Falke’s Renegade

Puma Nights - 3

By

Anna Leigh Keaton and Madison Layle

Prologue

“Son of the bitch.”

Lev Durchenko glanced into the rearview mirror to see the black Jag less than fifty yards behind his own much slower rental sedan. No mistake; the driver meant him harm.

How had he gotten so close without Lev knowing?

Damn him for believing he’d lost Montero weeks ago. He should’ve known better. The bastard was more like a bloodhound than a cat.

“Fucking bastard.” Lev pressed the accelerator, hoping to get into the nearest town. Montero would never attack him in public. From there Lev could blend into the crowd...make an escape...somehow.

Live to fight another day, and on his own terms.

He should have killed the shifter years ago, should never have left that house without finishing them all.

Taking curves too fast, he worked the car into the hills somewhere in the godforsaken wilderness of Washington State. And then it happened. The engine sputtered as he accelerated up a straight slope.

“Nyet. Nyet! Not now.” His heartbeat surged, and a cold sweat popped out on his brow. He would have to make a run for it. Playing cat and mouse was much easier in cities. More places to hide.

He aimed the car toward a ditch, opened the door and jumped before it came to a complete stop.

Running into the cover of the forest, he tore at his clothes, desperately removing them in order to change into his feline form before Montero could catch him. Only as a snow leopard did he have a chance of losing the jaguar.

His shirt removed, his slacks unbuttoned, he shoved at the material and transformed just as he heard a crashing in the woods behind him.

Lev ran. Leaping over fallen logs and branches, ducking under others, practically slithering through spaces too small for the oversized black cat on his tail, he searched for a place to hide. Hiding, out-waiting Montero was his only hope. The jaguar was too big to fight fairly in a head-to-head confrontation.

Damn it. Because of too many flights, too many airport security gates, he had no weapon. He’d been in a hurry to reach Seattle and hadn’t taken the time to search one out. Impatience and foolishness might have just signed his death warrant.

A gunshot echoed through the forest. Close. Too close. Startled, he ran harder. Was Montero shooting at him? Unlikely, but not impossible. Maybe Montero had grown weary of their game after all this time and decided to end it the easiest way he could, even if that meant firing at an unarmed cat.

Not Montero’s style, but Lev decided to not put anything past the jaguar that he wouldn’t do himself, and if the tables were turned...

Or perhaps there were other hunters in the woods... Not a very comforting thought. But were they shooting at him? At Montero? Or something altogether different?

No other shots rang out, but Lev wasn’t about to pause and investigate the matter. Neither option boded well for him in his current form.

His lungs burned as he pushed himself to an even faster pace.

The land gave way in front of him, and he tumbled down a craggy slope, splashing into deep, icy water at the base. The river the highway had been following for some time, he realized. He popped his head above the surface and searched the top of the slope for a sign of Montero.

No sign of yellow eyes or a black face peering out of the dense pines. No dark figure searching for a safer way down to the river than the one Lev took.

Had he lost Montero?

He dared hope as he let the current carry him farther and farther away. Finally, he paddled his big paws toward the opposite side of the river and fought his way onto the gravelly bank. He shook water from his fur and, again, searched the distant bank for any sign of his pursuer.

Could his enemy have been shot? The irony was not lost on him, but he dare not stand around on the riverbank too long.

Sprinting in the woods, he headed in the direction of town. Luck was with him when he happened upon a small house. Still in his leopard body and prepared to run if spotted, he slunk to the back door of the cottage.

No dogs barked. No lights were on inside that he could see through the window in the door. He hoped a man lived there so he could find some clothing. He dare not return to the rental car for his luggage. If Montero had simply lost his trail—though he did not see how, since the jaguar was a master hunter—he would return to the vehicles and wait.

Montero was nothing if not patient, Lev had learned over the past two years. Waiting, stalking, hunting him. But always too sneaky for Lev to get the advantage. When he’d laid traps for Montero before, the jaguar had always seemed to sense the danger and would back off before Lev could gain the upper hand. What he would give to kill the bastard the way he had the other one. To gut him like a pig. All he needed was one little thing—that one element of surprise or moment of weakness—to gain an advantage and take the bastard out.

Lev transformed into his human body, a sneer curling his lip as he thought of the pleasure sticking a knife in Montero’s gut would bring him. He knocked on the windowpane. When no one came to the door, he hefted a piece of wood from a pile on the porch and was just about to break the glass when he decided to try the knob.

Country folk were all morons, he thought as he entered the house through the unlocked door.

Enough light came through the surrounding trees to let him see clearly. He stopped at the refrigerator in the kitchen and lifted the lid on a casserole dish, then grabbed the package of lunchmeat off the top shelf and tore into it as he walked through the house. He hadn’t eaten since dinner the night before, and he was hungry, especially after that run.

The bedroom produced a tiny closet crammed full of both men and women’s clothes. He settled on a flannel shirt—to blend in—and a pair of worn jeans. Once dressed, he searched for a gun safe but found none. Finally, he exited the front door and walked down the long driveway. Too bad the homeowner hadn’t left a set of keys or vehicle in the drive. Even a beat-up pickup would be better than trudging all the way to town. The rutted dirt road would eventually bring Lev back to the highway.

After less than a half hour, he reached pavement. No telling how far he was from where he’d ditched his car. And no idea where Montero might be. That made him nervous. He walked closer to the tree line than the asphalt just in case.

When a car approached—with an engine’s roar that sounded nothing like the purr of Montero’s high-powered Jag—he scrambled to the shoulder, turned and raised his thumb. The station wagon whizzed past without slowing. A blue Land Rover pulling an ATV on a trailer sped by the other way.

Glancing down at himself, he wondered if anyone would stop. Lev enjoyed the finer things in life.

He made a comfortable living fixing other people’s problems. If only he’d been in his Armani... But his suit was in shreds in the forest, thanks to Montero.

He pressed his lips together and kept walking.

Enough was enough. Once he reached Seattle, armed himself and secured a new identity, the hunt would reverse. Lev was tired of always looking over his shoulder. He had underestimated the jaguar’s need for vengeance.

His heel hurt where the too-large shoe rubbed.

It was time Montero was stopped.

Chapter One

“Isn’t that a pretty boy? Yes you are. You know you are.”

Heidi Falke laughed as she stepped into the doorway of the room where her sister-in-law was currently bathing what had to be the ugliest little mutt they’d ever had in the clinic. “How’s he doin’?”

“He’s a pretty boy,” Beth said in baby talk without looking up. “Yes, he is.”

The scrappy dog snarled and growled under its breath, but at least it had quit snapping at them. Two mornings ago, they’d arrived at Heidi’s clinic and found the mutt tied to the front door. A note stapled to the leash revealed he’d been found in the woods.

Heidi, Leavenworth’s only veterinarian, loved all animals but couldn’t blame whoever had delivered the scrawny critter—a cross between a terrier, maybe some poodle and possibly muskrat-to her door. She probably wouldn’t have kept the thing if she’d been the one to find it either.

They’d tentatively named him Fugly at Beth’s husbands’ suggestion. It had taken one whole day before Fugly finally let Beth get close to him. The dog didn’t care much for Heidi, and that was okay with her. Watching as her sister-in-law pampered the little rat, Heidi shook her head. She still wasn’t sure what Beth saw in the yappy, ill-tempered mongrel. Bath time was obviously not Fugly’s favorite pastime.

“What are the boys going to say when you bring that thing home?”

Beth glanced up from the soggy dog. “What can they say?” She giggled, and, true to his nature, Fugly growled.

Heidi rolled her eyes and grinned. “Been married a year and they still bow down to your whims. I swear.”

Beth’s smile transformed into something secretive, something private Heidi had seen pass between her brothers and sister-in-law. Whatever their secrets, the three of them were deliriously happy together.

Heidi clenched her teeth and kept her own smile in place, even though that deep, niggling jealousy tried to worm its way to the surface. “I’m going to...” She pushed away from the doorjamb.

Beth’s expression changed to concern. “You okay?”

“Of course.” Heidi couldn’t let her family know what went on in her mind and heart when she saw the happiness in her mated brothers and their wives. Would she ever have a turn? Not here. That was for sure. But how could she ever leave her family to find it?

“Doctor Falke?”

Relieved, she turned her attention to her receptionist. “Yes?”

“There’s a call for you. Ritchie Handleman. He says it’s an emergency.”

Heidi made a face and headed toward her office. “Thanks, Mrs. Blake.” Ritchie Handleman had been her first boyfriend in high school. He worked at the Bavarian Inn now, but she hadn’t talked to him in ages and didn’t know he had a pet that might warrant an emergency call to the town vet. She sat at her desk, lifted the receiver on the phone and poked the flashing button.

“Hey, Ritchie. What’s up?” There was a lot of static on the line, and she missed his first few words.

“You’re breaking up. What did you say?”

“Heidi?” Still a lot of static, but at least she could hear him. “I’m up near Beaver Pond. Dave and I are bear hunting.”

She flipped through a stack of bills, only half listening. “And?”

“I shot something I thought was a bear. I mean it was all black. But it’s a cougar.”

She stopped reading. “A black cougar?” Her mind raced. A black cougar? They didn’t exist. “Is it dead?”

“No. Do you want to me to finish it off?”

“No! God, no. Is it conscious?”

“Well, it’s breathing. It tried to run after I shot it, but not far. Looked like I got it in a leg. It’s bleeding pretty badly.”

“Tell me exactly where you are.”

He did one better and gave her GPS coordinates.

“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.” Beaver Pond was just barely off her fathers’ property, a popular bear baiting spot. She could get there easily by ATV from the edge of Falke land. “Keep a safe distance from it, but keep it in your sights.”

“Gotcha. Will do. Hurry. He doesn’t look good.”

“On my way.”

She dropped the phone into the cradle and ran out of her office and down the hall, calling for Beth.

“Yeah?”

Heidi spun around as Beth came out of an examining room. “Put that rat in a cage. We got something big to go see.” Excitement coursed through her, and she couldn’t contain it. “Come on, hurry. And grab your tranq gun.” She rushed into another room, unlocked a drawer with the key she pulled from her pocket and grabbed a variety of bandages.

Beth met her in the hallway, tranq gun in one hand and several red-and-white tipped darts in the other. “What is it?”

“Whatever it is, it doesn’t belong in our woods,” Heidi said with a giddy laugh as she led the way through the lobby. “Mrs. Blake, please cancel my appointments for the rest of the day and reschedule what you can. We’ll be back as soon as possible.”

She didn’t wait for a response but jogged outside to her Land Rover. Having planned to go four-wheeling after work, she’d lucked out—her ATV was already on the trailer attached to the SUV.

She sure hoped Ritchie wasn’t wrong about the cat. A black cougar... “This might be your big break, Beth.”

“Tell me!”

Heidi laughed and her tires threw up some gravel as she squealed onto the highway to her fathers’ property. “Ritchie thinks he’s shot a black cougar.”

Beth’s mouth drop open. “That’s...impossible.”

“I know. But still, it’s worth checking out. He obviously shot something, and if it’s not a bear...”

They reached Ritchie and his brother Dave in less than the fifteen minutes she’d promised. Heidi killed the ATV’s engine, and she and Beth jumped off at a dead run up the short hill.

“Glad you made it,” Ritchie said. “It’s right over there.”

“Oh...my...God...” Beth stopped beside Heidi, who stared at the massive cat sprawled on the pine needle–covered ground not ten feet away.

Definitely not a bear, although it was as big as some bears she’d seen in Washington. Its side rose and fell with fast, shallow breaths, but it looked unconscious. Though Heidi wasn’t willing to get too close until she was certain.

“That’s not a cougar,” she said, her breathing a little hard.

“It’s not?” Ritchie asked.

Heidi shook her head, but didn’t respond further. The jaguar seemed to awaken at the sounds of their arrival. It began to struggle weakly, growl and hiss. Relieved to see it still had some fight left, she glanced at Beth and nodded.

Beth loaded a tranquilizer dart into the gun and took aim. “That cat does not belong in the Wenatchee Forest.”

Heidi believed her. Beth was the resident expert, having just finished her Ph.D. dissertation on big cat genetics. Beyond typical family pets, Heidi knew everything there was to know about cougars, bears, wolves and even coyotes, but beyond simple recognition, anything that lived outside of the Pacific Northwest was beyond her specialty or concern.

She glanced at Ritchie. “You really mistook that for a bear?”

“Yeah, well, it’s got black fur. And it grunted like one.” He looked a little sheepish, his cheeks turning pink. “You gotta admit it’s bigger than any cat I’ve ever seen ’round here.”

“Go ahead, Beth. Tranq it. We’ve got to get it back to the clinic ASAP.”

Beth shot the dart into the cat’s shoulder. The cat flinched and growled, letting them know it was definitely still alive and pissed off. They waited a few minutes for the drug to take effect. After checking the cat’s heartbeat, Heidi went to work bandaging the wound on its right hindquarter to stem the blood and discovered the bullet had passed through the leg.

Beth was there with her, helping her reposition him when needed. This cat was bigger than her brothers. A good fifty pounds, at least. And her brothers in catamount form were larger than the average cougar.

“He might need surgery if the bullet hit the bone.”

“I’m really sorry,” Ritchie said, still standing next to his younger brother. “I hope he’ll be okay. I didn’t know who else to call.”

“You did right,” Heidi assured him. “He’s probably broken free of some private owner, or maybe even a zoo. He’s in too good of shape to have lived out here long.”

“Okay, boys. You’re going to have to help us get this big guy on the ATV,” Beth said. “I’ll bring it up the hill.”

Heidi nodded and sat back on her heels. This cat was gorgeous. She ran her hands over his silky coat, softer than a cougar’s. Black, but not solid, its spots plainly seen in the sunlight. No, not spots, rosettes they were called. Spots inside spots. Almost the same markings as African leopards.

“Damn,” she muttered. She’d have to call around to see if they could figure out from where this big guy escaped.

Beth pulled the ATV up next to the cat, and it took all four of them to drape the unconscious feline over the back of it. He was huge, heavy, well over two hundred pounds.

“We’ll put him on the ATV trailer. Ritchie, I want you to take the ATV to my dad’s house and leave it in the backyard when we’re done.”

Ritchie nodded.

“I’m going to take it slow, but I need you two—” she pointed to Beth and Ritchie, “—to make sure he doesn’t start sliding off.”

It was slow going as she maneuvered the ATV back the way they’d come, but they made it easy enough. And although it was a bit unnerving to have a wild predator within reach, Heidi reminded herself that Beth’s tranquilizers were potent enough to keep the cat out for quite a while, plenty of time to get the big guy back to the clinic and safely ensconced inside a cage.

* * *

Leavenworth Veterinary Clinic was housed in a small, converted log home. Heidi backed the trailer into the garage, which also served as a kennel. A chain link cage, with a couple of doggy doors to the fenced backyard, took up the back wall.

Paco, the ten-year-old cockatoo being boarded by an elderly couple on vacation, squawked at her when she jumped out of the Land Rover.

“Later, Pac.” She bypassed his mesh cage near the door to the clinic and grabbed the hand truck from the storage area in front of the kennel. With a lot of grunting on both women’s parts, they got the jaguar transferred to the hand truck and into the operating room.

“We can’t get him onto the table by ourselves,” Beth said.

“I’m worried about that wound.” Heidi headed to the sink to scrub up. “Look at the blood on the bandage. I’m going to have to do it right here.”

“Are we putting him in the kennel after we’re done?”

“Only place big enough for him.”

Beth shook her head, a wrinkle appearing between her brows. “He’s going to be mad, and a pissed off jaguar is the most dangerous of the big cats. They’ve got horrible tempers. You think the kennel is strong enough to hold him?”

Heidi hadn’t known that about jaguars. She was going to have to do some reading up on them.

“Doctor Falke?” Mrs. Blake said, knocking on the doorframe. “Oh... Oh, my. What is that?”

“A very large feline patient.” Heidi adjusted the seat of her rolling stool as low as it would go.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Yes, he is,” Beth said with appreciation, running her hand over the cat’s humongous head.

“Mrs. Blake, would you please put the list of Washington zoos and private large animal sanctuaries on my desk? We’re going to have to find out where he’s from.”

“Of course. May I?” The receptionist motioned toward the jaguar.

“Sure. Better do it now while he’s still out.”

Mrs. Blake took a few tentative steps and reached out her hand, touching his ear, his nose, the thick fur at the nape of its neck. “He’s much softer than Falke.”

Heidi smiled. He was much softer than any of her brothers in catamount form as Falke. The family

“pet” had become the unofficial town mascot, a four-legged celebrity. She’d grown up with six shape-shifting brothers in all and, though she’d envied them that ability over the years, always believed they were stunning in their cougar form.

Sorry, brothers, she thought now, you guys don’t hold a candle to this big boy.

The cat took a deep breath, and Mrs. Blake jumped back. Heidi was right there with a syringe to keep him knocked out so she could perform the minor surgery.

“I best go see to that list,” the receptionist said with a nervous chuckle before departing.

“I’m going to draw his blood and run it through the computer.” Big cat genetics was where Beth’s heart lay. She was an asset at the clinic, an expert most rural vets couldn’t afford, not to mention the best assistant Heidi could ever hope for. Though she’d put her career on hold for a while—or maybe indefinitely for all Heidi knew—Beth still kept up her research, gathering data wherever she could.

And this jaguar offered an opportunity she couldn’t refuse. “Then I’ll go sterilize the kennel and get it ready. Unless you need me in here.”

“Naw, it’s pretty routine, but thanks.” Heidi rewashed her hands, pulled on latex gloves and leaned over her patient.

After she cleaned out the wounds, both entrance and exit, and stitched everything up, she x-rayed the leg. Her suspicion had been right. The path of the bullet had caused a fracture in the cat’s femur, not bad enough to require pins or a rod, but severe enough to require a cast for it to mend properly.

“Bet you aren’t going to like this,” she murmured to the unconscious jaguar as she prepared the materials she’d need.

Beth rejoined her shortly after Heidi finished wrapping the plaster cast.

“Poor baby.” Her sister-in-law petted the jaguar’s head. “It’s a good thing the shooter was Ritchie and not some hunter from outside the area.”

“Agreed. The kennel ready?”

“Yes. We’ll have to use a padlock though. When he comes to, he’ll probably try to do anything he can to escape.”

“Unless he’s someone’s pet. He might be happy to get a good meal.”

Beth rolled her eyes. “People keeping wild cats as pets...”

Heidi laughed as they joined forces to push the rolling cart into the garage. Before Beth found out that Falke, the cougar, wasn’t really the family pet, she’d made her feelings clear regarding humans who thought they could domesticate wild animals.

Paco squawked at them then made a rude wolf whistle when they bent over to maneuver the jaguar off the cart.

“I swear that bird has the worst manners,” Beth said.

“Hey, he’s male. Stands to reason he’d appreciate a pair of fine asses.” Heidi chuckled. “Would you get the biggest water dish we’ve got and fill it up? This fella’s going to be thirsty when he comes out of sedation.”

Beth left the room, and Heidi sat back on her heels to pet the jaguar’s head again. “It’s not the Ritz, big guy, but it’ll have to do until we can find where you belong.”

A short time later, the sound of Beth’s footsteps announced her return, but they stopped short of Heidi and her furry patient.

“We’ve got a problem.”

Chapter Two

The sun beat down on his head as Isabela rushed around the front of the car to come to his aid. She thought he was still as weak as a newborn kitten, and he let her believe so. Her black hair glistened in the sunlight, her eyes so dark he’d been lost in them since he awoke in the hospital bed, bruised and bandaged, unsure of what had happened to him.

“Let me help you, Javier,” she said, her voice as soothing as her touch. “You try too hard to push too much. You must let your body mend.”

She’d been saying that to him for the past four days. When he told her he was checking himself out of the military hospital despite recommendations to the contrary, she’d protested and tried vehemently to change his mind. When that hadn’t worked, she’d demanded he let her drive him home and at least help get him settled.

Her unorthodox insistence might’ve surprised a few at the hospital, but he’d known she would. He’d counted on it. From the moment he opened his eyes and saw hers, there’d been a mutual, undeniable attraction. He’d known she was his, and in turn, his brother’s. Although Juan had yet to meet her. It might require time and patience, but they would claim her as their own.

Javier allowed Isabela to believe his bones were still broken, that the pain was unbearable. It would be for a normal human, but the Montero brothers were not normal. There had been pain, a lot of it the first two days after the chopper crash. Excruciating pain as his bones knitted together, repairing themselves. Today, not so bad. In another week or so, he’d be as good as new, reason enough why he’d needed to get out of the hospital—before the doctors realized he was healing too fast and called for tests.

Tests he could not allow. Only his self-appointed caregiver—and soon-to-be mate—would become privy to his family’s secret...in time.

For now, he would isolate himself in his home and wait out the medical leave the army demanded, then get a release in the prescribed six weeks so he could return to active duty.

The door to the house opened as they stepped onto the front stoop.

“So, you’re the angel who put my brother back together?” Juan asked with a smile that had made other women swoon.

Isabela glanced from Juan to Javier and back. “I am seeing double.”

“Isabela, my love.” Javier wrapped his arm around her in a much more intimate hold, showing her he didn’t need her physical support to stand. “This is my brother, Juan. He’s prepared supper for us.”

She turned her head to stare at him, then raised an eyebrow at the same time her lips curled into a sensual, seductive smile. “You planned this.”

“We have much planned for you. Do not disappoint us.”

Her nostrils flared, and her pupils dilated. “I think you should be the ones who must not disappoint me.”

* * *

Javier slowly came awake with the memory of Isabela’s impudent grin playing in his mind’s eye, an ache in his heart and a rage boiling deep in his gut.

His limbs were too heavy to move. His heart thudded in his ears and echoed a piercing pain in his thigh. His throat was dry, his nose filled with the pungent scent of bleach and antiseptic.

“He’s waking up,” a female voice, soft and unfamiliar, whispered.

“If he’s like Kelan, it’ll take a few minutes for him to gain his senses,” a different woman’s voice answered. “And if he’s like Kelan, he’s gonna be pissed.”

Who was Kelan?

Something rattled. Metal-on-metal.

“He’s not going anywhere.”

Where am I? In a hospital? That would account for the scent of astringent and the pain in his leg.

Had he been in a car wreck?

The last thing he remembered, he’d been speeding up Highway 2, heading for Seattle. He struggled to recall more, but a pounding headache hindered his effort, and he gave up with a painful shake of his head.

He tried to move his sore leg, and a growl ripped from him.

“Hey there. You’re okay,” the first woman said.

“You’re okay,” mimicked what sounded like a parrot, the harsh voice stabbing his throbbing skull.

Without moving another muscle, he opened his eyes and stared at a blurry vision of two women on the other side of a fence. A door, he realized as his vision cleared, seeing the latch and the padlock that secured it. He let his gaze move from them to his environment. He was surrounded on three sides by chain link that reached the ceiling. He saw a garage door, two man-sized doors and a wire mesh cage holding a white, head-bobbing cockatoo.

It looked as if he were in a dog pound, but that didn’t make any sense. He sucked in a lungful of air

-A scent hit him, and he tensed, causing more pain in his leg and head.

A shifter was nearby.

Not Durchenko, though. This was a scent he hadn’t experienced before. Lighter, sweeter than the stinking snow leopard he’d been tracking for over two years. Another deep breath and he picked up more, a lingering fragrance of at least two others...fainter...not present, but definitely shifter in origin.

Where there were shifters, there was danger. He snarled.

“Knock it off,” the tawny-haired woman said. “I know what you are, so you can stop with the wild kingdom act.”

She knew what he was?

He didn’t move as he fought to regain his strength, to assess the damages to his body and any potential threat to him now.

Where in hell was he and how had he gotten here in his cat?

“Come on, talk to me. Tell me your name.” She poked her fingers through the links to grasp the fence. “I know you can.”

Joder! He’d been captured. But by whom? Did the women really know what he was?

And where was the origin of that damn scent? A shifter was near. The sweet scent was far too strong to be residual. He scanned his surroundings again, finding only the two women peering curiously back at him from the other side of a goddamn fence.

He hated cages. A growl of frustration rumbled from his chest.

The petite talker frowned at him. “I know you’re in pain and angry. That’s obvious, but I can help you whether you believe it or not. So are you gonna tell me your name?”

The other woman stood close to the first, silent and observant. She stared at him as if he were a lab experiment. Much taller than the tawny-haired beauty, she was bigger built, her dark hair pulled back into a severe chignon, wire-rimmed glasses perched on her prim nose. The petite, vocal one, however, was stunning. Her hair flowed in a thick mane around her shoulders. In her big, hazel eyes he saw much more than emotionless, scientific curiosity. Excitement mixed with a dollop of feminine pique.

Neither woman appeared to be a threat to him, but then again, he was trapped in a cage. Another growl rumbled like thunder in his throat.

“Come on,” the beauty pleaded, squatting to his level, albeit safely on the other side of the fence.

“We mean you no harm. I want to help you.”

When her scent hit him again, he shuddered and his gut tightened.

A female shifter? Unheard of. He took another breath to be sure.

In the twelve generations he could trace his family history, never had a female been born. He’d heard tales of their existence but believed them nothing more than legend, the wishful dreams of lone males unable to ensure the continuance of their bloodlines.

Yet, here one was...

“Don’t be afraid,” she said. “Do you remember what happened?”

He chose not to respond and continued to stare at her face and those delicate fingers still clutching his cage. He wasn’t sure whether she was being brave or ignorant of the risk she took with that small gesture.

“You were shot by a hunter,” she revealed, “but he called me when he realized he’d mistaken you for a bear. The bullet passed through your right hind leg. I had to clean and bandage the wounds, but you’ve also got a fractured femur. X-rays show it’s a fracture, not a complete break. That’s the good news. Bad news is you’ll have to stay off that leg for a while, but aside from a couple of scars, you’ll be good as new in a week or two.”

“Good as new,” the cockatoo said, its head bobbing. “Good as new, squawk!”

Javier hissed at her, baring his teeth.

“We should call Kelan,” the taller woman said, her expression showing the first signs of worry.

“Axel should know about this too.”

“No,” the beauty said. “No, please, Beth.” She stood and took the other woman’s hand in hers.

“Please don’t tell them yet. You know Axel will freak. He’ll probably demand we drop him out in the woods somewhere...far from here.”

“But—”

“Please. He’s wounded and in no condition to protect himself.” She licked her lips and glanced at him. “I’ve never met another of our kind. Don’t let my brothers mess this up.”

Our kind? Brothers?

There were more of them?

His heart began to race along with his thoughts. Though he’d heard tales of others, mostly bedtime stories he’d learned as a child, Javier had found evidence of only one outside of the Monteros. How many were there in the world? He’d traveled to dozens of countries and four continents tracking Durchenko, but he’d never come face-to-face with another shifter.

Until now...

“He’s probably a rogue,” Beth whispered.

“Maybe, but shouldn’t we try to find out before we condemn him? Let me have a couple of days.

I’m begging you. Just a few days before we let Axel know.”

Beth licked her lips, showing her indecisiveness. “He could be dangerous.”

“Which is why he’s in the cage...for now.” The beauty dropped Beth’s hand and turned back toward him, gripping the chain links of the door. “You’re not dangerous, are you?”

“Oh sure, he’ll just admit he’s as harmless as a kitten, and you’ll believe it.”

The beauty ignored her companion’s sarcasm and continued to look him in the eye. “I’ll keep you safe. Keep your secret. We’ve done it for generations.”

Her pretty eyes pleaded her case, and Javier contemplated speaking to her. But he wasn’t ready to take that chance. Never had he revealed his cat to anyone outside of blood kin, save Isabela. This woman seemed sincere, and to meet and speak to one of his kind who wanted to protect not kill...

But her brothers were dangerous, at least to him. She’d admitted as much in her attempts to keep the other woman from exposing his presence. The beauty might be sympathetic toward his plight, but the males in the area were another matter. They would kill him. They could scent him as surely as he scented this one.

He would keep quiet and plan his escape. These women could not hover over him forever...and the pretty one wished to keep him a secret. With a little luck, his escape should prove to be simple.

He pulled back his lips and snarled.

“Fine.” She sighed. “You’re not helping, you know. But have it your way.”

“Your way. Your way. Your way,” the bird screeched, making Javier cringe.

The pretty one turned away and picked something up off a table near one of the doors. She opened a small latch at the base of the gate and shoved in a chunk of raw meat.

