Dark Fates (A Paranormal Anthology)(71)

Cam returned her hug. “It’s true.” She released Cora. “Now go before your male grows more impatient.”

Feeling a little less anxious, Cora turned and met Torin halfway. “Hi.”

He kissed her on the cheek and took her hand. “Morning. Did you eat?”

“Yes. Cam and I ate with the kids.”

“Good. Are you ready to go meet your team?”

Excitement and anxiety swirled the butterflies in her belly, but she took a deep breath and nodded. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Come on then. I have to run into town for Alec first.”

“Sounds great.” She drew in a deep breath and released it as she followed him to his truck. This was going to be one long day.

****

Torin white-knuckled the steering wheel as he pulled into the main entrance of Ashwood. Cora’s lily scent filled his truck, driving him and his wolf insane. It didn’t help since she barely said a word the whole trip into town and back. Instead, she had her attention focused on her tablet.

“Alec is really impressed with your design ideas.”

“Really?”

He shook his head. He brought up their task, and she paid attention. Okay, he could work with that.

“Yep. It’s all he talked about this morning with your team. I tuned most of it out because it started to sound like a foreign language.”

She laughed, soft and song-like. “I guess it could be to someone not familiar with it.” She turned off her tablet and closed the cover. “I’m sorry. I’ve been a terrible companion this morning.”

He relaxed. He reached over and squeezed her hand. “I know you’ll be great.”

She turned to peer out the window to hide the fact she was blushing. “Thank you.”

Releasing her hand, he pulled into the gravel parking lot next to the office complex. He hopped out of the truck and took a deep breath, trying to clear her from his senses. She needed space. She needed to be able to come to him on her terms. Damn. What had already been hard now seemed impossible.

So, he would give her twenty-four hours. One day where he wouldn’t be breathing down her neck and pushing her wolf further into submission.

He walked around to the passenger side and opened her door. She smiled and hopped down, avoiding his attempt to assist her. He suppressed a growl and followed her inside the building. She’s nervous.

Before he opened the door to the security room, he studied her. She clutched the tablet to her chest and scanned her surroundings. He’d noticed she performed the same perimeter search every time she left the comfort of her friends.

He traced her jaw with a finger, and she jumped slightly. “Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

There was a tremor in her voice as she responded, but he didn’t tease her about. Instead, he opened the door and gestured for her to enter ahead of him.

The first thing he noticed inside the room was how relaxed the atmosphere felt and how comfortable everyone appeared. Alec, Tanner, and Ana huddled in front of the computer monitors while Robyn and Gina sat at a small round table a few feet away, drinking tea.

Robyn met his stare. “Gina still gets tense around the enforcers so I made her a charm to relax everyone around her.”

Torin studied the mutant Hayden and Christa found hiding out in Hunter Ridge. The female was more human-like than other mutants. Since arriving to the Pack, she’d had her excess body hair removed to fit in better. Unfortunately, no magic could fix her cat-like snout or the fangs sticking out of her top lip. A result of the serum Felix used to turn humans into mutants.

Although Felix had made a mistake with Gina. She carried two strands of shifter DNA in her bloodline. She was currently working with the Healer from the Birchwood Pack—a wolf Pack that had recently formed an alliance with Ashwood. Sven wasn’t only a Healer by birth, the wolf was also a genius in medicine and genetics.

“Hello, Gina. How are you?” Torin watched the female look at the floor.

“I’m well. Thank you.”

Cora glanced at him, eyes narrowed slightly, then walked over to Gina, holding her hand out. “Hi. I’m Cora.”

Gina glanced from Cora to Ana as if unsure. Ana gave the female a warm smile and moved to stand next to her. After a brief hesitation, Gina took Cora’s hand. Cora stiffened at first, but relaxed as Ana spoke.

“I’m Ana, but I guess you know that. Gina is an example of what happens when a shifter’s animal is trapped or suppressed. She’s stuck in mid-shift, neither fully human nor cat. She is unsure about everything, but takes direction well.” Ana nudged Gina playfully. “Plus she can kick ass when she needs to.”

Gina smiled shyly and shook her head. Then Cora did something unexpected. She wrapped the mutant into a tight hug and whispered something Torin couldn’t hear from where he stood. Whatever it was made Ana snap her gaze to his, and a tear slid down Gina’s cheek as she returned Cora’s hug.

What the hell?

Your female can’t shift. Ana’s voice filled his mind. Apparently reuniting with her father and joining the sentries allowed her to communicate telepathically with the rest of them. Something only the Alphas, enforcers, and sentries could do thanks to their bond with Keegan.

Why not?

Her wolf is dying.





Chapter Four