,
holding his hands up in surrender.

“Give me the key and go home,” he
ordered.

Dane’s eyes flickered toward the window.
Winter followed his gaze and found Nova sitting at the kitchen
table, eating a sandwich. Her tiny legs were crossed and she was
rocking her foot as she hummed softly to herself.

“If she’s going to sing again, then I’m out
of here.” Dane cringed, dropping the key into Winter’s outstretched
hand. Winter had to laugh because Nova couldn’t sing worth a damn,
and that little outburst had been so horrible, it’d stopped them
from shifting into their animals. “Call me if you need
anything.”

“Will do,” Winter said, not taking his eyes
off the beautiful woman inside.

“And Winter?” Dane continued.

“Yeah?” Winter asked, finally looking away
from Nova.

“I don’t want your woman.” Dane paused when
Winter went to deny Nova was his. “She is special and I will
protect her with my life, but you need to claim her. You almost
lost her once.”

“Go home, Dane,” Winter grumbled, looking at
his black combat boots.

He didn’t want to remember what she looked
like when they first saw her in that hospital room. Her beautiful
long, brown hair had been a matted, bloody mess. Her face was so
swollen and bruised, if he’d been the one to find her, Winter
wasn’t sure if he would’ve even recognized her. Her arm had been
broken and she’d been drug across loose gravel, leaving a bit of a
bloody rash on her arm. That son of a bitch had strangled her! Her
concussion was bad, but not bad enough to damage her brain.

“Winter?” Nova spoke softly. When he looked
up, she was standing in the doorway. Her swollen eye still marred
her lovely face, but she gave a small smile as he leaned against
the frame of the door. The fading sunlight highlighted her hair,
giving a soft, reddish hue to the locks that framed her face. He’d
never noticed that before.

“Yeah?” he answered, taking a deep breath.
His panther immediately relaxed, settling back where he belonged at
the back of Winter’s mind. As much as he wanted to let his cat free
to find Perry, Winter knew he needed to stay with her.

“Would you like something to eat?” she
asked, leaning against the doorframe. She crossed her arms loosely
and smiled. At that moment, his heart swelled, his need for her
increased, and all he wanted to do was touch her lips to see if
they were as soft as they looked.

“I’m hungry,” he replied, his voice deep and
gravely. God, he wanted to touch her, console her, but he couldn’t
bring himself to do it. Winter longed to brush the long, brown hair
off her shoulder so he could place a reassuring kiss to the skin
beneath her ear, but he just…couldn’t.

“Come inside?” she offered, stepping back
into the kitchen, leaving enough room for him to enter without
touching her. “I was going to go to the bar, but I’m tired. So, I
think I’ll head up to my room. I can make you something else if a
sandwich isn’t what you’d like.”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. Jesus, she
was willing to cook for him after the complete jackass he’d been
earlier. Plus, she was hurt. “You rest. I can take care of a
sandwich.”

“Okay,” she nodded, covering her mouth to
stifle a yawn. “Good night, Winter.”

“Good night, Nova,” he replied, watching her
from the corner of his eye as she left the kitchen and made her way
upstairs.

After securing the house, Winter ate in the
kitchen, cleaning up after himself. With his enhanced hearing, he
listened to Nova settling in for the night. His mind wandered to
sliding into the bed next to her, holding her small body close to
his…protecting her…loving her.

A contented purr rumbled out of his chest,
his panther prowling around inside his head. There was no doubt
that he wanted her. After he’d walked in and saw the moment Dane
had accidently touched Nova, Winter’s panther had gone crazy,
demanding he be set free. The fact that he’d wanted to draw first
blood with his brother was a sure indicator that he was losing his
mind over her. He suddenly realized he was more animal than human
and he was denying the inevitable.

He was going to have to touch her.

But when?

Winter froze as his enhanced hearing picked
up a faint sound coming from the backyard. He closed his eyes and
let his senses take over.

Crack!

Something was moving around behind the
house. His eyes flickered to the stairway, knowing Nova was
upstairs unprotected. Keeping as quiet as possible, he reached into
his pocket, sliding his phone free. He ducked into the short
hallway that lead to a spare room downstairs. When he unlocked his
phone, he shot one text to Nova.

Movement outside. Get your gun and lock your
bedroom door. I’m going to shift. Calling for Guardians.

The next message was sent to his brothers
and his alpha.

Movement at Nova’s. Shifting…need
backup.

He heard Nova’s door close and the sound of
the lock clicking into place. He moved swiftly to the front door,
and as quietly as he could, unlocked the bolt. He cracked the door
open and then started stripping down. It only took a second or two
for his panther to push forward. The shift was complete in a moment
and he used his paw to pull the door open.

The cat slinked down the front steps, not a
sound to be heard. His eyes adjusted to the darkness and his mind
tracked scents as he moved around the side of the house, pausing to
use a tall shrub as cover.

Crack!

The sound was further away this time. The
wind shifted and the scent of wolves caused his panther to growl
low in his throat. Pulling all of the magic inside him, Winter’s
human mind called out for his leader.

Talon…Wolves!

An immediate push of power swirled around
his mind, the feeling of his leader’s strength invaded his
thoughts.

Almost there!

The panther moved out from behind his cover,
dropping low to the ground. He wanted to find them…he wanted their
blood.