“There’s your dinner. I wouldn’t try shifting with the cast on. It’d hurt like hell and probably do more damage.”

With that, she and Beth shut the door firmly behind them.

“Like hell,” the bird repeated. “Like hell.”

Shut. Up. Javier had no idea if he could communicate with birds as he did humans while in his cat, but he tried.

“Like hell. Like hell.”

Apparently not.

He dragged himself the few inches to the water bowl just inside the gate and lapped up the cool, soothing liquid.

Three days and he’d make his escape. Sooner if he could manage it, cast or no cast. Shifting would still hurt, but at least his bones would be knitted enough to support his weight. He hoped.

Provided the tawny-haired shifter woman convinced Beth to not tell her brothers about him. If they knew there was an injured shifter in their midst, they’d kill him.

Survival of the fittest.

He glanced at his leg. The bird was right. He was in hell.

Chapter Three

Heidi slipped a bowl of fresh water through the small door at the base of the gate then picked up a platter and sat in front of the cage. For the next several heartbeats, she stared at the big black cat who watched her with those beautiful amber eyes.

“You have two choices this morning, big guy.” She pulled the tinfoil cover off the platter. “I have an inch-thick T-bone steak cooked medium rare, six scrambled eggs and a half loaf of buttered toast.”

She looked up from the massive feast in front of her and grinned. “You can have this if you talk to me.

If not, you get another raw roast. I don’t feed the average cat a gourmet breakfast.”

He stared at her unblinking.

She set the platter of food next to her on the floor. “It’s going to get cold. And I won’t reheat it for you.”

She knew she wasn’t wrong about him. There was too much human intelligence behind those exotic eyes. Besides, Beth’s test on the blood sample proved it. Humans—and shifters like the Falke men-had forty-six chromosomes. A normal cougar, or jaguar, had only thirty-eight. This massive, gorgeous animal was a shape-shifter whether he admitted it or not.

If she’d had even an inkling of doubt, it had gone up in smoke last night when she got home. Kelan and Reidar had scented something strange on her and Beth, their mate, though in human form they seemed unsure of its origin. She and Beth had rushed to take showers before mealtime, but both men still acted strangely all through dinner. And her fathers had looked at her with questions in their eyes.

She’d played dumb and hadn’t offered any information. For now, they’d let her have her secrets, but that wouldn’t last long.

She had to make sure Beth steered clear of the jaguar, and Heidi would need to shower more often with stronger soaps and shampoos if she wanted to have any chance of avoiding detection for as long as possible. And she’d have to stay away from all her brothers while they were shifted. With their senses heightened in catamount form, not even bleach would be able to completely mask another shifter’s scent.

Sometimes Heidi hated the fact she still lived in her childhood home with her two fathers, two of her six brothers and now her sister-in-law.

She hated that she didn’t have her brothers’ gifts, their keen senses, their abilities to shift, their...almost everything. She’d been odd girl out in a family of incredible catamount shifters and the youngest of the seven. She’d give almost anything to be able to change form and run through the forest with the freedom they had.

Most of all, though, she longed for a mate of her own. One with whom she could have little shifter babies. There was only one way that could happen, and until yesterday she’d thought it a complete impossibility. Unlike her brothers, who could pair up to mate with a human woman, as a lone catamount female, she could only produce children with a full-blooded male shifter. Aside from her own flesh and blood, that left out the entire male population of Leavenworth and probably all of Washington, if not the United States. Male shifters weren’t exactly easy to come by.

This beauty before her wasn’t a cougar, but he was a feline shifter. The closest she’d ever come to a lone male of her kind. And that made him extraordinary...a find worth protecting. Worthy of getting to know better.

She wanted—needed—to hear his story. Where was he from? Were there others like him out there?

If so, did any of them need a mate?

“Why won’t you talk to me?”

“Talk to me. Squawk.”

The cat shifted his gaze from her to Paco and back. His ear flicked, and he shut his eyes.

“You can trust me, and Beth too. I swear it. I just want to get to know you.”

The jaguar sighed, his chest heaving, and flopped onto his side.

“Awfully passive aggressive, there, kitty. You know, it’s Sunday, and I have no patients. I can sit here and talk at you all day. Wouldn’t it be nicer to have a conversation and a hot breakfast than pretend you’re just a jaguar who happened to be running around the wilds of Washington State?

You’re thousands of miles north of where any jaguar should be roaming.”

He tipped his head back, looking at her upside down, blew out a breath and raised a huge paw to scratch his ear.

Heidi pressed her lips together. She had learned enough growing up in a house full of men to know when one was just screwing with her.

He’d eaten the hunk of roast she’d left in his cage, so he didn’t have the aversion to raw meat her brothers had. If he was a rogue, and if he’d been living alone in the woods, he might be more wild cat than human.

What if... The thought made her eyes burn with tears. What if he didn’t know, or couldn’t remember what it meant to be human? Like a child raised by wolves.

“Come on, big guy. Talk to me,” she begged, fearful that her speculation might prove true.

In her family’s catamount line, children didn’t gain their ability to shift until puberty. Was it possible that other shifters were different? What if he’d been born a cat? What if he couldn’t speak telepathically?

She leaned forward, practically pressing her face to the mesh cage. “I can’t let you go if you don’t talk to me.” She gripped the chain links. “A cage is no place for a shifter, but you can’t go free. You don’t belong here. You’ll just get shot again by someone else. Someone who won’t care enough to call a vet. Someone who’ll tan your hide and hang it on a wall as a trophy. Do you want that?”

The jaguar rolled onto his stomach, lowered his head, and his ears went back in a sign of agitation.

“God, come on. You’re half human. You must know that.”

But maybe he didn’t. The Falke family went back many generations, but no one knew the origin of their species. Her ancestors, a pair of male cousins—supposedly the last two catamounts left alive after their secret had been discovered—fled Germany and wound up here. They had been two of the founding fathers of Leavenworth, but their lineage hadn’t been strong until now. Until her fathers had mated and produced seven healthy offspring. Now her eldest pair of brothers had three brand new babies. The Falke family was growing, expanding, gaining strength with each generation. But from where did they originate? Not even her fathers knew for sure.

Was this beautiful creature a new beginning?

“What the hell am I supposed to do with you?” Heidi opened the door at the base of the gate and shoved the platter of food through.

“Do with you. Do with you. Squawk.”

The cat flinched, his tail curling and slapping the floor in obvious agitation.

“Hush, Paco.” She stood and went to the cockatoo’s cage. “I think your squawking hurts his ears.”

“Big ears. Big ears.”

Heidi opened the bird’s cage, extending her arm so he could climb on. He bobbed his head and took a tentative step off his perch, but then hopped on and scurried up her arm onto her shoulder.

The jaguar still stared at her, not moving toward the platter of food. “I’m going to go catch up on some bills. I’ll check on you later.”

“Later, dude,” Paco said.

The jaguar hissed, which made Heidi laugh. But her humor quickly fled as she left the garage and headed for her office. At her desk, she pushed the pile of bills to the side and opened her laptop.

Tapping her fingertips, she waited for the computer to boot up, while Paco danced from foot to foot on her shoulder and plucked at strands of her hair.

She brought up Google as soon as the window loaded and typed in jaguar facts. Skipping over everything related to cars, she went to work reading up on the elusive, endangered cats.

* * *

The rest of Sunday was much like the morning. She brought the jaguar fresh water and cooked food.

The breakfast platter had been licked clean, except for the bone from the steak, which made her wonder about him. A big cat in the wild would have chewed that measly little bone right up with the meat.

She spoke to him, tried to coax him into communicating with her, but either he was the most stubborn male she’d come across, or he didn’t speak. From everything she’d learned about jaguars online, she knew to be leery around him. They were known to be sneaky, tricky, very smart and dangerous. They were also a huge part of Mayan myth, which she found interesting but of little use to her.

Most of it was of little use because the obstinate cat was not a typical jaguar. He was a shifter, a frustratingly mulish and mute shifter.

She was in Leavenworth, Washington with a two hundred and fifty pound jaguar she couldn’t hand over to any zoo, because somewhere along the way a genetics test could be run on him quickly and easily, just as Beth had done.

She guessed she had one more day before Beth gave in and spilled the beans. She was a good sister-in-law, but Heidi had no doubt where the woman’s loyalties were. She was the mate of catamounts.

That alone took more courage and devotion than most women possessed. She wouldn’t lie to her mates for long, even if it was only a lie of omission.

A big, huge, furry lie of omission.

Monday morning, Heidi had little choice but to figure out a solution to her dilemma. As she pulled into the clinic’s driveway, she spotted Shirley Taggart standing outside an SUV with The Leavenworth Echo signage all over it.

“Oh, no.” Beth leaned forward and stared out the window as Heidi drove past the reporter.

Shirley headed their way. Heidi had gone to school with the woman, ace reporter for the Cascade High Chatter and now lead reporter for the local newspaper. She was a nosey one who wrote good, sometimes groundbreaking news stories, but also a lot of gossip column type stuff.

Heidi’s stomach clenched. A reporter on her doorstep right now was not a good thing.

She stopped the Land Rover in front of the clinic’s door. “Say nothing.”

“Duuhhh.”

Heidi snorted. She didn’t have to tell Beth how dangerous this was. Not only to that jaguar inside the clinic, but also to their own family. She’d told Beth her thoughts on the cat, her fears he might not even know what he was. Beth had begged her to talk to Axel or her fathers, but Heidi hadn’t been ready. Now she would give anything to have her dads at her side to help her deal with this. Even Axel would be welcome, because he’d scare the shit out Shirley. He had in the past when it came to Falke.

“Go ahead inside,” Heidi said, handing Beth the key ring from the ignition that also had the clinic keys on it. “I’ll face the firing squad.”

Beth nodded. “Good luck.”

They opened the doors simultaneously and stepped out. Beth ran for the cover of the porch, while Heidi straightened her shoulders and put on a very confused expression as the reporter came toward her, micro digital recorder held out.

“Good morning, Dr. Falke,” Shirley said in a very professional tone that made Heidi scowl. They were definitely on first-name basis. “Could you confirm that an injured black panther is being treated in your clinic?”

Heidi changed her expression to one of surprise. “I’m sorry, but there is no black panther here, Ms.

Taggart.” There was no such thing as a panther. The term was a misnomer referring to black jaguars and black leopards. She snickered. “No pink panther either.”

“I saw the pictures.”

“Of a black panther?”

The reporter nodded and held her recorder higher.

“A picture of one in my clinic?”

“Well, it was in the woods,” Shirley hedged, and Heidi shrugged.

“Can’t help you.”

“What about the video on YouTube? Ritchie Handleman said you brought the wounded panther back to this clinic. Is it in there? May I see it?”

Heidi held up her hands to stop the questions. “I assure you there is no black panther in my clinic.”

She forced a chuckle. “Or anywhere for that matter. Such creatures do not exist, but I’d sure love to see one if you find one around here.”

“What was it then? What was it that Ritchie Handleman said he shot?”

Heidi racked her brain but could not remember Ritchie or Dave holding a camera or taking any pictures, so they must have done that before she arrived. She prayed there was no proof she’d been there with this so-called panther.

She shrugged again, praying she wasn’t about to step up to her eyeballs into it. “I’m sorry, but I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“What is this then?” The reporter held out a piece of paper she’d pulled from her back pocket. Heidi took it and unfolded it. A printout of a photograph obviously taken with a grainy cell phone camera.

God, she’d ring Ritchie’s neck. She hadn’t thought to tell him to keep his mouth shut. Why should she have? She’d thought the cat escaped from somewhere.

“I really can’t tell,” she said, handing the printout back to Shirley.

“Do you deny Handleman’s claims of shooting a black panther?”

“You’ll have to ask Handleman about what he hunts, but I didn’t know there was a hunting season on a non-existent creature.”

Shirley lowered the recorder and in a stage whisper said, “Come on, Heidi. Between you and me.

What is that he shot? It looks like a black Falke. He said you came and picked it up after he called you.”

The red light was still lit on the recording device, and Heidi smiled politely while her gut clenched and a cold sweat pop out on her forehead. Town rumor claimed Shirley and Ritchie had dated a couple years back. They might still be close. This was going to get out of hand real fast if she didn’t nip it.

“Shirley, believe me, I understand the big news that finding a black panther might produce. But don’t you think Ritchie might be having some fun with you? You know he was always somewhat of a prankster.” She pointedly glanced at her watch. “My first patient of the day—which by the way will be your average hound dog—should be arriving soon.”

“Heidi, come on. I don’t think Ritchie is lying.”

Heidi shook her head and gave a little smile. “I’ve gotta go.” She turned and walked onto the porch and into the clinic.

“This is not good,” Beth said as soon as the door clicked shut.

Heidi took a deep breath, bit her bottom lip, then walked past Beth and out to the garage.

The jaguar looked up but didn’t bother to raise his head from his paws.

“We have a situation, and if you can understand me, you better damn well listen up.”

“Squawk. Listen up. Listen up.”

The cat’s right ear twitched and his eyes narrowed as he turned his attention to Paco. Heidi had visions of white feathers flying and a weeping Mrs. Henderson coming to retrieve her bird.

“Look at me, damn it.” Heidi rattled the cage door. “There is a reporter outside who thinks I have a black panther in here. The guy who shot you posted pictures on the internet. If you understand what I’m saying, you better let me know, because I can’t hide you in here forever, which means...you’re fucked.”

“What if he can’t understand you?” Beth asked softly. “What are we going to do?”

“You’re fucked. Squawk.”

Oye, chata. If you don’t shut that goddamn bird up, I’m going to ring its neck.

Heidi sagged with relief against the chain link gate. The voice she heard in her head was a bass timbre with a very strong, very sexy Spanish accent. She grinned at the cat, then at her sister-in-law.

“Give me the keys.” She held her hand out to Beth, who dithered. “It’ll be okay.”

Beth’s puckered expression showed her disapproval, but she handed over the keys. “Be careful, sis.”

“I will. Go make sure all the blinds are shut tight, and give Mrs. Blake a call. Tell her to stay home today...with pay.”

“And when she asks why?”

“Tell her I’ve decided to take a personal day.”

“But shouldn’t we go about business as usual? Won’t it look suspicious if we don’t?”

She hesitated a moment. Beth had a point. “Okay. Nix that call, but I really need you here to keep her busy and out of the garage.”

“I can do that.”

“And postpone any appointments that require my attendance.” Beth was experienced enough to handle minor first aid treatments and vaccinations without her. “You don’t mind covering for me, do you? The appointment book should be on her desk.”

“Sure.”

Hopefully, Shirley’s interest over an unsubstantiated sighting of a panther would dissipate by then.

It was true that Ritchie had pulled pranks as a teenager. If she could get the evidence out of the clinic, there would be no proof he wasn’t just pulling a fast one on an ex-girlfriend who happened to be a reporter. Of course, he’d posted the video on YouTube...

“Oh, and one more thing?” Beth stopped, turned and waited. “Before Mrs. Blake arrives, could you run over to that second-hand store and get some clothes for our guest...and crutches if they have some?”

Beth eyed the jaguar before giving a quick nod.

“Thanks.”

“Just be careful.”

Heidi waited for Beth to leave the garage before turning back to the cage. If he was going to attack, she didn’t want her sister-in-law in the path of destruction. “Okay, big guy. We’ve got to get that cast off your leg and see how far you’ve healed. Only way we’re sneaking you out of here is as a human.”

She clicked open the padlock but left it hanging in the latch, still holding the door secure. “You’re going to be a very good boy, aren’t you? Nothing funny. No more games. This is serious. I can’t help you if you don’t cooperate, and I’d rather not have to tranquilize you again.”

He snarled but then closed his eyes and blew out a harsh breath. I have never hurt a woman in my life, and I do not plan to start now.

She pulled the padlock from the latch and let the door swing open. “That’s good, ’cause if you were dumb enough to hurt me, discovery would be the least of your concerns. My family would hunt you down and turn you into roadkill.”

“Roadkill. Squawk.”

The jaguar growled, but he glared at Paco, not her.

You have my word, chata. I’ll not harm a hair on your head. That bird may be another story.

Heidi chuckled and closed the gap between them, knelt next to him. “It’s only been two days. How fast do you heal?” She touched the cast. “My brothers take at least a week, but none of them have had a broken femur.”

Not that fast, but I feel my strength returning. I will be able to shift, at least once.

She winced. Shifting with a broken bone would hurt like hell, and the leg would have to be recast afterwards. “Will you tell me your name now?”

The big black head with gorgeous amber eyes swung toward her, and she wanted to wrap her arms around his neck, bury her face against his fur. He was the most beautiful creature she’d ever seen. But there was no time for such things now. Right now, he was her patient, and she had to literally save his life. Again. This time from a fate that could be worse than death.

Javier Montero.

“Nice to meet you, Javier.” Even his name was beautiful. “I’m Heidi.”

Chapter Four

How many brothers do you have? Javier asked while Heidi worked on removing his cast. He wanted to know how outnumbered he would be whenever the confrontation occurred—and it would. His pretty, petite vet might be naïve enough to think her brothers would let him get this close and not react, but he was under no such delusions. She was rare, and this town was their home. The men in her family would respond the same way he would if some stranger encroached on his territory.

“Six.”

Mierda.

She met his scowl with a frown. “I take it by the volume, that’s a curse. You don’t have to worry. I can handle my brothers. It’s the pesky reporter we have to worry about.”

She was wrong, but he didn’t argue the point. As soon as he was strong enough, he’d find his car and get the hell out of here. His fight was not with her family.

She continued to work on his cast. “So, where are you from?”

Nowhere.

“What brings you here to Washington?”

Nothing.

“Is your name really Javier Montero?”

He didn’t respond at all to that snarky question.

Her frown deepened. “You don’t want to talk? Fine, keep your secrets, but just so we’re clear on one thing—this is my home.” Her tone lost all hint of hospitality and sharpened to a razor’s edge. Brash and bold.

Extraordinary.

“I will protect it because I have a lot more at stake than you do.”

He snorted at that, which only riled her further.

Her volume increased with her temper. “I refuse to uproot from the only place I’ve ever called home just because you were stupid enough to get your ass shot by an idiot with a rifle.”

Her touch was not nearly as gentle as before, and a sharp pain in his leg made him flinch and hiss when she pulled the cast apart.

Her furious gaze collided with his, and he snarled.

“I’ve dealt with a half dozen arrogant, overbearing pumas all my life. One stubborn jaguar isn’t going to intimidate me, so knock it off.”

Her fire impressed the hell out of him, but she was still a threat, or rather her brothers were. He needed to get away from her, this cage-“Knock it off, knock it off, squawk.”

Better yet, put as much distance as possible between him, that damn bird and this whole fucking area. He didn’t need this complication. He had to find Durchenko—find him and kill him.

“I’m all you’ve got,” she said around the bird’s annoying chatter. “The sooner you realize that, the better. So if you want to get out of here without your hide on a wall, you best find some way to trust me, ’cause if you can’t, how do you expect me to trust you?”

He released a huff.

Finishing with the cast, she got up, turned her back on him—a risk she took to make a point, he assumed.

Foolish.

At the door to his cage, she turned back and met his gaze once more. “Am I?” She shut the cage’s door. “You didn’t attack.”

I... What could he say? She was right. He hadn’t even tried. My leg is broken.

“Yes,” she agreed, “and we both know what a normal jaguar would’ve done, given the opportunity, regardless of his injury. But you aren’t a wild animal, at least not all the time. You’re a man. I trusted you this once. You’ll have to earn it from here on out.” She locked the cage door. “I’ll be back with your food. You’ll need to eat to have the energy to shift. And don’t try to stand on that leg. It hasn’t healed enough yet to support your weight without a cast.”

Despite her warning, he still climbed to his feet on three paws and tested his ability to put weight on the leg. The pain alone was enough to prove her case, but he had to know for sure.

He was stretched out on his side again by the time she returned with a carton of milk and a plate piled high with scrambled eggs, buttery biscuits and several thick slices of honeyed ham. Over her arm were some clothes, a pair of sweatpants and a cotton T-shirt, and under her arm was a pair of men’s sandals, which she dropped onto the floor.

“Options were limited at the store. Beth had to guess your size, so these may not fit, but she opted for larger being better.” Heidi stopped outside the cage door and stared at him. “You want to share something?”

He knew what she wanted—some sign of trust on his part. He could lie. She’d have no way of knowing whether he told the truth, but he decided to give her a morsel of honesty.

I am from Mexico.

“An illegal alien? Or tourist just passing through?”

He’d crossed the border legally, but whether he was passing through depended on Durchenko’s next destination. And Javier wasn’t exactly on vacation. I have a stamped passport... in my car.

“And your car is...”

I am not sure. Last I recall, I was behind the wheel... headed for Seattle.

“What kind of car is it? I could check with a friend at the police station, see if anyone reported finding an abandoned vehicle.”

He stared at her for a long pause before answering. A Jaguar XK... black convertible.

Her lips twitched, and he could tell she was trying not to laugh. She nodded, then lost her fight and snickered. “Really? Why am I not surprised?”

He heaved a sigh and let her have a laugh at his expense. The car hadn’t belonged to him. It had been Isabela’s until two years ago, but he wasn’t about to explain that to the nosy vet.

“Sorry.” Her expression turned serious once more. “They’re nice cars. I’ll see what I can do to help you find it.” She opened the cage door and set the food down, tossing the clothes near him. “Eat up, then change. I’ll wait just outside that door. There’s a new pair of boxer briefs stuffed inside the pants.

Put those on, but hold off on the pants until after.”

After what?

“I need to look at your wounds, check the stitches and make sure there are no signs of infection.

And I need to recast your leg. Hopefully the pants are loose enough to fit over the cast. If not, we can cut ’em into shorts. You want to chop ’em off anyway? It is summer after all.”

I am used to warmer climates.

“Right. I’ll bring the scissors just in case.” With that, she shut the cage door, leaving the padlock off this time, and stepped through one of the other doors to afford him some privacy.

He made short work of the meal, enjoying the flavor of the honeyed ham the most, and then focused on shifting. The familiar tingle slithered along his spine, and his vision began to blur. Then the pain hit. He set loose a roar that stuttered into a deep base scream as he completed the transformation.

Zapped of energy, he collapsed on the cold, concrete floor, unable to garner enough strength to dress.

Outside the door, Heidi had just returned with the scissors, fresh bandages and casting materials when she heard him scream.

“Heidi?” Beth came running down the hall, but Heidi stopped her.

“I’m fine. Go check the windows while I check on him.” Beth had told her Shirley had gone, but that didn’t mean the woman wasn’t staked out nearby, and Heidi wasn’t sure how soundproof her garage was. When Beth hesitated, she added, “Go. The last thing we need is for someone to come charging in here to see what the noise is all about, or worse, call 9-1-1.”

Beth nodded and headed for the lobby.

Maneuvering her supplies in her arms, Heidi managed to open the door and head in to check on Javier only to find him still nude and collapsed on the floor.

“Damn it.” She dropped her supplies and entered the cage, touching his shoulder.

“Get out,” he snapped, curling into a fetal position, except for his wounded leg.

Tetchy. “I’m a doctor.”

“You’re a vet.”

“Same difference to the likes of you.” She grabbed the muscle shirt Beth had bought and covered the man’s privates, but not without noticing he had a nice package.

Shame she didn’t have more time to admire his physique, but she chastised herself for such wayward thinking. He was in pain, irritable, needed her help, and they were still in danger of discovery. She had to get his leg treated, recast, and get him removed from her clinic before anything else could go wrong. The last thing she needed was authorities showing up to ask why she was now treating a man with a gunshot wound in her garage, or worse, why the man’s wound was similar in location and type to the one Ritchie claimed to have caused in a black panther.

“Hold still. I’ll do this as quickly and painlessly as possible.” She retrieved her supplies, checked the stitches to see both wounds had already begun to heal with no sign of infection. That was the good news. The bad was his leg was still obviously fractured, and the shift hadn’t helped in that regard.

She rewrapped the thigh, slipped on a stockinette and Webril to protect his skin, and then formed a new cast that covered a majority of his leg, from upper thigh to midcalf. “You’ll feel some heat. I’m using warmer water so the cast will set quicker.”

He grunted but didn’t open his eyes.

Although she allowed for a partial bend at the knee, she didn’t want him moving it too far or putting pressure on the femur. Once the cast set, he should be able to walk with crutches or sit easily enough with his leg at a stationary angle.

While she worked, he held the shirt in place over his crotch and kept his eyes closed, his breaths steady.

“All done,” she announced, cleaning up what was left unused. “Can you...”

She forgot the question when he opened his eyes to look at her. In human form, they were the same amber color, their brilliance trimmed by thick black lashes.

He had a full head of short hair, dark as a moonless night, and a handsome angular jaw line shadowed with a two days’ growth of whiskers. Chiseled features captured her imagination and sent her fantasies on a new course.

“What’s the matter, chata? Cat got your tongue?” His lips curled into a smirk that made her heart stutter.

She blinked, shook her head and lied. “Not at all. Can you get dressed? Or do you need help?”

He glanced at his clothes and then himself, his shirt still strategically held over his groin. “Perhaps with the one leg.”

Swiftly, she grabbed the underwear out of the pants and threaded his right foot through one leg hole, leaving the garment below the bottom edge of his cast but well within his reach.

“You’ll need to wait about ten or fifteen minutes for the plaster to harden before you can pull up your clothes. It’ll take at least a day for it to fully cure.” She repeated the procedure with the sweatpants without looking any higher than his knee.

“Gracias, chata.”

Damn, if the man’s voice wasn’t as sexy audibly as it was telepathically. “My name’s Heidi, and you’re welcome.” She climbed to her feet and turned before she could give in to a desire to watch him dress. She desperately wanted another peek at what lay beneath that shirt. “I...uh...I’ll go check on whether the coast is clear and get your crutches.”

When she returned several minutes later, he was dressed and had even gotten to his feet with the help of the cage fencing. He stood, breathing a bit heavily and leaning against the fence near the unsecured doorway. Even wilted with pain and exhaustion, he was an imposing figure, well over six feet tall, all muscle.

“Going somewhere?” she asked, a mild attempt at keeping her tone light.

His dark lashes lifted, and again his heated gaze penetrated her to the bone. “Not without you, doctor.”

“Or these.” She held out the crutches, ignoring his acidic response. “If you haven’t worn yourself out with impatience, hobble this way. My Land Rover’s outside, and our audience has left...for the time being.”

As they made their way through the clinic, however, the front door opened, and Ritchie walked in.

Beth was on the phone with a customer, leaving Heidi to deal with her untimely visitor.

“Hey, Heidi. I stopped by to check on our panther.”

She sensed more than saw Javier tense beside her, so she slid a palm over the small of his back.

“Black panthers don’t exist—”

“You said it wasn’t a cougar.”

“Right.” Before he could speak again, she asked, “Ritchie, why did you have to contact the media?”

He frowned, casting a quick, wary glance at the scowling man beside her. “I didn’t. Shirley contacted me. She saw a picture I posted to Facebook. Why?”

“I don’t need her harassing my customers or trespassing on my property trying to get a picture of a thing that doesn’t exist.”

“But the cat’s real. I shot it.”

Her palm balled into a fist, grasping some of Javier’s shirt. “Yes, you shot a jaguar, an animal, I might add, that is on the endangered species list, which could land you in a lot of hot water if it dies.”

“But I thought it was a bear.”

“You honestly think that’ll matter if the authorities realize what you really shot? You’ve heard the uproar the environmentalists make over fur coats and lab rats. What do you think they’ll do if they learn a hunter shot an endangered jaguar in a state where there are so few already.”

None really, but she didn’t elaborate.

“Shit, I didn’t think of that.”

She sighed. “I know. Look, I denied having any big cat here, and I told Shirley you were just playing a prank. So long as the animal survives, you should be off the hook.”

“Okay.”

“But I’d appreciate it if—I’d suggest you try to spin this on your Facebook page or wherever else you posted it as a hoax, a doctored photographic prank. A joke that got out of hand.”

He frowned but nodded. “I can do that, and I’ll talk to Dave too.”

“Good. You do that.” Relief coursed through her, and she let go of Javier’s shirt.

“Can I see it? It’s going to live, right?”

She smiled. “Yes, he is. But he’s not here anymore. I’ve transferred him elsewhere with better security and proper facilities to help with his recovery and reintroduction back into the wild.”

