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dropped it back.  We will be, but  he pointed to the ridge
  I want to reach the top by the time it gets dark.
Rachel followed the point of his fingers.  Up there?
 Yes.
 It d be faster in a car.
 There isn t a road, he countered for the third time.
 A dirt bike, then.
 Aunt Rachel hates up, Josiah interrupted.
 Josiah!
His chin jutted out.  That s what Momma says.
Cur grinned. The kid was giving away all her secrets.  A
werewolf female with a dislike of exercise? I think I m
getting gypped.
Rachel glared at him.  Gypped is the least of what you re
getting if you don t stop grinning.
 It s just up she doesn t like, Josiah was quick to put in,
coming up beside him.  She likes down.
 Then we ll have to find her some down.
Josiah glanced at his aunt s expression.  That might be
best.
The kid had a point. As much fun as it was to tweak Rachel,
her mood was definitely going south.
 She d probably like  up more if she slept more.
 Aunt Rachel never sleeps.
 Why not?
 She says it s because she talks too much.
Interesting.  What do you think?
Another look over his shoulder at his aunt before he
whispered,  I think she s afraid of dream bandits.
 Dream bandits?
 They make her scream.
 As her mate I ll have to help her with that.
 Good. Josiah skipped to keep up, looked down and then
back up.  Is it true? Does my mom have a new mate?
Cur shortened his stride.  Yes.
 Oh.
It wasn t hard to tell where the kid s mind had wandered.
 Garrett is looking forward to meeting you.
 Is that his name?
 Yes.
They continued for a few more steps.  He won t like me.
 What makes you say that?
 I m not his.
 A lot of men love children not their own.
 Not wolves.
Cur glanced back at Rachel. Had she been poisoning the
boy s mind so he wouldn t want to go back home?
 Where d you hear that?
 Mom.
Shit.  Your mom told you that?
Josiah marched along, chin down, shoulders set.  I hear
stuff.
 Overheard might be a better term.  Well, I think you ought
to wait and see what happens rather than make up your
mind ahead of time.
No response for five steps, then,  I m going to live with Aunt
Rachel if I don t like him.
Ah. And now the crux of the matter. The kid was staking his
claim. Just in case. Cur s lips twitched as he fought back a
smile.  I see.
Another quick glance.  And you won t have any say about
it.
The kid dropped back before he could counter. As a
strategist, Josiah had potential. As a werewolf he had a lot
to learn. When it came to Rachel, Cur intended to have all
the say.
 Don t bet on it.
JOSIAH hadn t been kidding. By the time they got to the top
of the ridge, Rachel was frowning and muttering under her
breath, cursing him, the hill and then him again. Cur
reached back to help her over a rocky streambed. She
pushed his hand aside. From his perch on Cur s shoulder,
Josiah said,
 Told you.
 So you did.
He soothed his irritation by watching the sway of Rachel s
ass as she strode ahead. She had a cute ass. Well-
rounded for her size with just that touch of plumpness that
invited a man to cup. His fingers twitched. And squeeze.
Definitely squeeze.
He stopped by a large rock. Rachel kept going and that ass
kept swaying.
 Aunt Rachel!
Rachel turned at Josiah s cry. Cur motioned her back
before swinging Josiah down.
 We re here.
She stopped in front of him.  Where s here?
Pulling the brush away from the rock, he revealed the
opening to a cave. Inside sat two dirt bikes.
 You couldn t have left them at the bottom of the mountain?
 Nope. They were too likely to have been discovered. And
once they got on these, the race would be on. The sound of
motors carried, and the only thing between them and home
was Carmichael land and rogues. If he were alone, he d
have enjoyed the challenge. Burdened by his mate and a
child, all he could do was grit his teeth.
 Do you know how to ride?
He could have saved his breath. Rachel was in the cave,
backing one of the bright red bikes out. She put on a
helmet with a sense of familiarity.  Yes.
She handed the child s helmet to Josiah. He put the helmet
on with the same sense of familiarity.
 You know how to ride.
Josiah smiled.  My daddy was the best.
The kid s father had died more than two years ago.  Let s
hope you inherited his genes.
With a kid s literalness, Josiah nodded.  My mom says I
look just like him and Aunt Rachel says I have his
coordination.
 Good, because some of the hardest riding you re ever
going to do is coming up tomorrow.
Rachel paused, buckling her helmet.  Tomorrow?
 We ve got eighty miles between us and Haven. The
quickest shot is straight through Carmichael territory, and in
case you didn t know, they re a bit pissed at Haven right
now.
 Why?
 According to them, they don t like upstarts.
 And according to you?
 I think they re annoyed their best Protectors jumped ship to
marry humans and form a new pack.
She took off her helmet and shook her hair out.  So why are
we going through their territory?
 There s only so much gas we can carry and the rogues
aren t letting up. They want Megan, and you two are their
leverage to make that happen.
 Sarah Anne will never give them Megan.
 I imagine Garrett will have something to say about it, too,
but that won t stop the rogues from trying. And maybe
succeeding.
Josiah was over at the other bike, checking it out.
Rachel whispered,  Even if they capture him, what can they
hope to gain? No mother would trade one child for another.
 No, but any mother would try to get him back, which could
create an opportunity. And there s always the possibility
they think Josiah shares Megan s gifts.
Still watching Josiah, she pushed her long brown hair off
her face, yanking her fingers through a snarl.  I hate this.
He turned her into his arms, feeling like a lifetime had
passed since he d held her against him.  I know.
That she didn t fight him was more telling than her muttered,
 Hate it, hate it, hate it.
Threading his fingers through her hair, he massaged her
scalp. He wished he had better answers for her, but the
reality was what it was.  Haven s a start on change.
 Only if they allow it to stay.
 It ll stay.
 Because you will it?
 Because we ll fight for it. I may be a mixed-blood, Rachel,
but when it comes to loyalty, I m wolf through and through.
You don t need to worry about that.
 As if that was one of my worries.
Hmm.  If that wasn t one of your worries, what was?
She pushed against his chest.  That.
He didn t let her go.  You re lying.
 I don t care. I m hungry, tired and irritated. In other words,
not in the mood for fifty questions.
He tipped her head back, seeing the truth in her
expression. Yes, she was. And she was dependent on him
to take care of all her needs. Not just the sexual ones.
Satisfaction spread through him.
Damn, he liked knowing that.
 I m hungry, too, Josiah piped up, coming back over.
 Then I guess we d better get to work. Josiah, put that
helmet back on the bike. Rachel, put that bike back in the
cave.
 And what are you going to do?
He shrugged his pack off his shoulder.  I m going to fix
supper.
 What are we having? Josiah asked.
 Roast beef? Rachel asked hopefully, pushing the bike
back into the cave.
 Mashed potatoes? Josiah added, hooking his helmet on
the bike.
 Green bean casserole?
 Yuck!
Cur laughed at Josiah s disgust.  How about corn on the
cob instead?
Josiah came scampering back.  You have corn on the
cob?
Cur almost felt guilty, the kid sounded so excited. He
handed him a granola bar.  You can pretend that s corn on
the cob.
Josiah took the bar, looked at the picture on the wrapper
and sighed.  Maybe.
Rachel finished covering the entrance to the cave.  Say, [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]