Headlights flashed as several vehicles
pulled into the drive, panthers jumping from the beds of trucks.
Talon rushed out of the driver’s seat of his silver pickup, tossing
his clothes as he ran.

“Where?” Talon demanded, shucking his
jeans.

Winter’s panther huffed and turned his head,
signaling the direction in which he heard the wolves. Talon’s
panther stood tall and let out a deep growl, his nails digging into
the dirt as he took the lead. Dane, Booth, Storm, and Noah joined
them, following the scent of wolves deep into the darkened abyss of
the woods behind Nova’s home.

Winter registered the faint sound of paws
running ahead, knowing they were close to catching them. Low
branches slapped at his coat but found no purchase against the
panther’s thick skin. The pride moved as one when the scent of
wolves turned south, skirting the edge of the Coldwater River. An
occasional paw print in the wet ground pushed his panther on,
knowing they were getting closer.

It was easy to make out the road up ahead
because the leaves had already dropped from the trees. Headlights
from a vehicle lit up their way, although they didn’t need it to
see. Their vision was perfect in the dark, but the light was
welcomed because it gave away the position of the wolves as they
reached the street.

What the panthers did not expect was that
the vehicle was waiting for the wolves. The wolves jumped into the
bed of a truck, speeding away when the panthers reached the
road.

A roar split the night when Winter’s panther
realized he’d been denied a fight to take out the predators who’d
tried to kill the alpha’s mate, hurt a child of their pride, and
had dared to come on Nova’s land. Talon snarled, scratching his
large paw into the ground, wanting the blood of those wolves as
well.

After several minutes, the surrounding woods
became still, returning to their nocturnal sounds. Small animals
scurried under dead leaves, hiding from the only predators
remaining…the panthers.

Talon huffed, wanting them to return to the
house. They turned as one unit and began their trek back toward the
farmhouse. Winter snarled, knowing he missed a chance to eliminate
the wolves. As soon as they reached the yard, all six men shifted,
gathering up their clothes.

“I want Nova at the pride,” Talon ordered.
“I don’t care what she wants. It’s too damn dangerous for her to be
here, even with the Guardians. We could’ve been too late.”

“I agree.” Winter nodded. “I will get her
packed…but Talon?”

“Yeah?” Talon said, pausing to pull his
shirt over his head.

“She’s staying in the cabin with me,” Winter
growled.

“Okay.” Talon laughed, shaking his head.
“Good luck with that.”

All of the Guardians chuckled as Winter
cursed under his breath. When he went inside to tell Nova she was
coming to stay with him, he was sure she’d put up a fuss. As he
walked toward the house, Winter cursed again. “I told her to lock
herself in her room with her gun. She’s going to shoot me when I
tell her I’m taking her home.”

As he climbed the porch steps, he heard his
fellow Guardians laughing at his back. This was not going to go
over well.

As he reached the door, Savage was there
guarding the house. The Guardian stepped aside with nothing more
than a nod. Winter grabbed his discarded clothes, pulling his jeans
on before walking toward the stairs. He took them two at a time,
pausing as he knocked on her bedroom door.

“Nova?” he called out, leaning his forehead
against the frame of the door. “It’s me, little one. Open up.”

“Winter?” she asked, her voice close to the
door.

“It’s okay,” he promised.

The door swung open, Nova was there with her
hair pulled into a high ponytail. She wore a pair of soft, blue
fleece pants and a white hoodie. Her big brown eyes were wide with
fright and in her hand she held her gun.

“Put the gun down,” he said, using a soft
voice. “It’s okay now.”

“What the hell is going on?” she barked,
turning to place the gun on her dresser.

Winter took a second to scan her room. He’d
never entered her domain, only staying downstairs during his time
as her guard. The room was painted in a soft yellow. Her bed was
pushed against the far wall, the headboard resting just under the
only window in the room. Her dresser was to the left of the door, a
small television sat on one end. He smiled when he looked to his
right and there sat a recliner and a bookshelf filled to the brim
with her romance novels; some of them double and triple stacked on
their sides for more space.

“There were wolves in the woods behind your
house,” he explained. “I need you to come with me back to the
pride, Nova. It’s not safe here.”

“But?” she whined. “I just got home.”

“You’re going to come stay with me,” he
said, gritting his teeth when her eyes widened.

“Uh, not only no, but
hell no
!” Nova
crossed her arms over her chest and he stifled a laugh at how cute
she was when she was mad, but then again, her temper was starting
to just piss him off.

“There will be no arguments,” he countered,
fisting his hands at his sides. He really wanted to take her over
his knee for arguing.

“Yeah, there will be, you jerk,” she cursed.
“I’m not going back there and these wolves won’t run me from my
home, Winter.”

His panther pushed forward and he knew the
moment his eyes glowed amber because Nova gasped, taking a step
back. He’d had it with her stubbornness over the issue.

“You will come home with me,” he growled,
his canines pushing through his gums. “Your
life
depends on
me keeping you safe.”

“What are you going to do? Huh? Carry me?”
She snorted, rolling her eyes. “Guess you didn’t think about
that!”

“You, little one, are trying my patience,”
he snarled. “If I have to, I will have Dane carry you out.” Knowing
that Dane had accidently touched her sent his panther into a
snarling fury, but the fact that they were not mates calmed him
only slightly. The thought of the other Guardian being able to
touch her freely caused all kinds of emotions to rear up inside him
that he sure as hell didn’t want to think about at the moment.