“Oh. Okay.” Ritchie glanced at Javier again. “I, uh, guess I’ll see you later then.” He tossed a thumb over his shoulder. “Gotta get back to work anyway.”

“Ritchie.” When he paused, she gave him a quick a hug. “Thanks again for calling me. You might’ve made a mistake, but you did the right thing and helped save the cat’s life. That’s something to be proud of.”

His expression brightened. “Sure, sure. Thanks. See ya later.”

“Bye.” She watched him walk out then said to the silent giant beside her, “Let’s go.”

Javier waited until he was seated in the passenger’s seat, his crutches in back, and she was behind the wheel before he spoke. “Your boyfriend?”

“No. An old friend.” She cast a sideways glance his way. “Don’t even think about getting revenge.”

He huffed and stared out the window.

“I mean it. Ritchie is a nice guy, and if he hadn’t called me when he realized you weren’t the black bear he was hunting, then you wouldn’t be here, and we wouldn’t be having this discussion.”

“Is that what this is?” He didn’t look her way.

“Of course, what do you think it is?”

“You dictating to me what to do.”

Her lips twitched. The man was so...alpha. “Call it whatever you like. Ritchie is a friend of mine, and I’m in the business of helping save lives, not condoning the harming of them. So if you want my help, you’ll have to abide by a few rules.”

That made him turn his head as she braked for a stop sign at a four-way intersection. “Those rules are?”

She kept her eye on the road and hands on the wheel, maneuvering through light traffic. “No harming anyone I care about. That includes family, friends, or casual acquaintances.”

“Am I not permitted to defend myself?”

“Of course, but that won’t be necessary.”

He scoffed at that, but she chose not to respond.

They were a few blocks down the road before he spoke again. “Where are you taking me?”

“My home.”

He muttered something she didn’t catch, although the tone left no doubt to his intended sarcasm.

“Don’t worry. You’re virtue is safe with me,” she teased, trying to lighten his mood. The man could scowl a hole through granite.

He snorted, but she noticed a brief twitch to his lips.

Chapter Five

Heidi sat behind the wheel of her SUV, the engine off, scanning the windows of her home, searching...preparing.

“Nice house,” Javier said. “Big.”

“Thanks.”

“What are we waiting for?”

She ignored his question. “Can I trust you to stay put?”

Before he could respond, one of her fathers stepped onto the front porch. Dressed in a stylish pair of beige slacks and an evergreen golf shirt, Fridrik moved into the sunlight, both hands on the rough-hewn log rail that spanned the space between the thick tree trunks acting as support beams for the roof.

Too late now. “Never mind.” She opened the driver’s side door. “Come on.” She rushed around the vehicle, retrieved the crutches and handed them to Javier.

Touching the small of his back, she guided him toward the house and kept a smile on her face as Burke, her other dad, positioned himself at the top of the porch steps. He wore a short-sleeved shirt similar to Fridrik’s, but with faded jeans and sneakers.

“Hi,” she said, keeping her tone cheerful in spite of the nervous turmoil in her belly.

She could feel Javier tense when he too noticed the older men blocking their path. Feeling already outnumbered, Heidi looked at the front door to see whether anyone else was home to make an appearance.

“Who—or what—do we have here?” Fridrik asked, his serious gaze on Javier.

Burke took a deep breath, and Heidi knew from the look in his eyes that he now recognized the scent that must’ve clung to her the other night.

“This is Javier Montero.” She kept her hand at Javier’s back until Fridrik’s gaze pointedly zeroed in on her arm. “Uh, he’s a jaguar shifter from Mexico who was wounded recently and needs a place to stay...just until he recuperates.”

“Heidi—” She risked their wrath by interrupting Burke. “I can’t leave him at the clinic now that the media is snooping around, which is a really long story, but let’s not get into that. Suffice it to say I figured it was safer to bring him here.”

Burke ended her rambling. “You thought wrong.”

“If you’d rather I leave—” Javier began, only to stop when her fathers glared at him.

“State your intentions, shifter,” Fridrik demanded in a fierce tone that brooked no argument and surprised Heidi. In all the years since she’d been old enough to date, neither of her fathers had ever taken such an aggressive approach when greeting anyone she brought home.

Axel, the family’s official alpha, had been the more aggravating one to deal with, the rest of her brothers a close second.

She glanced at Javier, his features hard and stern, knuckles white where he gripped the crutches. He neither backed down nor threatened with his solid stance, but she could tell he didn’t like having the low ground when it came to facing her fathers. Neither did she, if she were to admit the truth, even though she didn’t think they would attack a wounded, unarmed man without provocation. Of course, she’d never brought a lone shifter home either.

“I mean no harm to you or your family. Once I locate my car, I will gladly leave.”

“You can’t drive,” she pointed out, drawing an exasperated look from her patient and a pair of familiar fatherly glances. She took a deep breath and met each gaze. “Well, he can’t, not until his broken leg has healed enough to remove the cast. Until that happens, he’s my patient. Under my care and supervision and, therefore, protected by me.”

That earned her a raised eyebrow from Burke.

“I gave him my word.” Not exactly a promise, but that was beside the point. “I know I should’ve called first, but we’re here now. So, can I keep him? Here, I mean,” she rushed on, feeling her cheeks heat. “Just until he’s healthy enough to leave. He won’t be any trouble.” She looked at Javier for confirmation and got a dry smirk for her effort. Squaring her shoulders, she grabbed him by the elbow and faced her fathers. “I’ll make sure of it myself.”

And where do you plan to put him, daughter? Fridrik asked her telepathically, causing her to glance at Javier again to see whether he’d heard the exchange. He cannot hear us. To do so would require a blood relationship... or a mating of the lines.

Oh. She hadn’t known that limitation. Of course, Javier had been able to speak to her directly while in jaguar form as could all shifters in her family, but such abilities were limited in human form.

Burke filled the extended silence that had fallen between them as she and Fridrik conversed. “What brings you to Washington?”

“Business,” Javier said, “in Seattle.”

You haven’t answered my question, Fridrik said.

My room? She hadn’t really thought that far, but now that she did, her room was the only location that made sense. It’s the only bedroom besides yours that’s on the ground floor. He can’t be expected to navigate the stairs this soon, and it won’t hurt me to sleep on the couch for a few nights.

Fridrik frowned. Careful, daughter. He’s not as weak as he might have you believe.

“What kind of business?” Burke asked.

Javier hesitated. “Personal business.”

Burke gave a brief nod. “I see.”

I know, Dad. The sooner he heals, the sooner he can leave. She struggled against the feelings of disappointment over that thought. Opportunities to meet others of their kind were unheard of, and she wasn’t keen on the idea of rushing him out the door.

Fridrik leveled a serious look on Javier. “We will permit you shelter, shifter, while you heal. But one false move that brings injury to any member of this family, and your life is forfeit. Are we clear?”

“No one in your family is in danger of harm by my hand, so long as I have no fear of injury by you or your kin.”

Heidi sighed. “I already said you’re under my protection. That should be enough. Now, come on.

Let’s get you off your feet and in bed so you can rest.”

Her fathers moved out of her way as she guided her patient into the house, but she didn’t make it through the door before Burke’s telepathic order came to her loud and clear.

She tried not to cringe.

Once he’s settled, you, young lady, have more explaining to do.

* * *

“Isabela? Where are you?” Javier stopped in the foyer with a smile on his face, his gaze lowered to the trail of rose petals on the floor.

Were they from the bouquet he and his brother had sent to the hospital? Their first anniversary was this weekend, but the brothers had decided to gift their mate with something special each day leading up to the momentous occasion. Yesterday had been a box of her favorite chocolates. Today, two dozen peach-colored roses, again her favorite.

He closed the front door and followed the fragrant petals that lead through their living room and down the hall. Soft classical melodies, his wife’s preferred music, filtered through the house. The petals continued through the master bedroom, ending at the doorway to the master bath.

His smile turned into a full-blown grin. No wonder his mate hadn’t answered his call. She couldn’t, not when his brother had her pinned against the shower’s glass wall, his tongue in her mouth as they kissed with passion.

Javier cleared his throat and heard them chuckle.

“You’re late,” Juan muttered without pulling his lips from Isabela’s. His brother’s shirt was unbuttoned but still on his shoulders, the tails pulled free of his pants, which told Javier he hadn’t arrived too long after Juan, no more than a couple of minutes at the most.

“Traffic was a bitch.” He kicked away from the doorway and closed in on the couple.

“Rough day?” Juan peppered their mate’s face with playful kisses on the nose and cheeks.

“No, the usual. Mostly training exercises.” Javier waited for his brother to come up for air. “And you?”

“Drug bust...small operation, but got three in custody, and no one was hurt.”

“Good.” Sometimes he wished his brother had chosen to reenlist in the military like he had instead of pursuing a career in law enforcement, but Juan had a stubborn streak that rivaled his own. Truth be told, both careers were inherently dangerous. Javier’s helicopter accident last year was proof enough of that.

At least they both could serve from their nation’s capitol. Being apart from his brother and mate when on a mission was bad enough; daily separation for months on end would be torture.

Isabela gave Juan a quick peck and then turned her beautiful smile on Javier. “I want to thank you for the flowers.”

He pulled her free of Juan’s embrace and eyed her skimpy peach negligee. “I want to thank you for wearing that,” he said, making her giggle as he wrapped her in his arms and pressed his lips to hers.

He loved coming home to her, kissing her, waking up beside her each morning.

To the soft beat of the instrumental music, he danced her out of the bathroom and to the bed.

His tongue dueled playfully with hers while he stripped her body of the silky fabric. He heard more than saw his brother kick off his shoes and felt Isabela’s fingers tug his zipper down.

After his pants slid down his legs, he helped her remove his shirt, sat and pulled her to stand between his thighs. Juan’s hands skimmed around her sides as Javier dipped his head to suckle from a plump breast.

She hissed softly and combed her fingers through his hair. He sucked harder, cupping her sweet ass and letting his brother cradle her breasts while he feasted.

Juan murmured sweet nothings to Isabela, which made Javier smile. She was perfect for them, soft, supple, a treasure he’d never dreamed possible.

Breathlessly, she said, “I—I can’t think—”

“Don’t. Just feel.” He fell back on the bed and snagged her by the hand to pull her down over him.

“But I have something to tell you both.”

“Hold that thought,” Juan said, moving behind her as she straddled Javier’s groin.

Javier smiled at Isabela, watching her expression transform as his brother entered her slowly. Her lashes drifted down. Her rosy, well-kissed lips parted, and his cock swelled. Hard and ready, he told his brother telepathically to hurry. He wouldn’t be able to wait much longer.

Just as his brother withdrew from her pussy to align his dick with her ass, she blinked at Javier as if awaking from a dream.

“I’m pregnant.”

Both brothers froze. Javier thought his heart would pound its way free of his chest. His mate had just given them the greatest gift he could ever hope for.

His cock poised at the precipice of paradise, he cupped her nape and drew her down for a tender kiss.

“Isabela.”

* * *

Having survived her fathers’ inquisition, Heidi reheated some leftover stew, paired it with dinner rolls and one of her favorite bottles of beer—which she kept hidden in the fridge so her brothers wouldn’t drink it—and went to check on her patient.

Setting the tray of food on her dresser, she approached the bed to see Javier was still asleep. Though he seemed peaceful now, he’d tossed and turned enough to kick off most of the covers.

She decided to let him rest. The meal could wait. She lifted the corner of one sheet and began to drape it over his body when he snatched her by the wrist and pulled her off-balance. With a gasp, she fell into his arms, his large hand at her nape, pressing her face toward his.

“Javier?” She pushed at the mattress, trying to squirm free without jostling his injured leg. “What are you doing?”

His eyes were closed, and his only response was to draw her down the last few inches and kiss her on the mouth.

“Jav—” His tongue darted past her lips to cut her off, and though she had tried to stop him before, she couldn’t summon the strength to protest anymore.

He tasted far too good, and the rampant passion behind the kiss scrambled her thoughts and overwhelmed the best of her intentions. While he kissed her hard, one hand at her nape, he slid his other along her spine to cup her ass and press her against an obvious and impressive erection.

Heidi moaned with sudden need. She ground herself against his body as he broke their kiss to plant a trail of lust along her jaw line, the side of her neck. He nipped her earlobe, and she bucked a little, burrowing closer.

“Isabela...” he whispered, dousing every flicker of arousal that burned within Heidi.

“Oh my God!” She shoved at him, punched his arm and jolted him awake.

He released her the instant his eyes shot open, and she scrambled from the bed.

Breathless and upset, with herself more so than with him, she spun to see him struggling to sit up.

For a brief second, the thought of adjusting his pillows to help him flashed through her mind, but she didn’t act upon it. Distance was called for now, since close proximity proved the worst line of defense.

He looked at her with equal bits drowsy confusion and irritated suspicion.

For a long moment, neither of them spoke. She couldn’t. Her lungs weren’t functioning correctly, and her heart pumped way too much blood to her neck and face. Embarrassed beyond belief, she couldn’t divert her gaze either, although she wanted to do that and more.

Why wouldn’t he say something?

She caved in to the urge to wipe her palms against her thighs. Then she remembered his meal.

“I...um...I brought you something to eat.” She retrieved the tray and set it across his lap, backing up to give him—or rather herself—some much needed space. She didn’t mention the noticeable bulge underneath the covers.

Maybe if they just didn’t talk about it...

But he had to say something. His silent stare was driving her insane.

“I hope you like venison stew.”

He lifted one hand and, without breaking eye contact, swiped a thumb across his moist, well-kissed lips.

Her face would combust any second.

She didn’t blame him for what happened. He’d been dreaming of another woman.

“Who’s Isabela?”

His expression shut down in the blink of an eye, and his deep bass voice gave her chills. “Get the fuck out. Now.”

Chapter Six

“How did Fridrik and Burke take him?” Beth joined Heidi in the kitchen to help prepare dinner.

When Kelan and Reidar first moved Beth into their family home as their mate, Heidi had been a little put out with having another woman under foot, usurping her authority. But things had changed over the last year. She loved the sisterly camaraderie her sister-in-law provided. Heidi had been the only girl in a houseful of men for so long she’d forgotten how having more estrogen in the house could be a good thing.

“Things were a little tense at first.” She tore lettuce into a bowl. “After Javier went to sleep, I was called into the den for a discussion.”

Beth winced. Everyone knew the den was a sacred place into which the children were rarely invited.

If they were summoned into the den, it wasn’t to sit and chat about the weather.

“They’re leery of him and warned me to be careful, but they also realize I couldn’t turn him out while he can’t fend for himself.”

Beth sliced cucumber for the salad. “How’s he doing?”

The kiss—and her reaction to it—flashed through Heidi’s mind. She wanted nothing more than to share what happened with Beth, but she bit her tongue. She wasn’t ready to tell anyone about it yet, and she honestly didn’t know how much Beth would tell her husbands. Heidi definitely didn’t need her brothers knowing.

“He’s getting stronger by the minute.” All his parts seem to be working at any rate, she silently added, reliving the feel of his solid arousal against her hip. Never in her life, in the more than a decade since her first date, had she felt so aroused so quickly. If he hadn’t said that other woman’s name, she would have fucked him without a moment’s hesitation.

“What?” Beth asked.

Heidi looked up from the green pepper she’d been chopping. “What, what?”

“You have a strange look on your face. Did something happen?”

She licked her lips, and her face heated. “Uh...yeah...some—”

“What the hell is that smell?” she heard from the other room.

Reidar!

“Oh, no.” Heidi gasped and dashed from the kitchen, down the back hallway, and just barely headed off her brothers as they came from the other end of the hall toward her room. “No,” she cried as she body checked Reidar away from her door and threw herself against it to block their entry.

Kelan snarled in puma form. Get out of the way, little sister.

“No. Go away. This is my room.”

“What’s in there?” Reidar demanded.

“None of your damn business.”

This is our house.

“It’s my room.” She glared at Kelan but kept a wary eye on Reidar.

“What’s in there?” Reidar repeated, undaunted by her declaration.

“A patient who needs rest. Go away.”

Move her, Kelan told Reidar, who wrapped his arms around Heidi’s waist and lifted her. She grabbed hold of the doorknob with both hands and clung with all she was worth while kicking at her overbearing, much stronger brother.

“Put me down, you asshole,” she shouted. “It’s my room. You know you’re not allowed in there.”

A childish reaction, but it was all she could come up with. Her room was off limits to her brothers, had been since she hit puberty. Her one sanctuary in a house full of testosterone. A girl needed privacy, her mother had said when Heidi had been granted a bedroom as far away from her brothers as her own parents’ room at the other end of the main floor.

She feared for Javier’s safety if the boys got their hands on him. He couldn’t defend himself, and in their state of mind, they wouldn’t stop to listen to her or him. Impulsive to a fault, the pair rarely stopped to listen.

“Ow,” Reidar shouted when her heel connected with his shin. “Don’t make me hurt you, Heidi.” He all but growled as he grabbed her wrist and jerked it from the doorknob.

“Daaaad,” she cried, her last resort.

“Put her down, Reidar,” Burke said, his voice even and calm, as always.

“Dad, she’s got something in there that shouldn’t be in this house. Can’t you smell it?”

She’s too protective of whatever it is, Kelan added. She’s hiding something bad.

“He’s injured and helpless. Nothing to get so uptight about.” Beth stepped up next to Burke.

Obviously she’d gone to fetch him, and Heidi gave her a little smile of thanks.

“What?” Reidar practically dropped Heidi to the floor.

You know what’s in there? Kelan’s telepathic shout caused Beth to blink and Heidi’s head to throb.

Beth nodded with wide-eyed innocence that might fool her husbands, but made Heidi roll her eyes.

“Sure. Just a jaguar shifter.”

Kelan turned back toward Heidi and narrowed his eyes, his hackles rising. Open the door.

Heidi braced herself, ready for another attack, and shook her head. “He’s my patient, and he’s injured. I’ve already cleared him with our dads. They said he could stay until he was healed and could make it on his own.”

“She’s correct. We have a guest in the house. Yes, he’s a shifter. And yes, I’ve given Heidi permission to care for him until he’s strong enough to leave.”

“You can’t be serious!”

Burke raised his eyebrows at Reidar’s outburst. “Do I sound as if I’m joking?”

Is he safe? Kelan asked, his tone more subdued and cautious now. Maybe it was because Beth had slipped up next to him and petted his head as if he were a house cat. Her personal kitten.

Burke glanced toward Heidi, then at Beth, looking indecisive. “If he’s not, I’ll tear his heart out myself. But your sister thinks he is, and he is her patient. We will defer to her until he proves otherwise.”

“Is he a rogue?” Reidar moved toward his mate.

They’d grown up hearing stories of rogue catamounts. They’d never had another shifter in their midst, not during the lives of Heidi’s generation, but there’d been one talked about, somewhere in the past far beyond even her fathers’ lives. One who’d been dangerous, out to kill every one of his kind he found.

Then there were stories of others who were alone, drifting, never fitting in either the human or animal worlds. They died young, usually. Alone. Heidi’s heart clenched when she thought of Javier being alone. But he drove an expensive sports car, so surely he fit somewhere within the human world.

Isabela, she remembered. Was she the reason he was going to Seattle? Was she of shifter blood?

“He is seriously injured.” Burke pulled Heidi away from her thoughts. “Fridrik and I haven’t had time to question him, yet. But we will. For now, let him be,” he said, adding a stern look at both Kelan and Reidar. Then her dad’s mood changed. “Will dinner be ready on time?”

Heidi sighed with relief and sagged against the door. “Yes, Daddy. Of course.” She gave Burke a kiss on the cheek and headed down the hall toward the kitchen.

Kelan said to Beth, You are in trouble, woman.

Her sister-in-law could handle the boys, and her brothers would never harm their mate, but Heidi was glad she wasn’t in Beth’s shoes. Keeping secrets from brothers was one thing. Keeping them from your mates was quite another.

More than half an hour passed before Beth came into the kitchen just as Heidi was putting the pork chops under the broiler. “What do you need me to do?”

Her sister-in-law’s face glowed, and Heidi didn’t need three tries to guess what had kept her occupied. “Hope they weren’t too hard on you.”

Beth waggled her eyebrows. “Just hard enough.” Then she burst out laughing before she leaned over the counter and stage whispered, “They’re such pussycats.”

“Pussycats?”

Beth batted her eyes. “‘You mean you’re upset I didn’t tell you about Heidi’s patient? But...what does that have to do with us?’” Heidi rolled her eyes. “And they fell for that?”

Beth just gave her a toothy grin and changed the subject. “Now tell me what you were about to tell me before the boys got home. What happened with him?”

Heidi shrugged and acted as innocent as Beth had. “Nothing. I wonder about him, but he’s not doing much talking.”

Beth stared at her a long time with a look that plainly said she didn’t believe her.

But Heidi wasn’t ready to talk about a kiss that might have been nothing but a man in the throes of a drug-induced dream. “Turn those chops, would you?”

Beth went to the oven, and Heidi smashed the hell out of the potatoes. She couldn’t read anything into that kiss. Nothing at all. No matter how it affected her.

* * *

Javier’s heart thudded with anticipation of his homecoming. He’d been on military maneuvers for a week and couldn’t drive fast enough through the city traffic to reach his destination. His mate, his Isabela, promised to be waiting for him. He’d tried calling as soon as he’d left the base, but there’d been no answer. He grinned as he pictured her naked on the bed, posed in her sign of submission to him.

He hadn’t wanted to go on this last mission, the first time in his entire military career he wanted to stay home with his family. Isabela’s baby bump grew daily, and they’d felt their tiny babies move for the first time the day before he’d shipped out. Triplets, the doctor said.

Thank God for Juan, or Javier would have begged his superiors to let him stay. Isabela was healthy, seemed ecstatically happy, but she was so small. Growing three children in her belly wasn’t going to be easy. He couldn’t stand the thought of her being left alone for even a moment. She called him a crazy, overbearing gatito, her kitten.

He chuckled as he pulled into the driveway of the small house that Isabel had quickly and easily turned into a home. Leaving everything but the keys in the car, he ran up the walkway, slipped the key into the lock...and froze when the scent of death hit him hard.

His stomach churned, and cold sweat popped out on his sides.

He turned the key in the lock, ready to shift if needed, and nudged the door open with the toe of his boot.

* * *

Javier jerked awake, panting, staring at an unfamiliar ceiling, lying in an unfamiliar bed, surrounded by scents that confused him.

As he cleared the nightmare from his mind, he found his bearings and realized he was in Heidi Falke’s bedroom, in her family home. A home of shifters.

The angle of the sun streaming through the picture window showed the hour to be late morning. The scent of fried meat drew his attention to the nightstand. Two plate-sized ham steaks and three biscuits.

A tall glass of orange juice and four of those pills she’d given him the night before. Across the room, the food he’d thrown in a fit of anguished fury after the kiss had been cleaned up and taken away.

He’d tried to get up, to clean up the mess he’d made when shame sank in, but he hadn’t had the strength to do more than sit up on the edge of the bed. The pills Heidi had given him made his muscles nearly as weak as his mind.

Now he threw back the covers and, using his hands, lifted his right leg and swung it to the side so he could sit up. Pain shot from his thigh down to his foot and up into his hip. He’d seen his x-rays—this break was much worse than any he’d previously sustained, and it was taking longer to heal. But he didn’t have time to lie around, no matter how comfortable the bed might be. He needed to get out of this shifter home, away from the shifter female that made his dick hard, and get on with finding and killing Durchenko.

He spotted his duffle bag on the chair next to the bed. They must have found his car, he surmised.

He reached over, grabbed the handle and dragged it onto the bed next to him. As soon as he opened the bag, he could smell the Falke men on his belongings. They’d gone through it. His clothes, which had been neatly folded, now filled the bag in disorder. He dug until he found his wallet. His cash, credit cards and driver’s license were still there. So was his passport.

The Falkes didn’t appear to be thieves, but neither did they seem to worry about revealing their invasion of his privacy. Of course if the tables were turned, he would’ve done the same, so he didn’t fault them for their curiosity.

He tossed his wallet back into the duffle and pulled out his shaving kit, a pair of shorts, underwear and a clean T-shirt.

The bathroom was through a door just across the room, and he’d made it there and back once during the night when he couldn’t hold in nature’s call any longer. Now, he reached for the crutches leaned against the wall on the other side of the nightstand and somehow found the energy to get up and into the bathroom.

After a sponge bath, shampoo using the hand-held showerhead, a shave and changing into his own clothes, Javier felt almost back to normal, though his muscles seemed to be made of gelatin. He stumbled his way back to bed on the crutches and scarfed down the breakfast, but what he really needed was caffeine, not orange juice, to clear his head. He wondered where his nurse—doctor—Heidi was.

He hadn’t seen her since his explosive reaction to her unwanted question. He’d heard the scuffle that ensued outside the door of the room the evening before, and her vehement efforts to protect him.

He’d pushed himself up in bed, ready to defend himself any way he could if she hadn’t managed to keep her brothers out.

He’d also heard the dire warning in the father’s tone, and Javier had no doubt the older shifter meant what he’d said about ripping Javier’s heart out. Instead of the threats angering him, he respected the elder shifters for their fierce protection of their family, of their females especially. He could even understand the younger men’s reaction to his presence in what they obviously perceived as their territory.

Javier pushed up from the bed again, using the crutches, and headed in search of a cup of freshly brewed coffee. He hadn’t been told to stay within the confines of the bedroom, so unless he was, he needed to exercise his muscles and try to regain enough strength to get the hell out of there. Damn that his leg kept him from driving. If only he’d been shot in the shoulder instead.

Or the heart, a soft voice whispered in the back of his head.

No. Not until he’d captured and destroyed Durchenko. Once he was done away with, Javier could...

He stopped halfway down the long hallway and stared at the family photos that almost covered the walls. His gut clenched, and a deep, throbbing pain he knew all too well pierced his heart.

What the hell would he do once Durchenko was dead? He’d never thought past winning the battle over the leopard.

His chance of family was gone. Without Juan and Isabela, he would grow old alone-“How are you doing?”

Javier focused on the figure at the end of the hallway. One of the elders. “Better, sir.” He moved slowly, a little unsteady on the crutches. “I smell coffee. May I bother you for a cup?” Or a whole carafe?

“This way.” The elder disappeared through a doorway, and Javier followed into a spacious kitchen and dining room with a long table that seated a dozen. “Have a seat.”

Javier gladly sank into one of the chairs and lifted his throbbing leg onto the seat next to him, leaning the crutches against the table.

The other elder came into the kitchen, glanced at him, then went to the counter and refilled the coffee cup he carried. The first one set a steaming mug in front of Javier, then sat across from him.

The second joined them, sitting next to his brother.

Javier made eye contact with both, letting them know he was not intimidated, but looked away as he lifted his mug to his lips. He didn’t want them to think he was there for a confrontation. The sigh slipped out of him unbidden. He hadn’t had good coffee in ages, and this was good coffee.

One of the elders cleared his throat, drawing Javier’s attention.

“How long have you been on your own?” the one in a polo shirt asked. The other wore more casual clothes, jeans and a flannel shirt open over a T-shirt.

“Two years, sir,” he answered honestly. He had no reason to lie to these men. They’d taken him in, or allowed their only daughter to—if he was to believe what he’d seen in the photos.

“I see you found your bag,” the other said, giving a slight nod toward his clothing.

“Yes. Thank you.” He chose not to address the issue of privacy. After all, he’d essentially invaded the privacy of their home. No harm, no foul.

“It was Kelan and Reidar who fetched your vehicle when the police chief let Heidi know it’d been located.”

“I’ll be sure to thank them, then.” The talk was polite, but the tension from the elders was palpable.

“I also thank you for taking me in during my time of need. I am in your debt.”

The one in the polo shirt gave a slight nod of acceptance, but the other stared hard at him, unbending, and asked, “When do you believe you will be ready to be on your way?”

Javier took another sip of coffee. “I do not know, sir. This break is worse than any I’ve ever experienced, and it is not healing as fast. I’d hoped to be on the road by now, but, as you can see...” He motioned toward the crutches. “May I ask your names?”

“Burke,” the stern-faced one said.

“Fridrik.”

“Is Heidi around?”

Both men seemed to glare until Fridrik answered, “She needed to go to the clinic. She canceled all her appointments, twice, because of you.”

They didn’t pull any punches, did they? “I am in her debt. I would have died if not for her.”

“If not for the fact you were shot here,” Burke said, “any number of things could have befallen you.

Scientific experimentation among the more disturbing. How did you come to be in your jaguar form in our woods?”

Javier shook his head. He still couldn’t remember anything of the moments before the shooting.

“I’m not sure. I was driving across the state, had left Spokane that morning, heading to Seattle. The next thing I knew I woke up in Heidi’s kennel with my leg in a cast and a fierce headache pounding my brain. I assume I needed to run. Sometimes I pull off the highway to stretch my legs.”

“You travel a lot then,” Fridrik said.

“I do.”

“And what do you do for a living?” Burke inquired.

Revenge wasn’t very lucrative, so he gave the answer he’d been giving for the past two years when questioned by customs officers at whatever border he needed to cross to follow Durchenko. “I’m in finance.” Rather, he had a personal finance manager who made sure the insurance from his brother and wife, along with his military pension, never ran out. Made him a hefty sum, actually, even considering the current market. Not that money mattered beyond getting him from one point to another on the map.

The elders looked at each other. “Your car is nice, but not new,” Burke stated.

Javier swallowed hard, the coffee suddenly not sitting well in his stomach. He swallowed again, trying to dislodge the lump that had grown there, that always appeared when he thought of Isabela. “It was my...wife’s.”

“Your wife or your mate?” Fridrik asked.

Javier flinched and clenched his jaw.

“She is dead then?” This from Burke.

He gave a quick, jerky nod.

“Two years,” Fridrik guessed.

Again, Javier nodded.

“She was of shifter blood?” Burke asked.

“No. Until meeting Heidi, I had never known female shifters existed.” He sat up and pushed his empty coffee cup aside. “I was shocked when I realized what she was. In the twelve generations I’ve been able to trace our family line, there has never been a female born to anyone.”

“She is rare,” Burke said, “which is why your presence here is...suspect. I’m sure you understand.”

“I do,” he admitted gravely. “I mean her no harm. Like I said, I owe her my life.”

“You mate in pairs, then, as we do?” Fridrik asked, changing the subject back to Javier’s family heritage.

“It is the only way I know of to produce children for us.”

“Us, also. Though females are rare, they are born to our mates at times. But Heidi cannot shift as we do. She carries the gene and has some telepathic abilities we share as blood family, but that is all.”

“We didn’t know there were shifters outside of our race,” Burke added.

Javier pressed his lips together for a moment. “There are others, also.”

“Races other than yours and ours?”

“Yes. I know of at least one other.”

“What is it?” Burke’s face showed interest, almost excitement now rather than distrust.

“A snow leopard.”

The older man’s expression changed to one of almost sympathy. “You have had unpleasant dealings with it?”

“I heard your son, last night, ask if I was a rogue. I believe it is a term you use to identify a shifter who is...” He sought a word strong enough to capture the meaning.

“Dangerous,” Fridrik supplied.

Javier nodded. “The snow leopard is a rogue.”

Burke got up, poured Javier another cup of coffee and brought a basket of muffins to the table from the counter. “Help yourself.”

Javier accepted the coffee but ignored the muffins.

“Is this snow leopard the reason you travel alone now?” Fridrik asked after Javier had taken a long drink and set his mug on the table.

The caffeine was beginning to work its magic, and the heaviness seemed to ascend from his eyelids.

“Yes,” was all he was willing to say.

The elders looked on him not with sympathy but understanding. He acknowledged their silence with a slight nod. “You have a large family. I did not know that there were such units of shifters. Until two years ago, I thought Juan and I were the only two in the world. My mother died giving birth to Juan and myself, and our fathers were police officers. Both were killed in the line of duty when we were teenagers. I found journals from my grandfathers that charted our family history, and I might have some cousins somewhere, but I was never able to locate them. They are dead for all I know.”

“Our line was all but decimated in Europe,” Burke said. “Two male cousins fled and wound up here during the gold rush. Not until our mate, though, were there more than two children born at a time.

Our wife gave us seven healthy children, and now they have begun to have children of their own.”

“And where is she now?”

“She died a few years ago,” Fridrik said.

Javier closed his eyes against the pain. So fresh, yet so old.

“You have not been able to let her go, yet, have you, son?”

The agony of loss tore at his heart as he shook his head. “How...how do you do that?”

“You realize that you are not the one who is gone from this earth. You must go on living to keep her alive in your memory.”

Javier glanced at the long table, old and scarred yet obviously lovingly polished. Though they’d lost their mate, these men had reasons to go on living. Children, grandchildren. All things Javier would never experience. All of the things Durchenko had stolen from him.

He lowered his casted leg to the floor and reached for the crutches. “If you’ll excuse me, sirs. My strength is still not what it should be.”

“Of course. Answer one question though,” Burke said.

Javier got to his feet and waited, resting on the crutches.

“You say you’re in finance now, but what did you do before?”

“I was in the Mexican Army’s Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales—the equivalent to your military’s Special Forces. My specialty was counterterrorism.”

Both Burke and Fridrik nodded. “Rest. Dinner is served at six. We hope you’ll join us.”

“Thank you,” Javier said, realizing they had accepted him into their home and no longer worried he’d cause harm to them or their family. “Again, I am in your debt.”

Chapter Seven

Fugly snarled at Heidi when Beth passed the dog off to her so she could grab her purse and grocery bag from the back seat of the Land Rover.

“Oh, hush your fuss,” Heidi admonished, but Fugly kept up with the chest-rumbling grumble. “I can’t believe you brought it home. The guys are never going to let you live this down.”

Beth closed the car door with a bump of her hip. “He’s mine, and that’s that. They don’t like it?

They can leave.”

Like that would ever happen. Heidi followed Beth into the house. “Hi, Dad,” she said to Fridrik who was getting a cup of coffee when they entered the kitchen.

“Hello, ladies.” He peeked into Beth’s grocery bag.

Beth playfully slapped his hand away from a bag of trail mix—Fridrik’s weakness. “I’ll put some in a bowl for you in a minute.”

“What’s that?” Burke came into the room, a scowl on his face as he stared at Fugly.

“That’s my dog,” Beth said, taking Fugly from Heidi’s arm. The dog grew silent as soon as it was away from Heidi. “He’s moving in with us.”

Fridrik made a silly face of disgust. “Why? Looks like bear bait to me.”

“Dad!”

Heidi laughed. “I told you...”

“What’s its name?” Burke held his hand out to the dog to let it scent him.

“Fugly,” Heidi told him. “Kel and Reidar named it.”

“Him, not it,” Beth corrected.

“Name fits.” Fridrik took the dog from Beth. Fugly didn’t seem to have a problem with anyone but Heidi.

“Whatever. I’m going to check on Javier.”

“He came out for a while, had coffee with us,” Burke said.

Heidi stopped in the doorway and turned back, raising an eyebrow. “And he’s still alive, I assume?”

Burke smiled. “He was fine last we saw him.”

With a hidden sigh of relief, Heidi went down the hall to her room. She knocked lightly before opening the door and found Javier doing pushups against the wall, balanced on his good foot.

“I guess you’re feeling better?”

He stopped and turned, his face damp with sweat. Her heart nearly stopped, then seemed to jump right out of her chest. He’d been handsome before. Shaved and wearing clothes that fit him, he was drop-dead gorgeous.

Without a word, he grabbed the crutches and hobbled back to bed. His lips were pressed tight, his jaw clenched.

“You’re hurting,” she said as she took the crutches from him and leaned them against the wall.

“You didn’t take your pills today.” They still sat on the tray with the empty breakfast dishes.

He lifted his leg onto the bed and sagged against the pillows. “They make my mind weak. I do not like them.”

“A body heals better when it rests. Not when it does pushups.”

His scowl was fierce. “I am not used to taking so long to heal.”

“It’s only been a couple of days, Javier. Give yourself time.” She leaned over to check the cast, looking for any sign that his wound was bleeding beneath it.

“Three cracked ribs didn’t take so long.”

She turned her head to look at his face. “When did you have cracked ribs?”

Again he pressed his lips together—this time, it was obvious, to silence himself.

“Why won’t you tell me anything about yourself?” Heidi sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, resting her hand on his strong, unbroken thigh.

Javier sucked in a breath, the muscle beneath her hand tensing. When she glanced down, there was no mistaking the hard-on tenting his shorts. It wasn’t something the man could hide no matter what clothing he wore.

Heidi snatched her hand off him and stood. “I...uh...”

“Oye, chata. You act as if you have never seen an aroused man before.”

She jerked her gaze from his crotch to his face. “Of course I have.”

The tiniest of smiles tugged at the right corner of his lips, and his eyes sparked with humor. “Have you? Numbers too numerous to count?”

Her mouth fell open as she struggled to find something to say. She knew how to spar verbally, she had to in order to survive her family, but she couldn’t think of a single comeback when her brain was addled with...lust.

His face didn’t show one hint of the embarrassment she felt aflame in her cheeks.

He reached out, grabbed her hand and pulled her forward until she stood with her thigh against the edge of the mattress. “Thank you for saving my life.” The kiss to the back of her fingers was as startling as his slight show of humor, and all she could do was stand there and stare while tingles raced up her arm straight to her nipples from the warm dampness of his lips. “I also apologize for my outburst yesterday. I was not myself.”

She glanced back at his groin. His cock was big and hard, pressed against the fly of his camo shorts.

It took a hard swallow to clear her throat so she could speak. “You...uh...seem fine now.”

“Perhaps...” He reached up with his other hand, wrapped his long fingers around her bicep and tugged her down over him. “...perhaps you should make sure. Now that I am awake.”

Heidi had to brace her hand next to his head to keep from collapsing onto him. Her heart thudded in her chest, her face flamed with heat, and her pussy clenched in need of that cock that was so close yet hidden beneath his clothes.

“Kiss me, chata.”

“My name is Heidi,” she whispered, her lips almost touching his, his breath mingling with hers.

She didn’t have a clue what chata meant, but after his prior dreamy murmur, she wanted affirmation that he knew exactly who was about to kiss him.

He grinned against her lips. “I know...Heidi.” He raised his head just the fraction of an inch it took to meld their lips, and Heidi lost all thought. Yesterday he’d been demanding, crushing her mouth to his. Today he was tender, questing, seeking. When she parted her lips, he didn’t sink his tongue into her as he had before. This time he teased, coaxed her, and she became the aggressor. When her tongue touched his and he lightly sucked it into his mouth, the arm supporting her collapsed and she went down over his chest, her breasts pressing against his hard pecs, pulling a moan from deep within her.

Javier tasted like nothing she’d ever experienced. Sweet yet tangy. A flavor she could grow addicted to. His scent was musky, manly, delicious. Heaven and hell all in one gorgeous package. When he wrapped his arms around her, anchoring her to his chest, she didn’t jerk away as she had from other aggressive men in her past. She felt safe. At home.

Slipping her hands behind his neck, she wove her fingers into his thick black hair and tilted her head for a better angle, eating at his lips, nipping his tongue. She couldn’t get enough, couldn’t get close enough. She threw her leg over his, needing relief where she throbbed and ached.

Javier jerked his mouth from hers and let out a deep groan, his grip around her changing from a tight hug to his hands fisting in her T-shirt. It took a moment for Heidi to realize it was a sound of pain, not pleasure.

She carefully moved off him, and his arms dropped away. His breathing was deep, fast, his eyes squeezed tight.

“I’m so sorry.” Heidi laid her hand against his smooth shaved cheek. “Let me get you a pill.”

Javier shook his head. “No. No more of your pills, chata.” He finally opened his eyes and looked at her. “I fear I am not up to such activities yet with a woman who cannot control herself.”

Her lips parted at the insult, until she realized he teased her. She suppressed a smile. “How bad is the pain?”

“I will live.”

“I know you will. I asked how bad the pain was.”

“How long until supper?” he countered instead of answering her question.

With a roll of her eyes, Heidi stood and folded her arms over her chest. “You’re impossible.” She glanced at the clock on the nightstand. “Supper is in about an hour.”

“I will join you then. Go now, and let me rest.”

“Excuse me?” Her family might treat her like a servant at times, but this guy wasn’t going to get away with it.

“My leg hurts, chata. Let me be for a while, please, to regain the strength to join your family for supper.”

His tone had lost all teasing, so she moved toward the door. “Would you at least take some aspirin for the pain?”

He gave a slight nod, but his eyes were closed.

Heidi scowled at him and opened the door. Her body was too hot for comfort, and her pussy still clenched in need. Damn, but the man could kiss. And it didn’t matter if he was asleep or awake. He was potent.

Too potent.

Even when he vocalized his need with typical alpha arrogance, she wanted him. Before he left, she’d have him. No way could she let the feelings he elicited from her go without experiencing it all at least once. She knew in her heart she’d never meet another man like Javier Montero. Only a fool would let him go without taking what he had to offer.

Heading toward the kitchen, she stopped and realized he’d effectively distracted her, answering none of her questions about his past or why he wouldn’t open up with any pertinent information.

Frustrated and somewhat annoyed, she almost went back to ask him the one question she needed answered before she could have sex with him: Who is Isabela?

* * *

Javier managed to calm his racing heart and raging hard-on enough to drowse off and on for the next hour after Heidi returned with two pills she promised wouldn’t affect his brain.

He wasn’t completely sure what had possessed him to kiss her like that other than to stop her inquisitiveness about his past...and perhaps see if the dream kiss had been anything like reality. In the dream he’d been kissing his mate, not Heidi. The reality was almost too much to comprehend.

The passion she exuded. The lust he experienced when she was near.

He could almost convince himself it was simply that he’d been celibate for the past two years.

Almost. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t been around other women in that time. There had been opportunity.

Women found him attractive, and if he’d needed the physical release, sex would not have been difficult to come by. Until now, he hadn’t required a woman, hadn’t wanted one.

A part of his mind accused him of infidelity. But his body damn near demanded he take Heidi.

Possess her. And that did not seem right. He should not have such a strong draw to her—to any female. He’d had his mate, loved her with all his being, and lost her.

No one could take her place.

There was only one woman for him.

But Heidi is not just a woman, that small voice reminded him.

Was it some kind of chemical reaction to a female shifter? Or rather, a female with shifter blood running through her veins?

Impossible. They were not even the same...species. Cougars did not mate with jaguars. Did they?

Javier opened his eyes and frowned at the knotty pine ceiling. Cougars and jaguars did not occupy the same space, normally. Why wouldn’t—couldn’t—they mate if they did? He had heard of ligers, a lion and tiger hybrid.

Heidi might be descended from shifters, but she could not shift. Her fathers had admitted that much.

Cougar versus jaguar was not the real issue at all. Shifter blood or no, she was human...all female, and when he was near her, he had little doubt of his very human, very male need.

He scoffed at his own thoughts. She attracted him enough that he longed to have sex with her. Hot, sweaty sex...for hours, if he could manage it.

His one mate was dead. He would never love another woman. But he was male, and for the first time in two years his human need for sexual release, for physical companionship, pounded at him. He would never mate again, no matter the sexual attraction. But he would have taken what Heidi offered if she hadn’t knocked his cast and sent pain spiking up his entire right side, effectively cooling his lust. Damn his wound, and damn the idiot who shot him.

Javier sat up and lifted his casted leg over the side of the bed. The aspirin had eased the throbbing, but the insistent ache was still there. Taking his crutches, he used the restroom then exited into the hallway.

“Dakota! What are you doing here?” he heard Heidi exclaim. He couldn’t remember a mention of anyone named Dakota.

“Axel called and said they were coming here for dinner,” an unfamiliar woman’s voice said. “I couldn’t wait to get out of the house. Guess I beat them, huh?”

Javier cleared the end of the hallway and spotted a petite, dark-haired, dark-skinned woman standing just inside the front door.

“Give me a baby.” Heidi reached out to take one of three baby carriers from the stranger.

“Hey, Javier,” Beth said as she placed a hand on his back and carefully passed him. “I want one.”

She took another of the carriers.

“And you must be the reason Axel and Gunnar are coming here for supper.” The nearly black eyes of the stranger met his.

He gave a polite nod in her direction.

She showed curiosity but no fear. There were too many scents in the house—the Falkes and the smell of barbeque and onions—for him to scent her. Perhaps if he were in his cat form... His senses were stronger then.

One of the babies squalled, and the mother pulled him from the carrier, propping the child on her hip.

“Kelan could never keep his big mouth shut,” Heidi grumbled.

Beth glanced at Heidi. “Axel was bound to find out sooner or later.”

With a sigh, Heidi waved a free hand toward him. “Dakota, this is Javier Montero.” She went to the couch and removed a second child from its carrier. Dark hair. Dark eyes, like its mother. “Javier, this is my sister-in-law, Dakota, Axel and Gunnar’s mate.” She faced Javier with the baby in her arms, snuggled against her shoulder as natural as could be. “And this little fellow is—” Just then a strange little animal burst into the room and ran directly to him, barking its scraggly head off.

“Fugly! Stop that. Friend.” Beth said, coming toward him with the third baby in her arms.

“Fugly?”

Beth scooped the dog—he supposed it was a dog since it barked—with her free hand and brought it to her chest. Her cheeks were slightly pink. “Fucking ugly.”

“Whoever named it was correct.”

Beth and Heidi burst out laughing, and he reached his hand toward the strange little dog, who seemed content in Beth’s arm. The baby, not as young as he originally thought, reached out and grabbed his thumb. Tiny fingers curled around his much larger digit, sending a hot spike of lost dreams rolling through his mind.

“Come on in the kitchen so Javier can sit down and you two can help me set the table,” Heidi said, moving toward him. “You feeling better?”

He tugged away from the baby’s grasp and nodded. “Yes. Much.”

Heidi’s smile seemed to light the room. “Come on. I’ll get you a cup of coffee.”

Javier followed the women into the kitchen and sat in one of the two chairs Heidi pulled out for him then rested his leg on the other. What he didn’t expect was for her to plop a chubby baby into his arms before she turned away.

“I—”

“They don’t bite...much,” Dakota said, tossing a teasing smile over her shoulder on her way to the counter. “A little teething, but you look like a big, strong man. That’s Takoda, by the way.”

Javier lifted the child to eye level. His eyes were as dark as his mother’s, and a thick cap of flyaway black hair covered his head. He felt so light in his hands, so...insubstantial.

The baby blew a bubble and giggled while flapping his arms, trying to reach Javier’s face.

“You have so much trust, little one,” he whispered as he brought the child to his chest. A little fist grasped at his shirt, those big eyes never leaving Javier’s face. His babies would have looked like this, he thought. Dark in color. Yet this child’s features were softer than a Montero’s. The chin like his mother’s, a little pointy, where Isabela’s babies would’ve had sharper angles, squarer jaws.

He ran one hand over the baby’s head, his hair as soft as a kitten’s. When the child found interest in the collar of Javier’s T-shirt and dipped his head forward to examine whatever the little fingers had found, his head bumped Javier’s chin.

He closed his eyes and rubbed his jaw against the baby’s silky hair, breathing in a scent that wasn’t quite right, but was close. A shifter child.

“Get your hands off my son.”

Javier froze only long enough to see an obvious alpha male shifter step into the room with a menacing fury, barely leashed. Before he could speak, the man’s mate moved between them, smoothly scooping the babe out of his arms.

“Axel,” the woman said in a pleasant tone, “this is Javier, Heidi’s—”

“Dakota.” That one word silenced the mother. She frowned yet stood her ground, until forcefully moved aside by a second man with features almost identical to Axel’s.

“That was stupid, sweetheart,” the look-alike newcomer murmured.

Dakota scoffed and tried to speak again. “Gunnar, I—” But Javier cut her off without glancing away from the threat posed by the family’s alpha. “He is right, ma’am.”

That agreement drew everyone’s gaze, but Javier continued to stare at Axel, whose expression was far from friendly even with the slightly cocked eyebrow. Facing down the alpha, Javier knew he stood —or rather sat—in a losing position. He was in no condition to do battle with the fiercely protective male, even if he weren’t outnumbered. Through peripheral vision, he kept watch on the alpha’s brother, who continued to guard the pair’s mate and offspring.

No, Javier couldn’t win the fight if it came to that, but there was still enough alpha strength in his heart that he refused to submit in any way, whether through a lowered gaze or other gesture.

Axel had yet to move or speak again, but Javier could see why he held the position he did within the family unit. Axel was not impulsive. He was wise, cunning. He knew, as did Javier, that any shifter battle fought in such close confines to innocents could have an undesired outcome. When the collateral damage could be one’s own children, a man had to be sure the reward was worth the risk.

And he admired Axel for that; he was a good alpha, worthy of his duty.

The tension in the room was palpable when Javier finally cracked the silence.

“My name is Javier Montero. I am from Mexico City,” he began, weighing his words carefully and keeping his tone cordial yet formal. “I am here only out of necessity and have urgent business to attend to elsewhere.” He rubbed a palm across the cast on his leg. “Your sister’s kindness and your fathers’ hospitality have earned my sincere gratitude. The Falke family is in no danger of harm at my hand. In truth, I am indebted to you.”

Despite his words of reassurance, Axel remained guarded, unmoved. Javier paused when he sensed Heidi edge closer to him, but he didn’t yet dare look her way.

“I am—was—the alpha of my family. So I understand the dangers one must guard against when bound by love and familial obligation to protect both mate and offspring. I assure you that as soon as I am physically able, I will leave your home and territory in peace, and you will no longer have to concern yourself with my presence.”

Heidi moved closer, stepping partially in front of him. Axel’s gaze shifted to a glare, this time aimed at his sister who deliberately posted herself in harm’s way.

Mujeres estúpidas.

Again Javier approved of Axel’s reaction. He wasn’t keen to the idea of Heidi coming between them either. Shifter blood or not, she had no business putting herself in the middle of a standoff between alphas. He noted a slight tick in Axel’s jaw as Javier slowly, cautiously reached out to cup a hand on Heidi’s hip. With a tug on her denim belt loop, he moved her aside, pulling her back and out of the way.

He’d intended to release her then, but she surprised him by turning into his protective embrace. Her warm hand slid onto his shoulder, and he had to fight the urge to cover it with one of his own.

Axel’s other eyebrow lifted for a heartbeat before the man composed his features once more. Javier was at a loss for words. He hadn’t expected the feisty vet to even allow him to manhandle her out of the way in front of her family, much less favor him with a subtle display of acceptance—or worse, affection. But surprise wasn’t enough to make him drop his hand from Heidi’s sweet curves. He held on as Axel’s gaze dropped to his hand, and Javier couldn’t help but smirk when the man’s gaze met his once more.

He was impressed as hell that Axel hadn’t chosen to attack him then and there. The man was well within his rights. She was his sister, and Javier was not her mate.

Instead of aggression, Axel posed a question. “Your species heals fast?”

“They do. I suspect I’ll be on my feet again within a couple more days at most.”

“Your mate?”

Javier frowned. He hadn’t wished to disclose his failures to Heidi or the others, although he’d already shared his tragic past with their fathers. It had been important they know he was no rogue. So the alpha before him probably already knew the truth. There was no point in lying.

“Dead, along with my twin.” And my unborn sons...

He heard a soft inhalation from one of the other ladies present. Heidi flinched but, to his surprise, stayed by his side. “Now you’re Mr. Talkative,” she muttered under her breath.

The hint of feminine pique made him smile, despite the gravity of his admission and the wound it reopened in his chest.

Axel glanced at Heidi before saying, “See that you leave the instant you are capable.” His gaze returned to Javier to punctuate a tone filled with authority.

Javier nodded and dropped his hand from Heidi’s hip. “You have my word.”

Just then, both fathers appeared in a doorway, one declaring, “I’m starved,” and the other asking, “Is dinner ready yet?”

Though they didn’t say it, Javier suspected the elders had witnessed the whole confrontation. He admired the family unit, the fathers stepping aside to let the eldest take his rightful place as alpha.

Would he have one day passed the legacy to his eldest? Would he have grown old, watching his children protect their mates, their siblings and children?

As Heidi and the ladies jumped into action to finish setting the table and arranging seating, Javier turned his attention away from the painful thoughts to watch the family settle around the table. Axel and Gunnar visibly relaxed as the elders filed into the room followed by four younger males.

Introductions were made. Kelan and Reidar, the two who’d fought with Heidi to gain entrance into the bedroom the night before, Beth’s mates. And the two youngest, Sindre and Torsten. All of the males looked like carbon copies of their fathers, fair of skin, hair and eyes. He wondered what the alpha’s children would look like when they were old enough to shift, their coloring so different from the cougar coloring of their fathers.

Each male took a seat at the table without any signs of opposition to Javier’s presence. Apparently, if the alpha accepted him—for the time being—then he would be allowed to recuperate in peace.

Chapter Eight

Lev moaned in pure ecstasy as the masseuse dug into the muscles of his lower back. This was just what he needed. The last few months had been hell, flying from country to country, making deals that would make him and his partners rich. But it was exhausting. Murder was exhausting.

“Harder,” he groaned when she let up on the pressure of the intense massage. “Hurt me.” His body relaxed for the first time in what seemed like forever.

Just then, the television across the room caught his attention and he lifted his head in time to see grainy photos of... “Montero.” The word left his mouth like a curse. “Son of the bitch!” He sat up, the masseuse yelping in surprise, but he dismissed her with a wave of his hand.

“...a hoax that caught the attention of a local newspaper reporter in Leavenworth, who contacted the town’s veterinarian. Doctor Heidi Falke denied the existence of a black panther, stating that such creatures did not exist...”

Lev frowned at the television. Leavenworth was the town where he’d ditched his rental, the last place he’d seen Montero.

“Handleman has admitted the pictures and video of what appeared to be a large, wounded animal he posted online were a prank that got out of hand. Both he and his brother have since denied the shooting, calling themselves experienced hunters who would never really mistake one kind of animal for another.”

Lev grabbed the remote from the end table and muted the television. Dr. Heidi Falke of Leavenworth, Washington might not have treated a black panther, but she damn sure could have a black jaguar. Of course, if Montero was under her care, she wouldn’t know what she was in possession of, but he did. And if that cat was injured, now was Lev’s chance to get rid of him.

He went to the phone and punched in the number of one of his local Seattle contacts. When the ring was answered, he said, “Paul. Lev. Where is the new passport I ordered?”

“I told you I’d deliver it tomorrow morning,” said the nasal voice on the other end. “I’m working as fast as I can. I had to wait for a new order of the chips to come in.”

“I need it now. I must leave town. Do you have my driver’s license finished?”

“First thing in the morning. I can’t work any faster, boss. I can’t.”

The panic in the man’s voice made Lev sneer in disgust. “Bring it as soon as it’s done. I have business to attend.” Too bad the guy was the best in the business. His forged identification was undetectable by authorities.

“Yes, sir.”

He hung up the phone and glanced at the television, but the story had changed from the black panther prank in Leavenworth to gas prices in Seattle.

Finally. Finally! After two years of running from the bastard, he’d finish off the Montero family as he should have done the first time.

* * *

After her brothers and Beth left for work the next morning, Heidi entered her bedroom to find her wounded guest sleeping soundly.

“What are you doing?” The gruff, sleepy question came from Javier, who sat up and blinked at her with a curious smirk.

“I’m not snooping,” she said, a bit defensive. She’d tried to be quiet as she packed the last of Javier’s meager belongings into his duffle bag, but apparently not quiet enough.

“Didn’t say you were.” After a yawn and a stretch, he threw back the sheets and slid his legs off the edge of the bed, moving more easily than she’d seen him do in days, despite the cast.

His bare, broad chest and sexy abs froze the air in her lungs, and she had to force herself to focus on something other than his gorgeous body.

“You look like you’re feeling better.”

He pushed to his feet and grabbed one crutch instead of two. “The ache is more tolerable.”

Damn, the man looked good in nothing but gym shorts and a plaster cast. His sleep-tousled locks softened his hard features and made him appear more approachable, more...adorable.

He glanced at his bag again. “Am I going somewhere?”

“I’m taking you to a hotel.”

He smiled. “Ready to get rid of me already?”

“No,” she said too quickly, then met his gaze and frowned at the humorous glint in his eye. Was he glad to be getting away from here...or her? “I mean, I figure you’d want some privacy and a chance to heal in peace, away from...all of this drama.”

“Ah...the drama.” He nodded and stared at her.

With a shrug, she handed him his toothbrush, zipped the duffle and slid it toward the door. “I left a change of clothes on the chair by the bathroom door. Cereal okay for breakfast?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll have a bowl ready for you when you come out.”

Watching him make his way into the bathroom, she sat on the foot of the bed and wondered if she was doing the right thing.

She wanted to get to know him better, but doing so in her home surrounded by the watchful eyes of her fathers and brothers created more stress than she could deal with.

He was moving with more confidence today. In another day or so, she’d be able to remove the cast, and he’d leave. That thought bothered her in more ways than one.

She didn’t want to see him go, but that neediness made her edgy, angry with herself. Javier was a stranger who’d suffered the loss of his mate. Past hurts that tugged at her heart and helped her better understand his tough façade, the gruff demeanor and volatile explosions of anger.

He was hurting and alone as far as she knew, but he was also a grown man with a life to live in another country. He was not a stray pet she could beg her parents to let her keep.

The night before, his face-off with her brother had worried, surprised and irked her. Javier opened up to Axel with things he’d been unwilling to share with her. A hint of jealousy still burned. She wanted him to herself, to reach beneath that crusty exterior to gain his trust, to rekindle the fire he’d shown for too brief a moment during their first kiss. But he’d been dreaming of another woman. His deceased mate. Isabela...not Heidi.

That reality was the one thing she couldn’t deny, couldn’t get out of her mind.

So when her fathers suggested that perhaps it was time to move him into town and out of her bedroom, she didn’t argue.

But she did fear the move would speed his departure from her life for good—something that would surely please the males of her family, but left her feeling unbalanced and confused.

* * *

“Well, here you go,” she said, dropping his duffle on the luggage stand just inside the room’s closet.

She’d driven him to a hotel on the outskirts of Leavenworth, stood by while he checked in and then helped carry his bag to the room. Although the Bavarian Inn was closer to her clinic, it was also where Ritchie worked—not a good idea to put Javier under the same roof as the man who shot him.

He eased into the room and let the door close behind him.

“I guess I should go.” She had no further reason to stay other than a desperate longing to remain.

His gaze held hers. “You guess?” He moved closer, making her take a few steps backward, farther into the room.

Her heart rate sped, and she fluttered her hand toward the bed. “I mean, you probably want to rest.”

He shook his head, dropped his crutch and closed the space between them. He didn’t even wince as he put weight on his casted leg. “I slept well last night. More rest is the last thing I...want.”

The backs of her knees collided with the edge of the king-sized bed. “What...what do you want?”

“You.” He reached up and cupped her nape, pulled her forward, and his lips covered hers for a breath-stealing kiss that made her skin tingle from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. She had to grab hold of his thickly muscled arms to keep from falling as her knees threatened to give way.

When he at last pulled back, he murmured against her mouth, “What do you want, Heidi?”

No question in her mind what she wanted. She fisted his shirt, jerking it from his shorts. “You.”

With a sexy chuckle, he spun her around and fell backward onto the bed, pulling her down over him.

“I am all yours.”

Heidi straddled him as she yanked his shirt off over his head and then bent down for another hard, lust-filled kiss. Their tongues dueled, breaths mingled, and he drank in her moan of pleasure even as he tore at her clothes. In seconds, her blouse and bra were gone. Her sandals dropped to the floor, and his hands were shoving her panties down with the cotton skirt she wore. She continued to kiss him, caress the incredibly hard, rippled planes of his chest and abs, his biceps and shoulders.

God, he smelled wonderful—wild musk, all natural, all male. She buried her nose against his neck and inhaled deeply, wanting to imprint his scent on her brain.

His flesh was smooth dark silk over iron. His kisses, moist and hot, promised ecstasy to come. Her pussy grew slick with anticipation as she clawed at the zipper to his khaki shorts. With an impatient growl that made her giggle, he nudged her hands away to complete the task, freeing an impressive erection. She reached for his cock, but before she could take time to enjoy the feel of him, he lifted her with both hands and slid into her to the hilt with one incredibly hard stroke.

“Oh, God,” she gasped on an inadequate gust of air. He filled her like she’d never been filled. Thick, solid heat penetrated her to the core, and she trembled with erotic ecstasy. She swore if he moved an inch she’d spontaneously combust.

“Chata, tu cuerpo se siente tan bueno.”

“What?” She looked into his eyes. The dark lust she witnessed made breathing impossible. No man had ever gazed at her the way Javier did in that moment, as if she were the one thing he needed to survive.

He shook his head, lifted her by the hips only to pull her down harder than before, drawing a gasp from her. In a hard voice, he demanded, “Ride me.”

His words were all she needed to let go of the last bit of her self-imposed restraint. She rose up and thrust down, taking him balls deep, making herself cry out at the pleasure-pain of his length striking her so deep.

“Again,” he growled.

She rose up and bounced down onto him, grinding against his groin, taking all of him again and again as heat spread through her, her orgasm building faster than ever before.

“Yesss...” His fingers dug into her skin.

“I don’t...want to...hurt you,” she said amid pants of exertion, though she didn’t slow her pace. She wasn’t sure she was capable of stopping now. The sexy slap, slap, slap of her ass against his thighs pushed her, made her hotter, made her muscles clench around his thick cock.

“You won’t.” He slid his palms up her sides to cup and squeeze her breasts, thumbing her tightened nipples. “Don’t stop.” His hips thrust beneath her in powerful contrast to her downward motions, and she groaned.

“That’s it, chata. Harder.” He popped her on the ass and squeezed her butt cheek, making her shout in surprise, before he drew her head down with his other hand to claim her mouth once more.

Her heart raced, her muscles burned, and damp heat simmered inside her until at last she burst with a climax so strong her body shuddered from its impact. She screamed into his mouth as she rode him hard through the explosive orgasm, gripping his shoulders to keep from flying away on a cloud of ecstasy unlike anything she’d ever experienced.

He wrapped his strong arms around her like unbreakable steel, buried his face in her hair and held her tight as he pulsed inside her, groaning low and long as he too joined her in paradise.

“Wow.”

Heidi’s panted exclamation pulled a groan from Javier, even as his heart tried to hammer out of his chest. Slowly he eased his hold around her and ran his hands over the soft flesh of her back.

“Mmm. That feels good,” she murmured as she snuggled into him, resting her face in the crook of his neck and winding her arms around his shoulders.

She felt good. More than good. Almost...perfect. Never had he had a woman take all he had to give.

She was not afraid of his wilder needs. When he told her to give him more, she had without question, without hesitation. Even Isabela-No, he would not think of his wife while in bed with another woman. It was disrespectful to them both. He could only conclude that Heidi’s acceptance of him and his sexual demand was due to the shifter blood running through her veins. Although she might not be able to shift, she was just a little bit wild herself.

The thought made him smile.

She sighed, a sound of pure contentment. Her feather-soft hair tickled his cheek and chin. Her sweet scent filled his senses. Her slick pussy, still surrounding his softening cock, fluttered every now and then, and he vowed it would not be long until he filled her again.

“How’s your leg?” Heidi asked, her voice soft and a little sleepy.

Truthfully, it ached some, but he would not admit this to her. He didn’t want her to move. He was healing well and would be ready to leave within forty-eight hours, in his estimation. With a non-committal sound, he ran his hands up her back, into her hair, and lifted her head. “Kiss me.”

She did, without hesitation, her tongue slipping between his lips to stroke his. Her cunt spasmed around him, and his cock jumped. When she laughed into his mouth, there was no way to keep in his smile of pleasure. Perhaps he’d needed this respite from the hunt, the chase, the mission that had consumed him for the past two years. He was not finished, and as soon as he could drive he would leave Leavenworth, leave Heidi. Until then, he would drown himself in her and let her heal his wounds. All of them.

Perhaps he would never be a father, a husband, but maybe he could enjoy the life he had. Heidi’s fathers had spoken of going on with life after losing their woman. Once Durchenko was dead and buried, Javier could return to a normal life, a job that occupied his time, a woman warm and willing to share his bed. Some woman who, like Heidi, would accept his needs. With no mate, no siblings, he wouldn’t need to ever reveal his true self.

He did not wish to replace his Isabela; that was not something that could ever be done. But now he realized that if he were to continue living after he’d dispatched Durchenko, he could not do it alone.

He was no rogue. He had loved. Perhaps he’d never love anyone the way he had his mate, but lying here, wrapped in Heidi’s warmth, he knew if he had to live out his life alone, without the softness of a woman’s body, of a woman’s heart, there would be no point in breathing.

Heidi slowly pulled away from his mouth and, resting her forearms on his chest, gazed down at him with those beautiful eyes. “You’re hard again.”

“I am.” He cupped her ample, lovely ass cheeks in his hands and pressed her against him. “And you are very wet.”

She grinned and dipped her head but brought her gaze right back to his. “You make me that way.

Just a kiss from you and...” With a little shake of her head, she laughed. “You’re different from anyone I’ve known.”

“Because I am the only shifter you have met you are not related to?”

“No. Yes, that’s true. But no, that’s not the reason.” She skimmed her fingers over his chin and down his neck. “You’re very handsome.”

“There are no handsome men in all of Leavenworth?”

She laughed, and the sweet sound made him smile.

“You are also very large, very muscular...” She ran her hand over his shoulder and squeezed, “...and have a sexy accent.”

He smirked. “Please. Continue.”

“You also aren’t afraid of...” Her smile faded, and she swallowed hard. With a slight shrug, she said, “My family intimidates most men.”

“You think they do not intimidate me?” He touched her cheek with the backs of his fingers.

Her brow wrinkled. “But you faced down Axel without so much as a flinch.”

A soft chuckle rumbled in his chest, and he pushed her wild mane over her shoulder. “Ah, chata, I am injured. If Axel, or even the smallest of your brothers wished to tangle with me, I fear I would lose. That does not mean I will willingly submit or dare admit to them that I am unable to stand against a fight. I would fight to the death even knowing the outcome would not be in my favor. It is our way. And you, silly woman, should never have tried to come between us. You could get yourself hurt doing that.”

She tweaked his nipple, hard, making him jump and grab her wrist. “Don’t you call me silly. Axel’s my brother. He wouldn’t have hurt me. You two were facing off like a couple of tomcats fighting over a dead fish.”

Surely someone brought up in that household would understand the hierarchy. Understand why he refused to accept Axel as his alpha, when he was one in his own right.

Then again, perhaps not. “Did your brothers ever fight for dominance?”

Still scowling at him, she pressed her lips together in thought. “They used to fight a lot when they were younger. And last year there were some fights when Beth came into the family, but that was because she could have outted us.”

“I do not understand what you mean by ‘outted.’”

“She’s a geneticist specializing in big cat research.”

Javier’s lips parted in surprise.

“Yeah. It was pretty tense for a while, but she came through, saved Sindre’s life and hid the truth of the family.”

“That is how you found out I was not just a jaguar.”

“Right. Any big cat blood she can get her hands on, she has to run through her computer. Your chromosomes came back like my brothers’, not like a jaguar’s—or any other cat.”

“I am lucky I was shot in your town.”

“Yes, very lucky.” She placed a soft kiss on his jaw. “But you’re not hard anymore.”

“Perhaps you should do something about that,” he suggested, suddenly feeling very fortunate indeed. Her inner muscles fluttered around his cock, and he sighed. “You are a very sexy woman, Heidi Falke.”

She nibbled his earlobe. “Touch me, Javier. Touch me and say my name again in that sexy accent.”

He cupped her ass in his hands and pressed her down, grinding her clit against his pubic bone. She gasped. “Heidi,” he whispered, kissing her cheek. “Heidi.” He kissed her neck. “Heidi.” He sucked her flesh between his teeth and nipped, the odd urge to bite down harder, to mark her, nudging at him.

No.

He would never mate again.

He resisted by moving back to her mouth and kissing her. His cock surged to fullness when her moans filled his ears, and she gripped his neck while thrusting her hips against him.

“Ohhh... Javier....”

Cast be damned, he rolled with her, pinning her beneath him. He gripped her thighs and jerked them up against his sides so he could take her more fully.

She cried out and dug her nails into his shoulders at the same time wrapping her legs around his waist.

“You will take more.” He bit at the fragrant, tender flesh of her shoulder, the side of her neck.

“Yes... More...”

He slammed into her. The bed knocked against the wall. She circled her hips as if trying to get even more of him.

Madre de Dios. She was perfect. He fucked her as he’d never fucked another woman. Hard, deep, watching her face for signs of pain, of discomfort. But when her eyes squeezed tight, her mouth opened on an almost silent scream and her cunt muscles pulsed around him, he knew he pleased her.

“Again,” he demanded the instant her body began to relax from the climax. “Again.” Reaching beneath her, he grabbed her ass in one hand and squeezed.

“I...can’t... Oh...God....”

He pressed his middle finger against her anus.

“Javier! What are you—” He drove into her fast, their flesh slapping, sweat slicking their bodies. “You will come again, Heidi.” He pressed his finger past the tight ring of muscle into her ass.

Heidi bucked beneath him, and she screamed, every muscle in her body tightening with the force of the climax. Her cunt squeezed him, and he shouted. He saw stars dance around beautiful Heidi’s face.

Blood roared in his ears. Still he drove into her, harder, faster, pumping his finger into her ass.

“Please,” she screamed.

“Again!”

On a harsh sob, she thrust against him, seemingly out of control, but her pussy contracted and she gasped. Tears streamed from her eyes to her hair, and she gripped his shoulders until her body went lax beneath him, her chest rising and falling, her heart thudding against his chest.

Madre de Dios, she would kill him before he was healed enough to leave.

Chapter Nine

Javier’s stomach tightened, his instincts buzzing that something was very, very wrong as he nudged the door open with the toe of his boot. Another smell hit him then. Rank, rancid. Some kind of animal, but nothing he’d ever scented before.

Silence from within the house. He pushed the door open farther. Damn, he wished he had his sidearm on him. Isabela didn’t like weapons in the house, and only Juan was allowed to wear one home, since he was with the police department.

The scent of death grew stronger as Javier carefully made his way through the house, keeping walls to his back, checking each room he passed. That scent, urine, he now realized, nearly gagged him. It seemed to cover the furniture.

A bloody paw print in the hallway. Not his brother’s. Too small, the pads too round.

What the fuck?

Their bedroom door was open, and the sight that greeted him made him turn away as he gagged.

Javier, he heard his brother say through their telepathic connection.

He jerked back and dashed into the room, falling to his knees on the floor next to Juan, desperately trying to not look at the bloodied, tortured body of his wife on the bed. His brother was in his cat, and blood pooled on the floor from deep eviscerating wounds in his stomach.

“Who did this?” His eyes stinging, his stomach unsettled, Javier wanted to help his brother, but it was too late. Too much blood loss. His brother’s entrails... He laid a hand on Juan’s neck, digging his fingers into his fur to feel for a heartbeat. It was slow, too slow and thready. His brother, his twin, was dying.

Lev Ivanovich Durchenko, Juan said, the telepathic words weak. Our wife, our children... I failed to protect them... His brother sobbed and gasped for air. Kill the shifter bastard... Kill him slowly...

“Juan. Juan,” Javier shouted, desperately seeking a pulse in Juan’s throat with both hands, but it was too late. His brother exhaled his last breath, and his eyes stared into nothingness.

Agony such as Javier had never known descended on him. A long, tortured cry ripped from his throat as he laid his forehead against his brother’s furry cheek.

* * *

Heidi was just pulling on her skirt over her shower-dampened skin when she heard Javier shout. She jerked open the bathroom door to see him on the bed, gripping a pillow to his chest, sobbing as he cried out for someone named Juan.

Rushing to the bed, she laid her hand against his arm. His muscles were coiled tight, his chest heaving with his sobs.

“Javier.” She shook his arm. “Wake up.”

With a shout, he surged into a seated position, staring at her with crazed, pain-filled eyes spilling over with tears. Her heart pinched as she touched his damp cheek.

“Hey. It’s okay. You’re safe.”

He swallowed loudly and swiped the back of his hand over his eyes. When he looked at her again, his expression was closed, all signs of weakness gone. “You are leaving,” he said, looking her up and down.

“I’m hungry and figured you would be too when you woke up. I was just going to run out for some sandwiches and drinks.” She laid her hand over the arm still gripping the pillow to his chest.

He glanced down, seemed to realize he was hugging the pillow and tossed it away. Staring across the room toward the window, he said, “Thank you. Yes. I am hungry.”

“Javier...”

He shook his head. “Not this moment, chata. Please.” He swallowed again. “I cannot.”

“Okay.” Heidi stood and leaned over to kiss his cheek. “I’ll be back soon.”

He nodded but refused to glance at her.

Her heart aching for him, she grabbed the key card off the top of the television and slipped on her sandals. “Soda okay to drink?”

“I am not particular. Water would be good.”

“Okay.” Quietly, she slipped out of the room and checked to make sure the door closed tightly behind her.

She wanted to know his story, wished to God he’d open up to her. From the little he’d shared with Axel last night, she knew he somehow lost his mate and brother. She could only assume that Isabela was his wife and Juan was his brother. However they died must have been traumatic to elicit such horrendous nightmares that someone as strong as he seemed would shed tears.

She couldn’t remember ever seeing any of her brothers cry except for when they lost their mother.

Heidi wished she were still alive. She could really use some motherly advice right about now. There was a huge heart buried under that big, muscular chest of Javier’s, and Heidi feared she would never be able to get through to him.

His wounds ran deep, and some scars not even a vet could heal.

Regardless of his past heartaches, or the dangers of caring too much for a patient, she suspected she was falling for him even though she knew how foolish that would be. He’d sworn to Axel that as soon as he was physically able, he would leave Leavenworth. A promise from one alpha to another. Not for a second did she doubt the sincerity of his word.

The drive from the hotel to Subway wasn’t long. She probably should have walked it and given herself time to think more about the smartness of going back to Javier’s hotel room and spending the night with him. Part of her wanted to stay—a huge part of her—because she knew there was no way she’d ever find another man that made her feel the way he did. The sexual chemistry was so amazing it scared her.

But so too did his vulnerable side, the part of him he tried so hard to hide. He’d been hurt, but his alpha nature demanded he show no weakness. That had to be why he refused to open up about his past.

And she had to accept the fact that there could be no future with him as long as he clung to the past, regardless of how sexually well-suited they were.

“Oh my god!” She gasped, bypassing the sandwich shop and heading to the mini mart another half mile down the road. She’d had unprotected sex with a shifter. She had no way of knowing if they were biologically compatible enough to produce children together, but there was a chance with him...unlike her previous human lovers.

She’d never had to worry too much about the risk of pregnancy before, but Javier was no average human male. How could she have forgotten that even for a second?

She ran into the store straight to the condom aisle and grabbed a box. A wave of emotion hit her, and she had to stop and drag in a deep breath when her eyes threatened to tear up. Her hand settled over her abdomen, and she imagined a baby, two, three. Babies with Javier’s eyes and her hair, his dark skin.

She grew up knowing she’d never be a mom. Her mother had done her best to present the facts gently. In all their family’s history, there’d only been one female shifter who produced offspring.

She’d married a distant cousin of hers, another shifter. It was the only way then and now. But as rare as female shifters were, lone males were not exactly easy to locate either. And after her ancestors had fled to the New World, the odds of finding any outside one’s own family was impossible, or so it had seemed. There had been no other shifters known to them for a couple generations. As far as they’d known, the Falkes were the only shifters left in the world. Until Javier.

Heidi stared at the box of condoms in her hand.

What if they were compatible?

She could have children with him.

But he was leaving.

She didn’t need a man to raise kids. She lived with her dads, and they’d welcome more grandchildren no matter how they came to be. They’d love more babies in the house. They never wanted Dakota to take the triplets home.

She set the box of condoms back on the shelf but couldn’t stop staring at it. Could she do that to Javier? With his brother and mate both dead, Javier might never become a father. What if she was the only female with shifter blood in the world? She might be his only chance too. Did he want children?

She couldn’t answer that question, only he could, and he wasn’t even ready to answer all of the other questions she had about him, his past...

He was leaving.

Could she let him impregnate her and never tell him?

No. She couldn’t. It wasn’t fair. No matter how much the thought of being a mom made her want to throw caution to the four winds, she couldn’t deceive Javier.

They might be each other’s only chance at parenthood, but that must be a decision made together, openly, willingly and without deception.

She picked up the box again, grabbed a six-pack of water bottles, a six-pack of soda and paid.

She was back at the door of his hotel room in less than a half hour. When she opened the door, she heard the shower running. Carrying the bags of food, cola and water toward the coffee table at the other end of the room, she tripped over something on the floor at the foot of the bed, almost falling on the sandwiches.

Javier’s cast sat in shredded pieces on the floor. Shaking her head, she put down the bags then picked up the pieces of plaster and tossed them in the trash can. She knocked on the partially open bathroom door. “I’m back with food.”

The water shut off, and she went to the small sofa to unwrap a couple of sandwiches. Javier came out of the bathroom, water droplets trickling down his gorgeous chest, a white towel wrapped around his waist. He limped his way to the sofa and sat next to her, raising his injured leg onto the end of the coffee table.

“Go on,” he said.

She raised her attention from the puckered scar on his thigh, exposed by the gap in the towel, to his eyes. “Go on, what?”

He smiled, but his look was just a little bit condescending. “You wish to be upset about the cast, so go on and get it out.”

Rolling her eyes, she picked up one of the foot-longs and handed it to him. “It wouldn’t do me any good to say a thing, would it?” She pulled a bottled water out of the paper bag and offered it to him.

“No, it would not.”

“You’re limping pretty bad.” She opened her own can of cola and sipped.

“I will for a few more days. Thank you for dinner.”

“You’re welcome.”

They ate in silence, Javier eating two of the three sandwiches she’d brought him, while she took surreptitious glances at his body. The water droplets slowly dried on his golden skin. His chest was bare of hair, but just below his belly button a thin line disappeared into the edge of the towel. His thighs were heavily muscled, and she had the urge to just...bite him. Her teeth fairly itched to do it.

“Oy, chata. Eat your sandwich.”

She glanced at the half eaten six-inch in her hand.

“You stare at me as if I am your dinner.”

A little laugh bubbled out of her, and she finished her sandwich quickly.

Javier reached into the bag of drinks, paused, then pulled out a box instead of another bottle of water.

Heidi held her breath while he slowly turned it over in his hand. Finally, she looked into his face and found him staring at her with a confused expression.

“We have already had sex. I do not think these will matter now if it is disease you are worried about. But I do not have any. You are the first woman I have had sex with since my wife—” He cleared his throat. “For a little over two years.”

She shook her head. “Actually, that hadn’t even crossed my mind.”

His brow furrowed and his lip curled. “Then you simply enjoy the feel of condoms?”

“Ah, no. You’re the first person I’ve ever had sex with without one.” She shrugged. “Humans expect you to use them, and there are diseases that we can catch, even though our immune systems are better than theirs, so I have...until now.” She licked her lips. “I realized that—” she licked her lips again, “-there’s a small possibility that, you know...”

“No, I do not know. What are you trying to say?”

She took a quick breath and rushed out with, “I never thought I would have babies, because the only sure way would be with a catamount shifter. Because there were never any male shifters around I wasn’t related to, I never worried about getting pregnant before.”

He stared at her, silent, his expression unreadable.

“I’m sorry. I should have thought about it before we...” She waved her hand toward the bed.

“You can get pregnant by a single shifter? You do not need two males to conceive?”

“There was one other female in the Falke line that we know of, sometime way back when, and yes, she got pregnant by another catamount shifter. Just one.”

“We are not the same species.”

“I know, but that might not matter. I don’t know if a jaguar and a cougar could mate, but it’s not as if you’re pure jaguar, either. You’re a shifter. I’m descended from a shifter line. There’s no telling what might be possible. I should’ve realized it sooner, and for that, I’m sorry.”

Javier set the box of condoms on the coffee table next to the empty sandwich wrappers and stared at it a long time.

How could she have ever considered not telling him? To just go with it and hope to conceive? He looked so... She wasn’t sure what he looked like, but he wasn’t happy.

“If something did happen,” she started slowly, “as a result of that first time, you don’t have to worry about it. I would never expect you to...uh...that is... I know you have a life elsewhere.” She bit her tongue when he turned a glare on her so fierce it could knock a person dead.

Javier’s nostrils flared, the muscle in his cheek flexed. But then he blinked once and the anger cleared. “You will be the death of me, chata.” In the next instant his mouth was on her, a fierce possession she couldn’t—wouldn’t—fight. He ate at her mouth, sinking his tongue in again and again, while he buried his hands in her hair and held her steady.

She jerked away from his mouth to grab a few deep breaths, but went up on her knees on the sofa next to him and nipped at his neck, his shoulder, that gorgeous, luscious chest. When she flicked her tongue over his nipple, he hissed, so she did it again.

His hands still in her hair, he gently guided her down his body, letting her lick and kiss each rippled muscle along the way. He smelled of hotel soap but beneath that he tasted of pure male. A flavor she had never experienced yet would never, as long as she lived, forget. She pulled his towel open when she reached his bellybutton.

“Oh.” His cock was impressive. So long and thick against his abdomen, a tiny drop of silky fluid glistening at the tip. Flicking her tongue, she tasted that salty little drip and moaned as her pussy clenched. She didn’t understand her reaction to him, to his very essence, but it was undeniable. If she could take him into her, body and soul, every bit of him, maybe as she grew old alone, she would always have the memory of these few days with him.

Dipping her head, she took his cock into her mouth, suckled, licked, groaning when his fingers tightened in her hair. She wrapped one hand around his shaft—no way could she take him all into her mouth—and stroked. At the same time she cupped her other hand under his ball sac and gently tugged, squeezed and rolled them.

Javier sighed and dropped one hand from her head. It slid under her blouse, under her bra, and he cupped her breast, pinching her nipple.

When she hummed her pleasure around his cock, he thrust up just a little, so she took him as deep as she could while stroking him with a tight fist. He plucked her nipples harder, rolled them between his fingers. Her pussy pulsed with each tug, each tiny bit of pain he imposed, and she sucked for all she was worth.

“I will come if you do not stop,” Javier warned, his voice low and gravely, so sexy.

Heidi sucked harder, dipping her head again and again, stroking him hard, squeezing his balls that had grown tight and puckered. She wanted him to come. She needed to drink him in. All of him.

The fist in her hair tightened, tugged, the pain making her moan in pleasure. And then he shouted, the sound primal, and his warm seed spurted into her mouth. When it hit her tongue, she cried in shocked surprise as an orgasm rocked through her. She swallowed everything he gave her then collapsed next to him, panting, her head resting on his thigh.

Javier gasped in deep breaths, the hand in her hair gentling, his other hand cupping her breast now in a tender grip.

After a few minutes, their breathing slowed. Heidi didn’t understand what had just happened. She’d come from him playing with her boobs? Impossible. She wasn’t that experienced with men. There weren’t many in Leavenworth to choose from, and rarely did any she’d slept with actually give her one orgasm. Javier had given her multiple earlier that day, and now, with only his hand on her breasts, she’d come while giving a blow job—something, up until just a few minutes ago, she’d always found rather distasteful.

“Are you all right, chata?” Javier pushed her hair away from her face when she turned her head to look up at him.

“Yes. You?”

He chuckled. “I am all right.”

She grinned and pushed herself onto her knees. She was going to stand, go wash her face, but instead she threw her arms around his neck and buried her face against his shoulder, hugging him hard, emotions too numerous and confusing to understand battering at her.

Slowly, Javier raised his arms and wrapped them around her in a loving embrace.

It took all of her will not to beg him to stay, holding her, forever. She didn’t know why he had to leave other than to fulfill his promise to Axel. She frowned at what was left of his cast in the trash can.

What was his hurry? She was sure they could work it out with her family.

They’d have to understand. The attraction had been fast, even for her, but she’d never been one to sit idly by when there was something she wanted.

Beyond her desire to have babies, she wanted him and no one else. More than she’d ever wanted another person. If he would just agree to stay, he would resolved all her fears of growing old alone or having to leave everything and everyone she knew and cared about for the remote chance of finding a partner, companion and lover. A mate.

He was so strong, yet behind that gruff shell he had a tender, albeit wounded, heart she wanted to know, to hold safe. Closing her eyes and resting her head against his chest, she listened to the steady pulse of his heartbeat.

She longed to share with him all her own secrets, her passions, her life. With him she need not hide who she was or fear discovery. With him she had hope.

Oh, God, she thought as she breathed in his scent. How would she manage the next fifty or sixty years of her life alone, or pretending with a mere human male, after she’d experienced Javier? When he left, her life would be empty.

Surely Axel would see that, understand that Javier could be her one. It wasn’t as if Axel had asked permission when he and Gunnar decided to take Dakota as mate. And he’d eventually accepted Beth as Kelan and Reidar’s mate despite his first confrontational encounter with the opinionated, well-armed scientist.

As Javier’s arms tightened around her, his big hands gently rubbing her back in a tender motion of comfort, she realized she didn’t want him. She needed him. And that scared the hell out of her. She was a Falke. The only female Falke in a hundred or more years, brought up alongside shifter brothers who’d made her into a rough and tumble woman who didn’t need anyone or anything to survive.

Yet she couldn’t bring herself to let Javier go.

Chapter Ten

Heidi called Beth to let her know she wouldn’t be home to help with dinner, dodging all the “where are you” questions rather effectively, though her sister-in-law was no dummy. Beth knew what she was up to, especially when Heidi asked her to cover again the next day at the clinic. Beth would call if there was anything she couldn’t handle, but her parting shot before hanging up was to tell Heidi not to do anything she wouldn’t.

She’d placed that call almost twelve hours ago. Dawn was just starting to highlight the hills outside the window, and though Heidi wasn’t sure she’d done anything her sister-in-law wouldn’t have done, she’d done a lot that was new to her.

Javier had touched, tasted, licked, suckled every part of her body, and she’d returned the favor with relish. Forget missionary style or even her on top, the only things she’d been familiar with in her otherwise limited sexual experiences. He’d taken her against a wall— God, he was strong—bent over in the shower and from behind while on her knees. That last position had been her favorite.

She’d surprised herself in how willingly she surrendered to his more dominant style of foreplay and sex. Who knew letting go could be so much damn fun?

And just when she was getting used to his wilder nature, he demonstrated his elusive tender side too. She’d awakened to his cock pressed to her pussy as he spooned her and fondled her breasts. When she whispered his name, he’d slid into her and spent the last hour rocking against her, nuzzling her neck, nipping her flesh, whispering how beautiful she was. Her orgasms were numerous. Fast ones, hard ones, slow-burning ones that seemed to last forever.

Heidi rolled over to lay her head against Javier’s chest, their bodies sticky with a sheen of perspiration. He pulled her tightly against him and kissed the top of her head.

“That was a nice way to wake up,” she murmured, wrapping her arm over his stomach and throwing her thigh over his.

“Mmm. Very nice.”

“Are you going back to sleep?”

“No. I am awake. But you go ahead. You must need your rest.”

Tipping her head back so she could see his face, she frowned. “What do you mean by that?”

He smirked. “I should think you would be exhausted.”

With a snort she dropped her head back to his chest. “You think awfully highly of your prowess, don’t you?” Her comment lost all heat when she yawned.

He chuckled. “Rest, chata.”

“I’m awake. Could really use some coffee though.”

Javier sighed. “In a few moments. Let me hold you for now.”

Heidi closed her eyes and reveled in the feel of his strong arm around her, his lips against her forehead and his warm breath ruffling her bangs.

“Do you believe your fathers will ever mate again?”

Heidi’s eyes popped open at the question. “Uh...”

“They still have each other, and they are not very old.”

Old enough that I don’t care to think of them having sex. She shook her head. Pushing up onto her elbow, she said, “My family believes there is only one mate for each pair of shifters. They call it the one. If my mom was their one—which we all believe she was—then no, they will never mate again.”

She’d never even contemplated the thought of her fathers dating again. They’d been with her mother for over thirty-five years. And they’d brought her and her brothers up with the belief in the one.

Axel and Gunnar had felt Dakota was their one the day they met her, and Kelan and Reidar had decided Beth was theirs, even though she had the scientific knowledge to destroy the Falke family and their way of life. Surely it couldn’t be a myth. The emotions were too strong. All four of her mated brothers had talked about it.

“Do you believe there is only one match?” Javier asked.

“You mean for me?”

He nodded.

Yes, and it’s you.

Instead of saying so, she shrugged and pulled away from him. “Axel says mate recognition is instinctual, like animals. I’m just a carrier of the gene. I can’t shift, so I don’t have the animal instinct males do. The one is who they mate with, the woman they want to have as mother of their children.”

She glanced into the trash can next to the bed to see several used condoms, and her heart clenched.

“I won’t have any children, so it doesn’t matter who I marry or if I ever do. And it’s not in my nature to search all over creation like my brothers must to find the one compatible person.” She headed toward the bathroom to put space between her and Javier, to hide her pain from the one man on Earth with whom she would gladly mate if given the choice.

But it wasn’t her choice to make. It was his, and he’d apparently made it years earlier...with a woman named Isabela.

Heidi would never mate, never have children. Not without Javier. And Javier was leaving. He’d already shared a life with his one.

“I’m going to grab a quick shower, and then you want to go get some breakfast? I’m starving and seriously need coffee.”

Javier rolled onto his side, propping his head on his hand, and gazed at her. “Yes. Something other than hotel room coffee would be welcome. Is there anywhere that has steak and eggs?”

“I know the perfect spot. But I need to stop at my dads’ for a change of clothes. How about I show you around Leavenworth today...unless you’re ready to leave.”

Javier stretched his injured leg, pointing his toes toward the television on the low dresser across from the bed. “I think I need one more day before I am ready to drive.”

She smiled at him. “Good.”

He threw the covers back. “I will join you.”

“No.” She held her hand up to stop him. “If we both get in here, it’ll be another hour before we eat, and I’m hungry.” Shutting the bathroom door, she locked it for good measure and heard him chuckling.

Her smile faded. One day reprieve...only one more day.

* * *

After a quick stop by her parents’ home, Javier held the door for Heidi to enter a diner called simply Joe’s. The aroma of hot grease and coffee assaulted his senses, and his mouth watered. Several older gentlemen called out to Heidi, and as they made their way to one of the few empty tables, she stopped to give tender hugs, pats on the shoulders, and had a friendly word for each of them, politely introducing Javier along the way.

“Heidi!” A wiry man in his sixties wearing a dirty apron came from behind the counter, and she wrapped him in a hug.

“Hey, Joe. How are you doing?” She kissed his bewhiskered cheek.

Javier slid into a vacant chair at a small table against the wall and watched Heidi’s innocent flirtation with the restaurant’s proprietor—he assumed this was the same Joe. The old man smiled at Heidi, obviously taken with her.

The other men in the room watched Javier, not the byplay between Heidi and Joe. Some openly stared while others took quick glances as they sipped their coffee. Javier nodded respectfully to those who made eye contact. This small town seemed to watch out for its own, and Heidi was clearly a loved member of the community.

A few moments later, Heidi approached the table he’d chosen with a coffee carafe. She grinned at him as she poured him a mug, and then one for herself. “He’s digging out his biggest steak right now.

Three eggs to go with it?”

Javier gave a single nod.

A few grumbles from the men at nearby tables had him looking up when Heidi made the rounds, refilling the patrons’ coffee mugs. He heard, “Just because you’re cute, you get whatever you want,” and he frowned.

Heidi laughed. “I’m having the special just like you, Bill.” She laid her hand on a portly man’s shoulder. “But look at him. You think two eggs and a slice of ham are really going to satisfy him?”

Amid the guffaws, Javier smirked.

Finally, Heidi sat across from him and lifted her coffee mug to her lips. She smiled, and he asked, “What is it about the special?”

“Heidi’s the only person we know that can get something other than the specials to eat here. Joe’s smitten.”

“Joe’s old enough to be my grandfather.” Heidi directed her response to the gentleman who’d commented. “He’s just looking out for me.”

“We’re all old enough to be your grandfather. That don’t mean— Hey! Why’d you kick me?”

Chuckles permeated the diner.

“Burke and Fridrik will knock you senseless if you say anything about their baby girl,” the apparent kicker said.

“How are those old men anyway?” another patron asked.

“Doing well,” she answered with a sparkle of humor in her eyes. “But then you know that. They were down here the other morning.”

Another round of soft laughter.

“She’s a smart one.”

“What do they think of this one?” the man named Bill asked, motioning his coffee cup toward Javier.

“Javier’s just a family friend passing through.” Her smile faded. “I’m going to give him a tour of Leavenworth, show him the sights.”

One of them snorted. “Tourist then.”

“Yep. Just a tourist,” Heidi said, her smile completely gone now. She turned her attention back to her coffee and didn’t look at him at all.

Every time Heidi got quiet, a shadow of sadness descended on her, and Javier had the urge to wrap her in his arms, comfort her concerns and make a promise he couldn’t keep. He lifted his mug and swallowed the acrid, burned liquid. At least it was hot and had the caffeine he needed to kick his brain into gear.

Their conversation the night before about the possibility of her conceiving his child had almost made him cave in to his desires. When he’d asked her about her one, if she believed there was one match as her brothers and fathers did, he’d not only heard her sadness, he’d felt it in his soul.

Especially when she’d pulled away and tried to be so nonchalant about the whole discussion.

She’d been beautiful with her nephews, so natural. Imagining her as a mother was easy. Envisioning her with his children made something in his chest warm where for two years there’d only been ice and hate and an unquenchable need for revenge.

His fathers hadn’t instilled the idea of there being only one woman for him and his brother. They’d been taught, though, that they would know their mate when she stepped into their lives. And he had.

He’d awoken in the hospital with Isabela leaning over him listening to his heart through her stethoscope. In that instant, he’d mentally claimed her for what he thought would be forever. A long, fulfilled life.

They hadn’t had a long life together, and he no longer had a brother. He was alone, his entire world focused on avenging the murder of his family, his future. No thought of a time after Durchenko’s death had even occurred to him. Once his revenge was exacted, he could crawl into a hole and die, join his family in the afterlife, for all he cared.

Until he met Heidi.

A healer, like Isabela. Strong and independent, which was nothing like his Isabela had been. His mate had needed, craved, his and Juan’s dominance, their protection. Only they’d failed her.

Heidi was the caretaker in her family. Calling to check on her fathers, making sure her sister-in-law would handle preparation of the evening meal. He could see that sweet Heidi had taken on the role of mother to her brothers when their own had died. But who took care of her? Sure, her brothers tried to protect her from dangers, but when was the last time someone asked Heidi what she needed? From the way she shut down when the topic of children arose, he assumed there were topics off limits to her family, subjects too painful for her to face.

She expected to never have children of her own.

Yet there was a possibility he could give her what was obviously a deep desire of hers. A small part of him had even contemplated forgetting to use condoms last night, but the thought of her having children—his children—while he spent the next months, possibly years, tracking Durchenko... He couldn’t do it. He’d wanted to, he could not deny that, but he was selfish too. When Isabela died—and his sons within her—he’d known that was the end of his line. The end of all hope for children from his seed. But now, there was a possibility—a slim one if he chose to believe in the Falke family lore—and his heart ached to take the chance.

He despised the part of himself that contemplated giving up the hunt for Durchenko in order to stay here and spend the rest of his life trying to conceive children with Heidi. It was a betrayal not only to Isabela but also his brother and their sons if he let Durchenko live.

What if Heidi was his one? Isabela had been the mate for him and Juan, but since they were gone, was it possible he’d been given a second chance? Was Heidi his hope for a future?

Heidi made his blood sing. When they touched, the spark was undeniable. Tangible. His emotions tumbled. He craved not only Heidi’s touch, but her soul. Was he experiencing the call to mate as he had once before?

He thought if he had met her under different circumstances, if he was not seeking vengeance, that perhaps he would have recognized her as a mate.

Was it possible for there to be more than one woman for a lone shifter male?

Could he walk away from her, possibly never to return? He might spend the rest of his life hunting that Russian bastard. If that was how long it took, he owed it to his brother and mate. Asking Heidi to wait for him wasn’t fair.

“Here ya go.”

Javier jerked in surprise when Joe dropped a platter of food onto the table in front of him. He hadn’t realized he’d been daydreaming so deeply.

“Thank you. This looks very appetizing.”

“Of course it’s good,” Joe said with a frown. “Talks funny, doesn’t he?”

Heidi laughed. “He’s from Mexico.”

“Pretty big for a Mexican, ain’t he?”

Javier decided to stay out of the debate that sprang up around him, every man in the room seeming to have an opinion on the size of Mexicans.

“It’s the best steak and eggs in town, I swear,” Heidi whispered, picking up her fork and using the edge to cut her slice of ham. “Besides, they’re harmless. My mom and dads used to bring us here every Sunday for breakfast, and I swear every one of these men sat in the same seats then as they do now. Except—” she put a bite in her mouth and chewed quickly, “—back then Joe’s wife ran the counter, and getting something other than ham and eggs for breakfast was easier.”

Javier cut his steak into pieces, then scooped up a forkful of scrambled eggs. “She is gone then?”

Heidi nodded. “A few years ago now. Cancer. He’s never been the same, but he’s got a soft spot for us Falke girls.”

She ate quickly, and he realized she hadn’t been lying earlier when she said she was famished.

Sometime during the night, he’d shared a portion of the third sandwich she’d brought him, but she’d put out a lot of energy in the last twelve hours. That made him grin.

“What?”

“But you’re the only Falke girl, right?”

“Beth and Dakota. Once they joined the family, the town took them in as their own. All you have to do is flirt a little and show some sincere concern for his feelings, and Joe’s a total sweetheart.”

“Perhaps all you must do is flirt.” He winked.

“Yes, he is partial to us women.”

“Young, beautiful women, I think.”

Heidi’s cheeks turned pink as she dipped her head, smiled and concentrated on the remainder of her meal.

They finished in silence, Javier listening to the conversations around him, intrigued by the patrons.

They were elders, and Javier so wanted to talk with them, learn from them. He had lost his fathers when he was young. On their own for so long, he and Juan had learned their lessons the hard way, with no guidance. In the military, he found direction from his superiors, but to sit and talk with, learn from men who had lived so long...

Javier wanted to speak with Heidi’s fathers more. Especially now that his mind was clear of medication and pain. He was curious to learn about the Falke lineage, learn more about what they knew of their shared shifter races.

With the last bite of toast in his mouth, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet.

“How much, do you think?” he asked Heidi, who was just wiping her mouth with her napkin.

“Hey, Joe,” she called, her voice carrying over the other men’s chatter.

“What?” he shouted from the kitchen.

“How much?”

“Ten bucks oughtta do it.”

Javier frowned. He’d just eaten a twelve-ounce T-bone, three eggs, a mountain of hash browns and toast. He dropped a twenty and a five on the table as he stood. “Thank you for breakfast, Joe,” he said when the man stuck his head out of the kitchen. “I much appreciated it.”

“Boy your size sure eats a lot.” Joe shook his head and then smiled at Heidi. “Come back real soon.”

She went to him and gave the old cook a hug. “I will. I’ll get my dads down here next weekend.”

“You see you do.”

It was obvious Joe had a tremendous crush on Heidi. When Heidi kissed his cheek, the little man fairly glowed. She seemed to have that effect on quite a few men, Javier realized, as she made her way through the diner saying her farewells.

“You bring Snooky in next week,” she said to the last elderly man near the door. “It’s time for her booster, and I want to check her arthritis.”

The bald man nodded. “Will do, Heidi. Will do.”

The air was warming as the sun rose above the treetops, dissipating the early morning chill.

“So, where do you want to start?” she asked. “You want to walk downtown? Though that’s usually better later in the day when the shops are open. I could take you out to the river. It’s really pretty there in the morning. Or we could—”

“Take me someplace special to you.” Javier held the driver’s door of the Land Rover open for her.

She climbed behind the wheel then turned and stared at him. “This whole town is special to me, Javier. The town and everyone in it.”

With a nod, he agreed. “I have seen that. But there must be somewhere you go that is extra special to you.” He wanted to know her better. Maybe if he did, he would find some flaw, something to make leaving her tomorrow easier.

“Okay,” she said softly. “There’s one place... But it’s a secret. You can’t tell anyone. Promise me.”

“I promise, chata. All of your secrets are safe with me.”

Chapter Eleven

Javier watched the scenery pass by the window as Heidi drove along the highway then turned onto a dirt track barely wide enough for the Land Rover. The trail was bumpy, and he placed a hand against the dash, the other on the door, to keep from bouncing.

“Just a bit farther. Are you up for a little hike?”

“Yes. It will do me good.” Today, the pain in his thigh was negligible. A dull ache that would most likely be gone in another day or two. Despite what he’d told Heidi, or the promise he’d made her brother, he could have left that morning. What was one more day? He’d been chasing Durchenko for two years and had come close a few times, but he always seemed to be a step or two behind him.

The road abruptly ended, a cedar tree standing tall in the middle of the track.

“Come on.” Heidi jumped out and slammed the door. Javier stepped out of the truck and breathed in the damp, earthy scent of the deep woods, cedar, pine and decaying leaves. He had the urge to change into his cat, to run, but he feared that was what had led to his current predicament.

Heidi came around the front of the vehicle and took his hand. “It’s up there.” She pointed up a fairly steep incline. “You think you can make it?”

There was challenge in her tone, in the sparkle in her eyes.

“Lead the way.”

A narrow game trail led up the incline at a slight angle to the hill, making the climb easy. Still, by the time they reached the top, the throbbing in his leg had grown, and he realized he wasn’t quite as healed as he thought.

“A little farther,” Heidi said, frowning. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Damn, he’d begun limping again. “I am fine.”

She took his hand and led him along a new path through the thick forest. There was an undercurrent of excitement running through her. He could feel it, fairly taste it. “Chata, what is it you are going to show me?” Whatever it was must have very special meaning to her.

Just then they walked into a clearing, a glade filled with wildflowers and one ancient cedar tree standing sentinel in the middle of the space.

“This is my special place.” Heidi spun in a circle among alpine aster and wild daisies, her face tipped up to the sun.

“It is beautiful.” Javier stared at her, his heart hurting with want of things he could not claim.

Her smile was angelic when she faced him once again. “It’s mine.”

He nodded. “You belong here.”

“No, I mean this land.” She spread her arms wide. “All five acres. I bought it about a month ago.”

With a new eye, Javier looked at the land. Nice and flat, a good place to build.

“The road will come up through there.” Heidi pointed toward the west. “It’s going to cost a fortune.

I want to keep the cedar tree, but I have to have it tested to make sure it’s healthy. I don’t want to build my dream home only to have it caved in by a falling goliath.”

Javier simply nodded as she spoke.

“Nothing huge. Just a two or three bedroom cottage. But I’ve also got to have a well dug, and get the electricity brought in, both of which will cost a pretty penny.” She sighed. “I guess I wasn’t thinking about all the details when I bought it, but I’ve been coming here for years. My little spot of heaven. I’d bring a book and lunch and sit under that tree. It was only by accident that a surveyor was here one day when I came up for a little peace and quiet. The owner needed it surveyed so he could sell it. I got the seller’s name and made him an offer. He accepted with no questions asked.”

She turned away and wrapped her arms around herself. “It’s going to be a long time before I can afford to get to the point of building my house here, but I can see it. My quiet place.”

“A sanctuary,” he suggested.

“Exactly,” she whispered without facing him.

Javier moved up behind her, wrapped his arms around her and laid his cheek atop her head, breathing in the scent of her and nature. The two fragrances complemented each other. She did belong here.

“I see it, chata. And I am positive you will have your dream home one day. No one deserves it more than you. It must have been difficult, being the only female in a house of males.”

“Like a zoo.”

He grinned and hugged her tighter. “You need a quiet place for yourself.”

She nodded and turned in his arms. “Yes. Exactly. I don’t really want to leave my dads, and I know they’d never shove me out the door, but I can’t live in their house forever...in my childhood bedroom.

I’m almost thirty.” A smile flitted over her lips. “But a small-town vet doesn’t make a lot of money, so it’s going to be a while before I can move here. First the road, then the well and electricity...” She sighed and laid her head against his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist. “At least it’s a start, and it’s mine.”

She gave him a little squeeze, almost as if claiming him as hers too.

* * *

“That’s cheating!” A fierce punch to the shoulder accompanied her accusation, but it lost all effect when she giggled and stuck her tongue out at him.

Javier dropped in a few more tokens to continue the race before the arcade game’s timer expired.

“Not at all, chata. I just took the line you opened up for me.”

The motorcycle game began the countdown for a race on the next level, a new track with new challenges. He’d won the first two races but admired her competitive spirit, which had manifested the moment they’d entered Leavenworth’s premier family amusement park and entertainment center.

The good-natured rivalry began with a friendly round of putt-putt golf. She’d won by two strokes, and he’d confessed to never mastering the game’s finer elements.

Racing, however, had always been something he could do, thanks in part to his brother. They’d had fun playing video games together, and both had lead feet when it came to driving. He’d even had some defensive, tactical driver training in the military, not unlike Juan had experienced with the police force.

The green light flashed, and Heidi got off to an earlier start, but he quickly accelerated to close the gap as she leaned her engineless bike into the first turn.

“You can’t beat me,” he challenged, pulling his cycle in behind hers on the screen and entrusting the computer to recalculate for his drafting techniques.

“Watch me.” She revved the throttle and leaned into the next turn.

He maintained the same line on the virtual track, trailing her every move into one curve after another until the final straightaway when he used his drafted momentum to swing out and slingshot around her, just inching past her front tire as they crossed the finish line.

Her pout was almost as adorable as her cute, little nose.

She swung her leg off the bike, and he followed after a brief hesitation. “You do not want to go another round?”

“No. I concede. You’re the better racer.”

He pulled her into an embrace and kissed the tip of her tiny nose. “And you are a much better golfer.”

She smirked and swung her arms around his neck. “I guess I’m better at knocking balls around a course than flying a motorcycle around a racetrack, but if you tell my brothers I lost, I’ll knock you upside the head.”

“You have raced against them before?”

Backing free of the hug, she nodded and gave him a big grin. “You’re looking at the Falke family champion.”

“Congratulations.” He almost asked if the brothers let her win. Maybe she had beaten some of them, but would Axel... Observing how much the excitement of competition and overall happiness animated her adorable face, Javier suspected the men would do almost anything to make their little sister happy.

And what was a little sacrificed male pride when compared to the brightness of this woman’s smile?

Hell, he wished he’d let her win now that he thought of it.

She took him by the hand, and he followed, somewhat marveled by how good it felt. His hand in her smaller one. Letting her take the lead. He would’ve expected his alpha nature to balk at this change of dynamics, however temporary, but it seemed natural.

He frowned. Similar to his relationship with Isabela. His mate had wrapped him and Juan around her little finger. Like Isabela, Heidi had a way about her that made him want to see her smile, watch the joy he caused light up her eyes. But Isabella had never been the one in the lead. Heidi was unique in that. Strong willed, stubborn and bossy. He grinned as he followed her as meekly as a kitten.

He was out in the parking lot before he realized their destination. “Where are we headed now?”

A smile was his only answer, so he circled the vehicle and got in, looking to her for a verbal response. After their trip to her special place, they’d spent the morning hours strolling the sidewalks of the more touristy areas of the Bavarian-themed town and had a tasty lunch at a locally owned restaurant. Everywhere they went, Heidi was greeted by people she knew, making him amused. He better understood her love of the town and its people.

Then they’d played the afternoon away at the amusement park and arcade. He couldn’t remember spending an hour at leisure, not in a very long time, much less a whole day spent in the pursuit of recreation. He had to give Heidi credit for reminding him of the importance of just...living.

She backed the Land Rover out of the parking lot. “Do you like wine?”

“Sure. What do you have in mind?”

“My dads are investors in a local winery, which is a benefit for us.” Her grin brightened. “Free tours and wine tastings—if you think you can handle it.”

“Oh, I think I’ll be just fine.”

* * *

Heidi set the wine glass down when her cell phone buzzed, interrupting her for the third time. She couldn’t keep ignoring Axel, so she excused herself and put space between her and Javier as she answered the call.

“Hello, brother.”

“I’ve had the shifter’s car moved from Dads’ driveway to the hotel parking lot.”

She gritted her teeth and bit back the sharp retort on the tip of her tongue. “Why?”

As if she didn’t already know. She didn’t bother asking how he’d known where Javier was staying or how he’d managed to get access to the car. Axel had ingenuity in abundance. And what he couldn’t do through legitimate means, Kelan could do with a lock pick and a little sleight of hand.

She knew she’d been pushing her luck by not returning home at night, not to mention having Beth cover for her at the clinic. Word was sure to get back to Axel. Even at thirty, she would only be allowed to push her independent streak so far when it came to matters of the opposite sex and her overprotective family. And although she’d been glad to see they’d given her some space—after all they hadn’t shown up knocking on the hotel room door yet—she wished that just this once Axel would step down from his alpha perch and have a little more faith in his only sister.

“You’ve had enough time to nurse your stray back to health, Heidi.”

“His name is Javier, not shifter, not stray. And I don’t need you butting in where you don’t belong.”

She was more than capable of taking Javier back to her dads’ to retrieve his car. Or at least she’d intended to do that...when the time was right. Axel might be the alpha of the family now, but that didn’t give him the right to bulldoze over people to get his way on his schedule.

“Heidi—”

“Goddammit, Axel, I mean it.” She tried to keep her volume down. “I love you, brother, but you’ve gone too far this time. Butt out of my life.” She hung up and turned her phone off for good measure.

“What’s wrong?” Javier asked the instant she returned to the wine tasting.

She tried to smile, but knew she didn’t pull it off when concern wrinkled his brow.

“Nothing. Let’s just...where were we?” She grabbed her glass and downed the burgundy sampler in one swig, but when she reached for his glass, he caught her wrist.

“Excuse us, please,” he said to the winery employee. “And thank you for everything. They are all spectacular wines.”

He guided her outside and didn’t release her arm until they were at her vehicle. Opening the door for her in a gentlemanly gesture that made her want to cry, he waited for her to plop in behind the steering wheel before he got in the passenger side.

“Tell me what has happened.”

She tightened her grip on the steering wheel and refused to look at him until she got her emotions under control. “My big brother’s just being an ass. Nothing new.” She dared a glance his way and tried to change the subject. “You hungry? I thought maybe we could grab a bite of dinner before going back to the hotel.”

He stared at her for several nerve-racking seconds. Then, he nodded. “Let’s get drive-thru.”

“Fine by me.” Relieved, she started the engine and pulled out, heading for the nearest fast food place.

When they arrived at his room, however, he made it clear he wasn’t ready to let the phone call go after all. “Your brother arranged to have my car brought here.”

Of course he’d notice his own car. Heidi set the bag of burgers on the dresser and chose to stare out the window at the parking lot. Javier’s Jag stuck out among the rainbow of sedans and SUVs. “Yes,” she admitted reluctantly.

Javier’s chuckle made her spin to face him.

“I don’t find this funny, and I’m surprised you do.”

He cupped her face. “It makes perfect sense.”

She crossed her arms. “Oh, and I suppose all big brothers are arrogant assholes who overstep their bounds.” Her sarcasm apparently amused him because his annoying grin got even bigger.

“If I were your big brother, and trust me, I thank God that I am not, I would do everything in my power to get a man like me as far away from you as possible.”

“A man like you?”

His smile faded, and he released the tender grasp he had on her face. “If I were honorable, I would’ve left at sunup today.”

“But...”

“But I wanted one more day with you.” He nudged her chin up with a fingertip and then kissed her lips with a brief brush of his own. “One more night.”

Moisture stung her eyes. “But...” She hated asking the question, hated knowing their time had to end.

His cheerless smile pained her. “But we can’t always have what we want.”

“It’s not fair,” she muttered, hating the petulance in her defeated tone.

He thumbed her cheek and remained silent, although she could almost hear his thoughts, read them in his eyes. Life’s not fair.

“I don’t want you to go.” There. She’d said it, admitted her heart’s desire, and tried to ignore the replay of what he’d just said in her mind. “We can’t always have what we want.” She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth against the inevitable.

“Heidi...” He waited for her to look at him. “I must.”

His words crushed her hopes and made her body shudder as if from a physical blow. The first teardrop escaped her lower lashes, and she didn’t give a damn.

She’d been born to a shifter line, carried the gene in her DNA, but she got none of the benefits. Her brothers could shift at will while she remained human. Her brothers could find their mates, father future generations, while she was left without any hope of a happy ever after.

No husband.

No children.

And for what?

“Fuck fate.” She threw herself against his strong body and kissed him for all she was worth.

He didn’t shove her away as she feared he might. Instead, he took everything she had to give and returned her passions tenfold. Their clothes disappeared, discarded in haste along a twisted path they took to the bed.

Falling to the mattress, Javier blanketed her nakedness with his own and fingered a lock of hair from her eyes. His expression showed a mix of concern and compassion, need and resolve.

“One more night.”

And then goodbye, she thought but shoved the words from her mind. She didn’t want to think about what would happen tomorrow. If all they had was one final night together, she would take it and pray for time to stand still.

“Then make it last.”

He dipped his head for a surprisingly chaste kiss and then began a slower, gentler journey along every curve and concave of her body. God help her. The way the man could touch her, kiss her... He brushed his thumbs across her pebbled nipples, massaged her breasts and planted a trail of moist kisses along her cleavage. The heat of his breath and feathery touch of his fingertips tantalized her.

When he explored her navel with his tongue, her need grew. Although she raised her hips in a silent plea, she enjoyed how he refused to be prodded into a rushed finale.

He took his time traveling from her lips to her toes, and by the time he once more lay over her with his mouth mere centimeters from her own, her senses tingled with pent-up desire. But neither did she want to just take and not give, so she pushed him on the shoulder and smiled when he rolled to his back.

His cock stood proud and more than ready to finish what they’d started, but she aimed for other targets as she laced their fingers together and kissed him breathless. The sweet friction of her nipples rubbing against his chest drew a deep moan of longing from her lungs.

Teasing him, she inched down his body, planting licks, nibbles and kisses along his flesh. His soft bass rumbles of encouragement were music to her ears. But when she bypassed his eager cock to kiss his thigh, he growled with frustration.

“Heidi...”

She gave in and drew nearer to his heat. Taking his ball sac in her hand, she licked the length of his erection, pressed a soft kiss to the tip and tasted his salty essence.

“Heidi.” His tone was more urgent, so she sucked in as much of his cock as she could and tilted her face up to look at him.

His dark, passionate gaze burned into her memory before he turned away to press his head back on the pillow. He freed her hand to grab the back of her head and hold her in place while his hips lifted.

“You’re going to be the death of me,” he said before pulling her off him a mere two strokes later.

With impressive strength, he raised her up and rolled her beneath him in one quick motion.

A smile tugged at her lips. “You didn’t like that?”

“I liked it very much...too much.” He kissed her hard before she had a chance to draw breath, but the kiss was short-lived. “Stay there.”

He climbed off the bed and retrieved a condom.

She wanted to ask him to leave it off, to give her the children only a male shifter could, but she bit her tongue, refusing to voice such needs when he’d made it clear he would leave her tomorrow.

Still, she couldn’t hide the tear that escaped a corner of one eye.

After he crawled over her, he thumbed the dampness from her temple and stared into her eyes, a frown of unease on his face. “Do you want to stop?”

She shook her head and cringed when a second tear fell. He began to push up. “No.” Unable to say more, she cupped his nape and pulled him down for another kiss. She didn’t want her emotional turmoil to ruin her last chance at happiness, if only for one night.

After a brief, heart-stopping hesitation, he settled over her again and returned her kiss with keen interest. His entry was slow and tender and brought renewed moisture to her eyes.

“Shhh... God, Heidi, please don’t cry.” He cradled her head in both hands and kissed her eyelids.

“I can’t help it.” She drew in a shaky breath. “You feel too good.”

Unlike the fierce outer shell he showed the world, the tough alpha unwilling to let anyone near his heart, he could be so gentle with her. He was a contradiction that confounded her, attracted her and destroyed the defenses she’d erected around her own heart.

He nudged deeper even as he kissed that most sensitive of spots on her neck, beneath her ear.

“Your tears unman me, chata.”

She wrapped her legs and arms around him as if she could hold him to her forever. “You don’t feel unmanned.”

His chuckle was a deep rumble against her chest. “What am I to do with you?”

She hugged him closer. “Just love me, Javier.” Her voice dropped to a needy whisper. “Love me.”

He kissed her then, her eyes, nose and mouth. And he rode out his passions within her body, driving her own arousal to new heights, until they each found the physical release they sought...if not the poignant bond of a true mating she desired.

Chapter Twelve

Just before sunrise, as dusky light seeped in through the partially opened curtains, Heidi awoke and wondered for a moment if she’d ever actually fallen asleep. Her body was pleasantly achy all over, and her tummy rumbled from the lack of dinner. The burgers they’d purchased the night before had been left untouched on the dresser, and she decided she’d toss them on her way out. But first, she spent several minutes staring at the deliciously naked man beside her.

He slept peacefully, his handsome, almost exotic features softened in slumber. She was glad whatever nightmares normally plagued him had left him alone overnight. Perhaps their exhaustive sexcapade, which had stretched into the early morning hours, had helped him find one night’s peace.

A part of her wanted nothing more than to remain exactly where she was, maybe wake him up and...

But no, she couldn’t. Axel, and even Javier himself, had made it clear their time together was limited. And that time was up. Deciding not to remain for a painful goodbye, she slipped from the bed, dressed and left without a word or note of farewell.

Two hours later, she walked into the clinic. Having showered, dressed and grabbed a bite to eat at her dads’ house, she felt somewhat refreshed if not prepared to face the day...without Javier. She missed him already but was determined to go on with her life without him. She had no other choice.

Was he already gone? Maybe. Would she ever see him again? Probably not.

She wished she’d at least gotten his cell phone number or an address where she could write to him.

Then again, a long-distance pen pal wasn’t what she wanted either. Better to make a clean break, let him go and move on.

Best way to do that was to keep busy.

Mrs. Blake greeted her with a smile. “Good morning.”

Heidi took a stack of mail from the pleasant receptionist, combining it with a couple of personal letters she’d brought from home and had not yet had the chance to read. “Thank you for opening up this morning.”

“No problem, dear.”

“Where’s Beth?” Her sister-in-law had left home a while before her. She should’ve arrived already, but her vehicle wasn’t parked outside.

“She called to say she was dropping the boys off at the outfitters, and I asked her to pick up some office supplies. We’re out of paper clips and manila envelopes.”

“Ah, okay. Pretty slow this morning,” Heidi said, noticing the empty lobby. It was still early.

“When’s our first appointment?”

“Not for another hour, but there was a gentleman who stopped by right after I opened up.”

“Oh?” Heidi held her breath but couldn’t prevent the sudden, hopeful acceleration of her heartbeat.

“Who?”

Before Mrs. Blake could answer, the door chime sounded and Heidi turned to see who the customer was.

“Javier,” she whispered, praying he wasn’t a hallucination.

As thrilled as she was to see him, his enigmatic expression confounded her. Questions flooded her brain. Why was he here? Why did he not look pleased about it? Had Axel done something stupid? If her brothers had threatened him...

“Where is he?” He took a deep breath and eyed her with such seriousness, Heidi quivered.

“Where’s who?”

Instead of answering, he stalked past her into the hallway that led to the back of the clinic and took another deep breath. He looked at Mrs. Blake. “You said a gentleman was here.” His tone made the term sound more like a curse than compliment.

“You heard that?” the bewildered receptionist asked, and Heidi realized Javier had heard their conversation before he’d even entered the clinic.

Javier didn’t answer the woman’s question but asked another of his own. “How long ago?” His stance and expression—hell, his entire demeanor—dominated the space and brooked no argument.

Flustered, Mrs. Blake glanced at Heidi, who nodded. “Well, I’d say about twenty-five or thirty minutes ago. He arrived right after I turned on the Open sign.”

“What did he look like? Did you get his name?” Heidi asked, aware that the man’s scent must be what had Javier so riled.

“No name. He wasn’t as tall as this one here,” she said with a gesture toward Javier. “Leaner too, but well groomed. Wore a dark suit and sunglasses. Made me think of an FBI agent or those characters in the Men in Black movies. Seemed pleasant enough. Strong accent, maybe Russian? He said he came by to inquire about the wounded cat that was in the news.”

Heidi could tell by Javier’s scowl he didn’t like what he was hearing. “What did you tell him, Mrs.

Blake?”

“Just that there was no big cat being held here for treatment, but if he wanted to leave his contact information I could have you call him about it when you arrived. He refused. Said he’d come back later in the day. Here, I wrote it down.” The receptionist handed Heidi a small sheet of paper. “You know him?”

“Not exactly. Excuse us, ma’am. I need to speak with Heidi alone.” Javier grabbed her arm, but she easily pulled free and read Mrs. Blake’s notes.

Foreign man... Russian? FBI? Asked about black jaguar. Not a reporter. No contact info, but may return later today.

The man knew the black panther was really a jaguar? That the news hadn’t been a hoax? “We can talk in my office.”

Javier hesitated and, before she could stop him, crossed the lobby and flipped off the neon Open sign then locked the front door.

“Hey! What do you—”

“I suggest you close for the day.”

Heidi scowled, not at all liking his high-handedness, even despite the strangeness of the unknown visitor. “And why would I do that?”

“I will discuss it with you in your office.”

Mrs. Blake touched her arm, briefly stopping her from trailing Javier. “Should I call the police?”

“No, of course not. Javier is a close family friend. I’ll get to the bottom of this.” Heidi gave the tenderhearted lady a pat on the hand. “But in the meantime, why don’t you hold all of my calls and leave the sign off for now. I’ll be back in a moment. If Beth arrives, send her to my office.”

“Okay, but if you scream, I’ll have the phone in hand and the law on speed dial.”

Heidi smiled, nodded and headed down the hall.

Shutting the door once she was inside, she turned on Javier. “All right. Out with it. What in hell was all that about?”

“He didn’t come back here. I would smell it if he had, but then again he didn’t have to. This place reeks of shifter scent.”

“Who?” She let her exasperation show. Reeks indeed.

“Lev Durchenko. The bastard who killed my family.”

Surprise widened her eyes. “Oh. He was— You’re sure?”

He tossed her an annoyed glance. “I would know his scent anywhere.”

“That explains how he knew the so-called panther was a jaguar.” She held up Mrs. Blake’s notes and watched his scowl darken. Heidi set the paper and her unopened mail on the desk, leaned a hip against the edge and crossed her arms and ankles. “Why did you come here this morning?” He couldn’t have known Durchenko was in Leavenworth, could he? Had he picked up the man’s scent elsewhere and tracked him to the clinic?

Javier stilled then shifted his stance.

“With Durchenko here, I don’t have time for an inquisition.”

“It’s one simple question, and I want an answer.”

Javier stared at her for a long moment, so long she wondered if he’d ever respond. “You left the hotel this morning without saying goodbye.”

“And you felt slighted?”

Her question made him uncomfortable, which became obvious when he tried to change the subject.

“You should send your receptionist home. It’s not safe here.”

Heidi straightened. “Goodbye, Javier.”

She turned toward the door, but he grabbed her arm and spun her to face him. “Wait a damn moment—”

“Don’t take that tone with me. You wanted a goodbye—now you have it. You can leave as you promised. I can take care of my own.”

Though she tried to twist free of his grasp, he held on. Anger darkened his gaze. “I needed to see you again.”

“And so you have.”

“I am not leaving now, not while you are in danger.”

“Says who? You?” She pushed against his chest. “Let. Me. Go.”

Instead, he shook her a little. “What has gotten into you? This is not a game, Heidi.”

“I never said it was, but this is my business, my life. You have no right to tell me how to live it.”

He released her so fast she stumbled before regaining her balance. When she met his gaze, his lips were pressed together, his eyes narrowed. He muttered something in Spanish, probably a curse, but she couldn’t be sure.

“You’re right.”

“What?” She hadn’t expected him to agree with her. Her overprotective brothers never did. They just bulldozed over her and anyone else who stood in their way.

“I am not your mate, Heidi, or your alpha. I have no right to tell you what you should or should not do. But I do care about you, and I alone know what Durchenko is capable of.”

“Tell me.” It was the one thing she’d wanted for so long, for him to open up to her about his past, the nightmares.

“My brother was a federal police officer, a good one, who was investigating Lev Ivanovich Durchenko, an international criminal, member of a large syndicate, wanted for multiple crimes in Mexico, most involving high-level drug trafficking, money laundering and multiple murders. He was ordered to kill Juan, my brother, to hinder the investigation. Durchenko uses his shifter abilities to thwart the law. I have been after him since the day I returned from a military mission and found he had murdered my brother, our mate...and the unborn children she carried.”

Heidi stumbled back a step, her gut twisting. “Oh, God...” Babies. No wonder he suffered nightmares.

“I failed to protect them.”

Shaking her head, she reached out and touched his arm. “You weren’t there. You can’t blame yourself.”

“I am the alpha. It was my duty.” He didn’t shrug free of her touch, but his gaze was haunted. “I have been after Durchenko ever since. He is a killer and good at what he does. He leaves a trail of dead bodies wherever he goes, especially if things don’t go his way. I know him better than anyone, so you must trust me when I say you and your family are in danger.”

“Why? You weren’t here long enough, and it’s been days. With all of the other animals in and out of the clinic, he couldn’t have picked up your scent here.”

“Not my scent. Yours, and possibly Beth’s. Even in human form, I can smell Kelan and Reidar all over her. I just thank God she was not here this morning, or she might have been killed...or worse.” He took her by both hands. “You must warn Axel and your family. Beth is human, but so was my wife. No one is safe while there is a chance Durchenko is here.”

He’d convinced her. Worried now, she said, “Beth is coming here.”

“Call her right now, tell her to stay away from here.” He began to strip in front of her. “Send your receptionist home.”

“What are you doing?”

“Shifting. My senses are stronger when I am in my cat. If Durchenko returns, and he will, I will be ready.”

“You can’t fight him here.”

“He thinks I am wounded, and your scent will be enough for him to stick around to try to gain the upper hand. Now is my chance.”

“The clinic is too close to town.” Her family could handle themselves, but Heidi had no intention of leaving Javier to fight this battle alone. She had to get him someplace safe, away from the public eye, and preferably away from Durchenko.

“Perhaps.” He shifted quickly. Almost before she could blink, the transition was over. He was so beautiful in his jaguar form.

“Don’t move. I’ll send Mrs. Blake home.”

She stepped out of her office.

Do not set foot outside!

She wouldn’t. She wasn’t stupid. Once she’d sent her receptionist away, promising her a day’s pay if she’d reschedule all the appointments from home, she called Beth and caught her just leaving the office supply store.

“Don’t come to the clinic,” Heidi told her.

“Why not? What’s wrong?”

“I need you to go back to Catamount Outfitters. Tell my brothers to gather there and await my phone call.”

“All right. Heidi, what’s this all about?”

“Please, just do it for me. Go straight there and nowhere else. Okay?”

“Fine, but—”

“Straight there. I promise I’ll explain everything.” She hung up before Beth could argue and watched through the window to make sure Mrs. Blake made it to her car safely.

What took you so long? Javier demanded when she opened the door to her office.

“I didn’t leave the building, so lower your hackles. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to convince my sister-in-law to gather the family without giving a damn good reason?”

Where are they gathering?

“Axel’s store. Catamount Outfitters. It’s in the heart of the tourist district. You coming?” She grabbed her keys, purse and his clothes, stuffing the latter into a bag before heading for the front door.

“Maybe you should limp or something, in case he’s got the place staked out.”

You watch too many television shows. In spite of his sarcasm, Javier became much more attentive to their surroundings and moved cautiously as soon as they walked outside.

With him at her heels, she locked up the clinic and went to open the passenger-side door for him before getting behind the wheel. She slipped the key in the ignition.

You can drop me off at the edge of the river before you go the store.

“I’m not going there. Are you crazy?”

The safest place for you is with your family. Not even Durchenko would dare to attack with the odds stacked against him. He is a killer, but he is also a coward, running instead of facing a fair fight.

“Why the river?”

I know his tactics. I can’t walk through the town like this, but the river offers cover for me to get close enough. I should be able to pick up his scent and track him. I will find him, Heidi, and stop him, but I must know you are protected.

“So you think I should just dump you out alone and lead him to my family?” She shook her head as she checked the mirror to see if anyone followed. “I won’t do that.”

Her passenger growled. Be reasonable.

“I am. I’m getting you the hell out of the populated areas of town, because none of us can afford to have anyone witness a cat fight. This is how I protect my family, our way of life.”

Her cell phone rang, so she flipped it open and steered one handed. “Hello?”

“What’s going on?”

Axel didn’t sound pleased.

Chapter Thirteen

“Don’t make me come after you, Heidi.”

“You know as well as I do, Ax, that I could never make you do anything.”

“Impertinent—”

“Besides, I’m not asking you to go anywhere but to your own home to protect your mate and kids.”

Her brother’s growl was testimony to his agitated state.

You’re putting him in a tight bind, Javier said telepathically from his perch on the passenger seat.

She cast him a glare for having sided against her.

His nature is to protect his mate and children, but as a single younger sibling, you are-“Not his concern...or yours,” she snapped. “I’m a grown woman who can make decisions for myself.

I’m headed home. It’s remote enough that if there is a confrontation between you and Durchenko, the public doesn’t have front row seats. It’s familiar territory for me, which is an advantage. And I’m not endangering anyone else in my family.”

Her dads had happened to be at Axel’s house visiting with the grandbabies when Beth showed up at the Outfitters with Heidi’s enigmatic message, so they weren’t home where they could be caught in the crossfire. As soon as she’d filled him in on the danger, Axel sent Torsten and Sindre to his home to help guard Dakota and the kids until he got there. Beth, Kelan and Reidar had already left for Axel’s to join the others. Only he and Gunnar remained at the store.

Axel wanted them to meet up with him to be safely escorted to his home, so Javier could brief them further on Durchenko and the dangers posed by the rogue shifter. Of course, Javier had to go and agree with him—with one exception. Javier wanted Heidi to go, but he didn’t plan on joining the Falke family. He wanted to go on the offensive and find Durchenko himself.

And I don’t wish to endanger you. Being with the rest of your family is the wise choice.

Damn alpha egos. “Says you, but I disagree.” She wasn’t prepared to let Javier get himself killed, so wherever he went, she would go. Even he had admitted Durchenko would not be likely to attack if they were all together, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be patient and wait them out. They couldn’t hole up at Axel’s forever.

If she was lucky, Durchenko would come after her and Javier alone. She could be there to watch Javier’s back, and her family would remain safe.

“Do what?” Axel’s tone held more than a fair share of agitation.

“I was talking to Javier.”

Both man and cat started talking at once, but she cut them off. “Stop! Listen. I’ve made up my mind, and nothing either of you say is going to change it. Javier knows Durchenko won’t attack the Falke family all together. The last thing we want is for him to decide to return when we least expect it and are unprepared. If the only chance we have of drawing him out is to be alone, I’m going home.

Axel, you have your family to protect. Javier is with me. He’s healthy, and so am I. We can protect each other.”

She hung up and stared at the road ahead as she drove home...and ignored the big snarling cat beside her.

* * *

Lev studied the lock at the back of the animal clinic and decided he didn’t give a shit about finesse.

The clinic had been open an hour before, but now it was closed. He cursed himself for the impatience that had led him to enter the clinic. Montero must have scented him and raised an alarm. Still, all was not lost. He knew Montero well enough by now that he’d bet the fortune in his Swiss bank account that the arrogant shifter wouldn’t hide behind a woman’s skirts.

Lev forced the door open and looked for any evidence of a security system. Finding none, other than some kenneled, yappy mongrels and a very annoying bird, he went through the place unhindered and easily found what had to be the vet’s office.

He took a deep breath and hissed when he caught the scent of the shifter who’d become his biggest liability the past couple of years.

The old lady had lied. There was a big cat being treated at the clinic after all. The scent left no doubt to the cat’s true identity, but he wasn’t present now. And there was much more than a lingering jaguar’s aroma.

Leave it to Montero to stumble across more shifters.

Did Javier know them? Doubtful. More likely their encounter was mere coincidence.

He picked up a picture of a female—the veterinarian he assumed—kneeling beside a collared puma.

“How adorably domesticated.”

No relation to the Montero family, obviously. They were not of the same race, his nemesis and these American shifters.

How many? At least one or perhaps two males. He’d picked up on a mix of old scents during his earlier visit—faint and difficult to distinguish amid those of all the animals at the clinic. But there was a feminine scent, stronger and uniquely shifter in nature, that he found the most astonishing. It had to belong to the absent veterinarian since it permeated the room.

The scent of other shifters threw a wrench into his plans, but Montero would more than likely want to distance himself from them as well. And yet, the man’s honor would demand he first make sure the vet who’d helped him was safe. That might prove to be his undoing. If Lev could find them, catch them alone...

The woman might know about shapeshifters, might have shifter blood in her veins, but she was still a mere woman. Montero, even injured, was the true threat...and target. He could not have recovered fully, not if he was still here in this village in the wilds of Washington State.

“After I take care of Montero, I’ll enjoy some time with you,” he told the woman in the photograph.

In all his travels, Lev had never encountered a female shifter, although he’d heard rumor of their existence. The stuff of legend and fantasy, he’d thought, until now. As a lone male, he would definitely make the effort to get better acquainted with her as soon as he’d handled the other nuisance.

Turning toward the desk, he browsed an appointment calendar. Mostly business-related notations, nothing of vital interest, until he thumbed through several stacks of papers and envelopes. On a couple of unopened letters, the address was different than that of the clinic.

Heidi Falke.

Smiling, he pocketed one of the envelopes.

* * *

The big house was eerily silent. It wasn’t often that no one was home. The silence was even worse when fear rode her hard. Heidi locked the door then made the rounds, checking all outside doors and windows, especially those on the second floor where Kelan, to this day, liked to sneak in when he’d been out and up to no good in the middle of the night. The boy would never grow up.

Heidi came back downstairs to find Javier posted at the dining room window overlooking the driveway. His right ear twitched when she passed him, but he remained vigilant. She headed for her fathers’ den. Normally, she would never enter without their permission. This had been her dads’ private domain her entire life, probably since they built the house. Only her mother had enjoyed free access to their sanctuary.

But today was different. Today, the life of the man she loved was in danger. She crossed to the massive safe on the far wall and used the combination she’d memorized as a kid. The door clicked open and she tugged the heavy steel to reveal an array of firearms. Everything from a tranquilizer gun to a rifle with enough power to drop a half-ton bull moose in its tracks. She opted for the .357 Smith and Wesson revolver, because it was hers, a gift from her dads for her sixteenth birthday. She’d spent endless hours becoming a crack shot with it. She was better with the handgun than any of her brothers, who preferred shotguns and large caliber rifles. They teased her about being Dirty Harry, or Dirty Harriet as Kelan liked to call her. She reminded them every time that Dirty Harry used a much larger weapon.

She loaded the revolver and the extra cylinder, then put the spare in her jeans pocket. She checked that the safety was on, and was about to shut the gun safe when she decided to leave it open, just in case.

What do you think you are going to do with that? Javier demanded when she entered the dining room.

She didn’t answer, just set it gently on the table, pulled out a chair and lowered herself into it. Her stomach fluttered. She had no doubt she could shoot anyone or anything who endangered Javier. Her brothers went hunting every fall, bringing home enough venison to fill the freezer for the year. She fished. That was all. Cold, slimy fish.

But she’d never actually shot a living, warm-blooded being of any kind. This man who’d killed Javier’s family was a shifter. One of her kind, not just human. Until a few days ago, she hadn’t known others like them existed. Today she was in love with one and contemplating the murder of another.

Heidi? Javier padded near her. He looked at her with those beautiful eyes. This is not your fight. I must fight him myself.

“And if he shows up here armed? You said he’s a coward, so why do you think he’d give you a fair fight?”

He believes I am injured. He would not seek me out otherwise. He has been running for two years.

“You are injured.”

I am healed.

“You’re as stubborn as my damn brothers.” She shoved up from the chair and paced to the window.

“You wouldn’t sit back and let me be killed.”

A car is coming. He shoved her away from the window with his big head and peered outside.

Heidi grabbed her weapon and flipped off the safety.

It is your brothers.

Resetting the safety, she pointed the handgun down. When the doorknob rattled, she let Axel and Gunnar in.

Axel glanced at her weapon and shook his head. “Go to the den.”

Gunnar shut and relocked the door as she glared at her oldest brother.

“No.”

“Go!” He pointed down the hallway.

“Fuck you, Axel. I’m not leaving Javier’s side.”

Both her brothers stared at the weapon, obviously trying to decide if they wanted to disarm her or not.

“Don’t even think about it,” she said between gritted teeth. “You know I know how to use it, and if you think—” He is here.

Heidi’s gut tightened, and cold prickles popped out on her skin.

Open the door for me.

“No.” She jumped in front of the solid wooden door, spreading her feet in a shooter’s stance, the

.357 held between both hands, pointed at the ceiling. She’d take care of the killer. She had the gun.

She knew where to shoot to kill, and she had the skill to do it. “You’re not going to do this Javier.”

Chata...

Tears burned her eyes. “Does it matter how it ends as long as it ends?”

“Sis,” Axel said softly, holding his hand out to her. “He is alpha. Don’t make him fight you for his right to avenge the death of his family. You know I would do the same, and so would our dads and each of our brothers. It is our way.”

Her gut told her not to move. Nothing good could come of this. Fear burned her throat and eyes and made her stomach tumble with nausea. “It’s not my way,” she said desperately, but she stepped away from the door and lowered her hands to her sides, the revolver loose in her grip. Gunnar took it from her.

Javier touched her hand with his muzzle and licked her palm.

Footsteps on the porch. A knock.

Axel pushed Heidi behind him, and Gunnar took a defensive position next to the door, flicking off the revolver’s safety before reaching for the doorknob.

“I love you,” Heidi whispered, but she didn’t know if Javier heard, because just then, a deep voice, foreign and snide, came through the door.

“I tire of this cat and mouse game. Montero! I know you’re in there. I never took you for a coward to hide behind a female...or another cat’s tail. Have you turned beta, old friend?”

Javier lunged toward the locked door with a roar the likes of which her brothers could not produce in their catamount form. In the blink of an eye, Gunnar opened the door, and Javier shouted telepathically, I am not your friend, pendejo.

“Then come out here and face me. It’s what you’ve wanted is it not, ever since the day I put your stupid brother and his bitch out of their misery? You know the cartels gave me a reward for the death of your brother? He’d been a thorn in their side for far too long. And to think, all of this could’ve been avoided had he merely accepted their money.”

Oh, God, Heidi thought as she watched for the impact of the man’s words on the jaguar. Javier stood so still, almost frozen in place, but his claws were out and his ears back. She wanted to run to him, to wrap him in her arms and make the pain go away. She wanted to scream at the bastard to shut up.

She took a step toward Javier.

Heidi, don’t. Axel’s words, whispered in her mind, stopped her in her tracks. Don’t disgrace him.

He must do this alone.

With tears welling, she remained behind as the jaguar stepped through the doorway. The man outside laughed as Javier limped out onto the porch.

Had he reinjured himself?

Alarmed, Heidi shoved Axel out of her way in time to see the stranger shift into the form of a big-pawed snow leopard. The most horrendous cat scream she’d ever heard chilled her blood, making all the hair on her arms stand on end.

Stay out of this, the snow leopard told them with a vicious snarl.

“Your fight with him is no concern of ours,” Axel called out.

Javier took that chance to leap at the snow leopard, showing no signs of weakness in his hind leg this time, but Durchenko reacted quickly with a swipe of massive claws at Javier’s side. When she would have rushed out onto the porch, Axel wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pinning her to his chest. “No, Heidi.”

The snow leopard made horrible sounds while Javier growled and roared, the battle more vicious than any she’d witnessed between her brothers over the years. The two cats snapped and bit, their long fangs ripping into each other. They gouged with claws, the snow leopard aiming repeatedly for the jaguar’s weakness, his hind leg. They moved so fast, so furiously, if not for the drastic difference in their coloring, she would never be able to tell them apart.

A sob ripped from her soul when Javier cried out in pain as the leopard gripped his right foreleg with sharp teeth.

And then, if by some unseen force, the two cats flew apart. The leopard turned on its heels and dashed into the undergrowth at the side of the house. Javier sprinted after him, and they both disappeared.

Heidi jerked away from Axel and ran outside onto the porch, but they were gone. She couldn’t even hear them in the woods. Turning back to her brothers, she said frantically, “Go after them. Please.

Help Javier.”

Both brothers shook their heads.

“It’s his fight alone, Heidi,” Gunnar said.

“Go after them. Please,” she begged, grabbing the front of his shirt as tears dripped down her cheeks. “Make sure he’s okay.”

Gunnar wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug she tried to fight. “Shh, sis.”

The tears came, and she slumped against her brother.

* * *

Javier was right behind the bastard as they wound through the undergrowth, heading deeper into the forest. He would not get away, not this time.

His memory returned in a rush, and he knew why he’d been in the woods to be shot by Heidi’s friend. He’d been chasing Durchenko. Just like this.

He ignored the pain radiating from his injured foreleg. Durchenko had tried crushing it between his teeth. Though he hadn’t succeeded in disabling him, it hurt like hell and was obviously fractured. His hind leg ached from the strain he put on the limb so soon after the shooting. But Durchenko must’ve realized Javier wasn’t as weak as he might’ve appeared at first, because the bastard darted when the fight had just begun.

The snow leopard was much smaller, so it was easier for Durchenko to maneuver under and around fallen trees, boulders and the thick underbrush. But Javier was determined, and just as they reached a small clearing, he made the leap and landed on the leopard’s back, digging his teeth into the back of Durchenko’s neck.

The smaller cat collapsed onto the ground and practically somersaulted tail over head, knocking Javier loose. In a flash, he switched direction, grabbing Javier under the chin with his teeth at the same time, scoring his underbelly with sharp claws from both hind feet.

Using his front claws, Javier gouged at Durchenko’s face and neck and sides, shredding skin and fur, fighting for his life. The leopard had his windpipe, and he felt blood pouring from his stomach.

A picture of his brother, disemboweled on their bedroom floor, came to his mind, and the anger that surged through him gave him enough strength to throw himself to the side. The leopard screamed in pain as Javier dug his claws into the bastard’s belly, and with his last bit of strength, Javier tore out Durchenko’s throat with his teeth.

The leopard jerked once, twice, then lay still.

Javier tried to stand up, but he had no strength left. He looked down at himself, saw the wounds, but he seemed to be intact. He had a hard time drawing breath, and he collapsed to his side. Durchenko was dead. He’d succeeded.

The world around him grew dim as darkness closed in from his periphery.

When he closed his eyes, Heidi’s face was all he saw. Her sweet smile. Her stubborn little chin.

That cute pug nose. And he heard once again the soft declaration of, “I love you,” she’d whispered just before he left her house to fight his enemy.

He tried to take a deep breath, but his lungs burned.

Pain pierced his chest and stomach. He couldn’t draw air.

And then, there was no more pain.

Chapter Fourteen

Heidi picked up her jacket from the hook behind her office door and headed through the clinic. She found Beth in one of the exam rooms, sterilizing the table.

“Hey,” she said, leaning against the doorjamb. “There’s only two other appointments today. Do you think you can handle them?”

Beth looked up at her and nodded. “Sure. You okay?”

No, Heidi wasn’t okay. She’d never be okay again, but she couldn’t tell her family that.

“You don’t look it,” Beth observed. “You want to talk?”

Heidi swallowed hard and shook her head. What was there to talk about? The love of her life was gone. “I just need the afternoon to myself. I’ll...” Her throat closed up, as it did so often lately. She sighed. “You’ll handle dinner tonight? I’m not sure I’ll be home.”

“Where are you going?”

“Just...out. Away.” She shrugged. “I need some time to think.”

A frown wrinkled Beth’s brow. “Maybe you shouldn’t be alone right now. Why don’t...” She grinned, obviously thinking she’d come up with a brilliant idea. “What if you and I go to Seattle this weekend? Girls’ weekend away. We can shop and stay in a nice hotel and drink all the mojitos we can get our hands on. That should get your mind off...things.”

Heidi’s first inclination was to decline the invitation, but then she shrugged. “Sure. What the hell. I haven’t been stinking drunk in a while.”

“That’s the spirit.”

“It’s not like I’m suicidal or anything. I just need to get away for a couple of hours.” Right now, before she burst into tears in the clinic. Tears and her job did not mix. “We can start planning that Seattle trip in the morning.”

“Cool. Be careful. And yes, I’ll take care of dinner.”

“Thanks.” Heidi went to the lobby. “Mrs. Blake, Beth’s going to handle the rest of the appointments today. I need some personal time.”

Mrs. Blake nodded and gave her a pitying look. Even though the woman didn’t know what had gone on, she must have felt the undercurrent of Heidi’s sadness. For the last few days she’d been bringing Heidi homemade comfort food each morning. Cinnamon rolls, coffee cake and today for lunch, a whole casserole dish of macaroni and cheese.

“I...uh...appreciate your kindness these past few days. I promise I’ll be back to my old cheerful self soon.”

“I haven’t seen you like this since your mother died. You know I’m here for you, dear, if you need someone to listen.”

The tears blurred her vision then, and all she could do was nod and whisper, “Thank you,” as she headed out the door.

Outside was yet another reminder that Javier was gone and not returning. His black Jag sat right where he’d parked it when he’d come to the clinic a week earlier, pissed off she’d left his hotel room without saying goodbye.

If only she hadn’t wasted that chance. If only he hadn’t come to the clinic. If only...

She fired up her Land Rover. It was a cool, foggy day, more like fall than late summer. Heavy rain for two nights had saturated the forest with much-needed water, and Heidi had only one place she wanted to go. The place that she’d shared with only one person, ever.

The drive into the forest didn’t take long, and soon she was out of the car and climbing the steep incline to her property. The air was thick with moisture and silent, as if the fog held all sound at bay except the crunch of dead leaves and twigs under her feet, the scratch of branches against her nylon jacket or jeans.

Breathing hard, her lungs burning from the quick climb, she burst into the clearing and ran toward the lone cedar tree in the center, only to stop short just twenty feet from the ancient sentinel.

“No,” she said, panting. She put her hands on her knees and bent forward, trying to catch her breath.

But when she looked up again, it was still there, and fury cut through her hard and fast.

Someone had been camping in her space, her private domain. An old army tent was erected under the branches of the cedar, a small fire pit with a crudely fashioned spit over it not far outside the door.

“Hey,” she shouted as she approached the little camp. “Anyone in there? You’re on private property.”

The fire pit was cold, the ashes damp when she reached her hand over to check how long it had been out. She flipped one side of the tent door to the side and peered in.

Empty, except for a pair of jeans and a faded flannel shirt. Not even a sleeping bag.

Had someone come here, camped and left his tent? It had the musty smell of a little used canvas that has been in storage.

Bastards. This was her spot, and it had been violated. She stood and started untying the stays to dismantle the tent. Tomorrow she’d pick up a whole pile of No Trespassing signs and put them on every tree at her property lines. And ten on this tree. Her spot. No one else’s.

Hot tears trickled down her cheeks as she fought with the damn ties until frustration got the best of her and she screamed.

And then she screamed again, grabbing the tent and shaking it.

The third scream ended on a hoarse sob, and she collapsed to the damp grass in a heap.

Heidi never knew this kind of emptiness existed. She’d known loneliness, especially since her brothers began finding mates, but never had she experienced the icy desolation that had invaded her soul since Javier disappeared. And the day after he’d run off into the woods, she’d had another blow.

Her period had come. That one night with him she’d prayed had made a baby, had not.

No Javier. No child. Just her, alone. Forever.

A full day and a half went by with no word from Javier before Axel would let her go after him. Her brother had literally stood guard over her and their fathers’ house, keeping her inside and any dangers out. Finally, he’d agreed she could go if Gunnar, in his catamount form, accompanied her. Gunnar’s sense of smell was strong enough to pick up the other cats’ scents and follow them for a while.

But for some unknown reason, even her brother, an expert tracker, couldn’t pick up the trail after it went cold. She’d pleaded with him, and so they’d trekked miles and miles into the forest, Gunnar quartering the land, but not once did he get another hint of Javier or the snow leopard.

She tried to convince herself that no sign was a good sign. If he lay dead somewhere, surely they would’ve found something.

But deep in her heart, she knew...

If he didn’t return for his car and few belongings, which he hadn’t, he was gone forever.

Heidi let the sorrow and pain flow through her as she buried her face in the crook of her arm and sobbed. She’d tried to be strong. Tried to tell herself she hadn’t known him long enough to be this hurt by his disappearance. But it didn’t help. All hope of a future, of happiness, was gone with him.

Her fathers wanted to help her, but admitted they were at a loss. Only time could heal the wounds left by the loss of someone she loved, they’d told her.

Time was all she had.

Time devoid of... Just devoid. Empty.

“Oh, God,” she cried and hugged herself. It had been so much better to believe there was no one anywhere for her. That if she wanted to find any contentment, she’d have to settle for a normal man.

But then a beautiful shifter came into her life and ruined all hope for any kind of happiness.

Finally the tears dried, and Heidi fell into an exhausted sleep.

Chata...

Heidi whimpered and clung tighter to herself. She heard Javier’s whispered endearment so often in her sleep.

Chata, you must get inside the tent. It is about to rain.

Something cold and wet touched her cheek, and she jerked in surprise, her eyes opening in alarm.

Standing over her was a massive black jaguar, his face inches from hers, his warm breath against her cheek.

Slowly, she raised her hand and touched his long whiskers. His lip twitched, and he shook his head slightly.

That tickles.

“Javier.”

You have been crying.

She sat up, unwilling to look away from his amber eyes, afraid he’d disappear if she did. “Please tell me I’m not dreaming. Tell me you’re really here.”

I am here.

She buried her fingers into the thick fur at his scruff and pressed her forehead against his. “You’re alive,” she whispered, her heart beating so fast it felt like hummingbird wings in her chest. Her tears returned. “You’re alive.”

I am. He nuzzled her neck with his cold nose.

“You’re alive.” Elation turned to fury. She jerked back, still gripping his fur in her fingers. “You son of a bitch, I thought you were dead. You’ve been here the whole time?”

His only reaction to her explosion of temper was to sit on his haunches and utter a calm admission of guilt. Most of the time I have been here.

“What’s that mean? Answer me,” she demanded when he didn’t speak. But then she spotted the patch of missing fur from his neck, and she shoved his muzzle to the side to get a closer look. Healed wounds on both sides of his throat. Kneeling, she moved down his body, finding more scars, including the bullet wound she’d patched up.

I am not so pretty anymore, chata.

“You idiot. Is that why you’ve been hiding here?” She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face against his fur.

No, my love. He plopped onto his side in the damp grass and wrapped his forelegs around her. And then he changed, faster than her brothers ever could, and Javier was holding her in his arms, crushing her to his bare chest. “I have been here healing.”

She looked into his beautiful face and touched the ugly red scars on his neck, a couple lighter ones on his cheek, still unable to believe this was all real, fearful she was dreaming. “I could have helped.

I’m a doctor.”

He shook his head. “I could not return to you in that condition.”

The scars would fade with time, but how long had he planned to stay away from her? Did he really think her so vain? “Don’t you know that it doesn’t matter what you look like? I love you.”

“And that is why I could not return to you as I was after the battle.”

“We looked for you...”

“I knew you would. I buried my scent from your brothers, who no doubt gave in to you and tried to help you find me.”

She frowned at him. “Why...”

“Because, Heidi,” he said, his gaze so intense it raised goose bumps on her sides, “the next time I saw you, I would claim you as my own. I was in no shape to accomplish that at the time.”

Her lips parted on a soft gasp.

A small smile curled his lips. “If you are agreeable, of course.”

“Of course.” The words came out hoarse, and she swallowed hard. Her mind seemed to blank out.

Questions swirled, but she couldn’t get any to come out her mouth. Was it over with the snow leopard? Had Javier done what he needed to do? Was he over losing his first mate?

“Mi chatita, you must tell me if you will accept me as your mate, your lover. Your husband. Your only.”

Elation surged through Heidi, and she leaned down and kissed Javier hard, sinking her tongue into his mouth, tasting him once again and falling into the desire that always consumed her when he was near. Her husband. Her mate. Something she thought she’d never have. She pulled back to find him a little glassy eyed and laughed. “Yes, Javier. God, yes.” She kissed him again.

He rolled her under him and kissed her in return, his tongue surging into her mouth, his naked body so deliciously hard against her.

There was no more discussion as Javier stripped the clothes from her body, barely taking his mouth from hers. The grass was cold and wet beneath her, but his body was hot, warming much more than just her flesh with his.

“Please,” she whispered when he nipped at her shoulder, her neck, that special spot beneath her ear.

“Bite me. Make me yours. Please.”

His playful nibbles made her want to scream. The fact he pinned her legs between his, not letting her rub herself against his long, hard cock, made her want to cry. Instead she arched her back as far as his big body allowed, giving him her chest.

“Such beauty,” he murmured, a mixture of humor and depth in his words. He licked her nipple, and she gasped. He suckled the other, and she moaned. “I will thank God each day that it was you who saved me.”

“Me too. God, me too. I love you, Javier. I never thought...” She grabbed his head and pulled him up so she could kiss him.

He kept the pressure light, gentle, when she wanted his passion. Needed it like she needed air.

“You are sure?” he asked between kisses to her forehead, her eyelids. “Once I make you mine, I will never let you go, Heidi. Not ever.”

She laughed.

Javier raised his head to frown down at her. “You find my declaration humorous?”

Still smiling, she shook her head. “Javier, sweet man, I have lived with shifter men my whole life. I know what possessiveness is. I know that we will fight, we will argue, and I will drive you mad by not following everything you decree to be what is right for me.” She put her fingers over his mouth when he looked as if he would speak. “But sweetheart, you must know I have never loved another man. I never thought I would. You are my one. Of that I have no doubt.”

“And you are my one, Heidi.” He kissed her then, slowly, deeply, his tongue dipping repeatedly into her mouth to rub against hers. He nibbled her bottom lip. And then he moved lower, kissing her neck, the swells of her breasts, treating her nipples to a quick lick before he nipped the sensitive skin over her ribcage, dipped his tongue in her navel. And then he spread her legs.

“Javier, come on,” she cried in frustration, bucking her hips. “Get on with it. Mark me and then fuck me. Please!”

He chuckled. “In this, chata, you are not in control.” His hot, wet tongue slid up the length of her pussy and flicked her clit.

She jumped at the shock of pleasure and grasped handfuls of damp grass and flowers to keep from grabbing him and demanding more.

The assault on her pussy continued with licks, flicks and suckling that made her whimper, cry and shout. Yet, he wouldn’t let her come. Every time she thought she was close, he’d change position, change the pressure.

“You don’t play fair,” she cried, trying to press harder against his mouth, but he pinned her legs and abdomen so she could barely move, only submit.

Submit.

Become his.

The thought sent her into orgasm.

Javier growled against her and slipped long fingers into her cunt. “Again, chata.”

And she did. Again, and again as he suckled her clit and hit her G-spot with those beautifully long, thick fingers of his. When she thought she couldn’t possibly take any more, when her ears rang and her cries of ecstasy were hoarse, a sharp, stinging pain pierced her inner thigh, and she came so hard she saw stars in the brightness of the foggy gray sky.

And then he was within her, over her, his weight heavy and wonderful as he pumped into her, slammed into her. He gripped one thigh and raised her leg. She tucked it over his ass, her limbs rubbery.

He looked down into her face, and she stared into his beautiful eyes. “I love you,” she whispered, her voice rough.

He kissed her then, and yet another orgasm rolled through her at the same time he stopped moving, pressed hard into her, and his cock pulsed within her. “I love you too, Heidi,” he began then murmured telepathically, Oy, chata, te amo mucho. Mi corazon...mi vida.

I love you, Javier... my mate.

Chapter Fifteen

Javier held Heidi against him until she shivered, and then he told her to get dressed. After pulling on the pair of jeans from the tent, he glanced at the cloud cover and decided the rain would hold off a little longer, so he built a fire in the small pit he’d fashioned a few days earlier and brought down the cache of scavenged foods he’d raised into the tree limbs overhead.

“Where’d you get all this stuff?” she asked, huddled in her damp jacket, warming her hands over the fire.

“Here and there.” He handed her a package of cookies and a can of cola.

Heidi narrowed her eyes at him, and he grinned.

“You’re a thief.”

“Where I am from, jaguars are considered wily, not thieves. Sit here.” He positioned a piece of deadfall close to the fire.

She sat without another word and tore into the cookies’ plastic wrapping. After she consumed a couple and popped the top on the cola, she said, “I was really pissed when I got here and saw the tent and fire ring.”

“I...heard you.” He opened his own can of soda and sat on the ground next to her.

“Why didn’t you show yourself then?”

He gave her a sheepish grin. “You are rather formidable when you are angry.”

She shoved his shoulder and laughed. “It’s good to know I can put the fear of God into my mate.”

She sipped the drink. “My brothers have never been scared of me.”

He took her hand in his and brought her fingers to his mouth, kissing the backs of each one. “Your brothers have never lived in fear of you rejecting them.”

She wrapped her arm around his shoulder and laid her cheek against the top of his head. “I told you, in your hotel room, I didn’t want you to go. How could I ever reject you?”

He sighed in contentment. His woman. His mate.

“We didn’t use protection,” she said softly.

He tensed. She did not want to have his children? He’d been so sure. “No, we did not.”

There was a long stretch of silence, in which he tried to decide how to continue the subject. This was something they needed to discuss, and he’d do anything in his power to convince her to try to have children with him. If it didn’t work, he was open to adoption, so long as she was there by his side. He would never let her go, of course, even if she rejected both ideas, but it would hurt. Knowing there was hope, even if it were slim...

“My period came the day after you disappeared,” she murmured, and then she slid off her seat and onto his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck after she set her soda can on the ground. “I cried. I had so hoped that a miracle happened that one night we weren’t careful.”

“You want children,” he said, gazing into her amber eyes, willing to lose himself there forever.

“Almost as much as I want you.”

“Then why the condoms?”

She nuzzled her nose against his neck and sighed. “I didn’t want you to feel obligated.”

He chuckled and squeezed her tight. “Oy, chata. You are a wonderful, crazy woman.”

With a frown on her face, she leaned back and looked at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He just grinned. “I will do everything in my power to impregnate you.”

“I’m sure you will.” She sobered a little and her face grew wary. “Um. There’s...” She cleared her throat and patted his shoulder. “Shit.”

“What is it?” he asked, worried at her change. “What is wrong?”

“Axel.”

“Ahh.” He nodded. “Yes. I must admit he has crossed my mind.”

“You didn’t exactly ask his permission to claim me.”

Javier raised one eyebrow, which made Heidi laugh.

“What are we supposed to say to him? He’s going to be pissed, you know that, right? He’s the family alpha.”

Javier cupped her chin. “Heidi.”

She raised her eyebrows in question.

“He is not your alpha any longer. I am your protector now, your mate.” He held his breath, waiting for her response.

A smile tilted her lips, and she placed a soft kiss on his cheek. “I know. I am yours. But I’m going to be far, far away when you tell my big brother that.”

He hugged her hard, crushing her body against his, and laughed.

“I do have a couple of questions.” She pushed back to look him in the face again and then straddled his lap, making herself more comfortable.

“Anything, my love.”

She touched the scars at his throat, then on his stomach and sides.

“Is the Russian snow leopard...”

“Dead.”

“Good. So we never have to worry about anything like that again?”

“I pray that is the case.”

She huffed out a quick breath. “What about Isabel?”

“I do not understand. She has been gone for two years.”

Heidi swallowed hard and set her hands on his shoulders. “When you first came here, you dreamed about her. The first time you kissed me, you were half asleep, and you said her name.”

“I am sorry, Heidi. I was...not myself.”

“I know that. I understand. You were on a lot of medication. What I need to know is...” She bit her bottom lip, her brow furrowing.

He touched her cheek with his fingertips, her concern evident in her inability to speak her mind easily. “What do you need to know?”

“Can you love me like you loved her?”

“Oh, chata.” He pulled her into his arms once again and pressed his cheek to hers. “I love her. I will always love her. And at times I am certain I will remember her as I do my brother Juan. But she is my past. You are my present and my future.”

In his time here in Heidi’s glade, he’d come to realize that Isabel had loved him as he had loved her.

If she were the one still alive, he’d want her to find happiness. He had done what he set out to do.

Isabel’s murder had been avenged. Now it was his time to live, to love again.

Heidi breathed out a slow sigh and relaxed against his chest. “Good. Because I’d fight her ghost for you, you know.”

He smiled into her damp, mussed hair and breathed in her sweet scent. “That, my little cougar, I am sure of.”

“One more question.”

He dropped his hands down her back and cupped her sweet, round ass. “Go on.”

“What does chata mean?”

He barked with sudden laughter, tumbling backward and pulling her with him.

“What? Why are you laughing so hard?”

“It means you are my sweet funny face.”

Heidi gasped in indignation and tried to get off him, but he banded her to his body with his arms.

She smacked his shoulders. “You think I look funny?”

He rolled her beneath him and pinned her arms and legs, all the while still laughing. “It is a word of affection where I am from. You have the cutest little nose.” He kissed her adorable nose. “When I awoke in that cage and saw you there, even though I was furious and in pain, your beauty, your charming face... I felt affection for you.”

Heidi’s expression of anger slipped into a grin. “Don’t you ever tell my brothers what it means.”

He kissed her on the nose, the cheeks, the chin. “Never, chata. It is my word for you, and you alone.” He kissed her again, and again, and again.

Two months later Heidi stared at her reflection in the mirror and couldn’t believe the woman who looked back. The gown was new, purchased on a whirlwind shopping trip to Seattle with her sisters-in-law. When she found it in a store that sold vintage clothing, she’d snatched it up, much to Beth’s and Dakota’s dismay. They’d wanted her to buy the traditional white gown with a flowing train, lots of lace and a ten-foot long veil. Overly dramatic in Heidi’s opinion.

This dress was out of a childhood dream. A simple scoop-neck dress with a rich, burgundy velvet bodice and antique white gathered skirt that fell to her shins.

A knock on the door before it opened had her turning to see Beth and Dakota enter. She grinned at them.

“You do know how jealous of you we are, right?” Dakota said as she touched the tiny cap sleeve of Heidi’s gown.

“I know,” Heidi said with a smile. “You two have made that very clear. But you have two men to...you know. That should make up for it, right?”

Beth chuckled. “He’s a great guy. We’re so happy for you.”

“He is, isn’t he? Even if the boys are still undecided.” She frowned. “They’ll come around, right?”

Dakota cleared her throat and looked away.

“What? What do you know?”

Her sister-in-law grinned at her. “I happened to overhear a conversation a few minutes ago in the den.”

Heidi groaned. Her soon-to-be husband was getting ready in her dads’ den, a decision mandated by her fathers, and one that had worried her to no end. “Was Axel threatening his life again?”

“Well, yes,” Dakota said, “but once Javier had sworn to protect you, as we’ve all heard him do countless times, Axel said something else.”

“Axel once threatened to make us leave Leavenworth. He didn’t do that again, did he?”

“Oh, come on.” Beth rolled her eyes. “Like your brothers—or your fathers for that matter—would ever let you out of their sight. Even if you do belong to a new alpha.”

“Then what did he say?” Heidi asked Dakota.

“He said that he wished Javier all the luck in the world...because he was going to need it if he wanted any control over you.”

All three girls burst into hysterical laughter. Heidi hugged her sisters-in-law, her best friends.

“I don’t think even luck will help there,” Beth said, and they all laughed harder.

A knock on the door, and they quieted.

“Yes?” Heidi called.

“Your groom is waiting,” Burke said.

She grinned at Beth and Dakota. “I’m so glad you’re here.” She squeezed their hands. “Thank you for not being toooo jealous.”

The girls giggled, and then Heidi opened the door.

Burke and Fridrik both stood in the hallway, wearing tailored charcoal suits. They were so handsome. Heidi rushed into their arms. “I love you, daddy,” she said, encompassing them both.

They both whispered endearments to her and each kissed her cheek. “Come along,” Fridrik said.

“Everyone is waiting, and Javier is looking rather impatient.”

Her fathers each took one of her arms, and they escorted her out onto the back patio. The morning air was crisp with fall, clear and sunny, yet a tinge of dampness sweetened the scent of the forest pines. Mums in shades of orange, yellow and red poured from the planters and pots positioned around the yard and patio. She turned and grinned a thank you at her bridesmaids. They’d worked all the day before preparing the house for the small wedding and reception, not letting her raise a finger except to get a manicure.

Dakota gave a thumbs up, and Beth swiped a tear from her eye.

At the top of the steps leading to the lawn stood Javier, and Heidi’s heart skipped a beat. Never had a man looked so gorgeous, so virile, as he did wearing a black-on-black suit and tie.

Both fathers shook his hand, and then Burke passed her hand into Javier’s. His strength, his warmth, seeped into her, and she couldn’t stop smiling.

You’re beautiful, Javier murmured telepathically to which Fridrik responded with Smart boy, making the couple and her siblings chuckle.

“That’s something I’m going to have to get use to,” Javier muttered to her as they moved down the few steps to the lawn where the minister, a family friend, waited under an arch of fall flowers. He’d expected the telepathic link to exist between her and him once they’d mated but had been surprised to learn it extended to her blood relations, even while in human form.

“You’ll adjust,” she whispered back with an amused smirk as they came to a stop between her bridesmaids and Axel and Kelan, who stood approvingly next to Javier.

The rest of her family and friends, those she’d grown up with who never left Leavenworth, and some friends of her fathers’ sat in rented folding chairs on the lawn.

The words of the minister seemed only background noise as she held Javier’s hand. They spoke the words of love, of commitment, and exchanged simple gold bands. And then, when the minister told Javier he could kiss his bride, her husband— husband, she thought, filled with giddiness—lifted her right off her feet and kissed her in a very, very inappropriate manner as applause echoed around them.

As Javier gently set her to her feet, he said, “I love you.”

Heidi grinned and pulled his head down so she could whisper in his ear. “I love you, too...daddy.”

He pulled back to blink at her, then grabbed her up again, swung her in a circle and shouted to the sky.

Laughing, Heidi clung to his neck as tears of happiness dampened her cheeks.

Her life was complete.

* * *

Looking for more sensual paranormal romance?

Check out these titles from Anna Leigh Keaton and Madison Layle’s Puma Nights series, available now!

Falke’s Peak Stressed-out ad exec Dakota wandered into Catamount Outfitters in search of a guide for a wilderness excursion. She didn’t expect to be greeted by not one, but five of the most ruggedly delicious-looking men she’d ever seen. Not to mention a live cougar guarding the shop.

Eldest brother Axel agrees to guide Dakota on her mountain trek. In cougar form, Axel’s twin, Gunnar, was there as a protection from predators—but he had his eye on the sexy client instead.

Falke’s Captive A graduate student working in animal genetics, Beth Coldwell is in town to track and tag big cats in the wild. Her prospects for the summer only improve when she meets Kelan and Reidar Falke and decides the sexy brothers are the right pair to fulfill her other, less than scientific, desires...

Kelan and Reidar cannot deny the powerful attraction they feel toward Beth. She might just be their destined mate. But if they reveal themselves to her, will she embrace who they are or see them as just another science experiment?

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About the Author

Anna Leigh Keaton has been reading and penning romances for as long as she can remember. After she met and married her very own real-life hero, romance took on a whole new meaning. She now knows married life can sizzle, and romance can be erotic—even in her own home.

Madison Layle avoided her childhood chores on the family farm by curling up with books and disappearing into other worlds of fantasy, adventure and romance. With maturity came the love of her own real-life hero (a.k.a. “my darling hubby”), and a real understanding of why her parents locked their bedroom door.

Madison and Anna Leigh write erotic romance both as a team and individually. They’ve consistently been on bestseller lists with their coauthored books, and have won numerous awards together including the 2009 EPPIE Award for Erotic Romance.

The pair first met online through a critique group, a meeting which sparked a strong friendship and a fun partnership. Together, their writing has taken on a spicier flavor, so while their hubbies are off at work, they let their imaginations soar...

Visit them anytime at either of their online haunts: www.PumaNights.com and www.LayleKeaton.com.

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Keep in touch with Carina Press: Read our blog: www.CarinaPress.com/blog Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CarinaPress Become a fan on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarinaPress ISBN: 978-14268-9538-8 Copyright © 2013 by Leanne Karella and Madison Layle All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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Content

Falke’s Renegade
Puma Nights - 3
By
Anna Leigh Keaton and Madison Layle

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

About the Author