Ever After (22 page)

However, today she received a package that made her wonder if her mate was indeed murdered. She opened the mailbox and frowned at the small box inside. Pulling it out, she studied it, suspicion twirling inside or mind. She put the thing to her ear and listened. She didn’t know what she’d expect to hear. A ticking from a bomb? Now she was being ridiculous. She rolled her eyes. “Ever so suspicious,” she muttered to herself.

There was no return address, nor was there a receiving one. That was odd. It was like someone had placed it in the mailbox. She didn’t hear any vehicles stop or even slow down in front of her house last night or this morning except for the mailman a few minutes ago. With her supernatural hearing, she’d heard a car pull up. Even her puma would had sensed another shifter in the area. Yet her senses didn’t go off.

Another mystery about the box in her hand.

The only writing on the top of the box was her name, hand-written.

Curiosity crept in, and after a quick sniff to make sure there weren’t any non-ticking explosives inside, she opened the box. Cold sensation went up her spine, and a hot fear burned her belly as she peered at the contents. Tears blurred her visions, and each heartbeat hurt as the wound that had slowly healed over the years was ripped back open. Inside the box was a gold wedding band with the words
my love, my soul
engraved on the inside. It was identical to Walt’s.

The ring he’d said he lost while working.

Underneath the ring was a slip of paper that read:
You’re next
.

Unable to go back into the house she and Walt had bought together, lived in, raised Nevan, and filled with their love, she ran into the woods, seeking some kind of peace. The tears fell in fat drops, soaking her cheeks and making it even harder to breathe.

She came to a stop at a large oak tree and dropped to her knees while she cradled the ring to her chest. The raw pain transformed into anger toward the sick bastards that could have done it. Whoever they were.

She peered back at the note. The two ugly words blurred as a tear dropped on them. Did this mean that Walt had been killed? If so, why? What would be the point of killing her? She didn’t have any enemies that she knew of anyway. And Walt…he was the most gentle and caring male she knew.

The sound of footsteps running in her direction made her stand and shove the note and ring into her pocket as her cat instantly went on alert. She scented the air and was relieved when she didn’t smell the acidy sweet smell of the Onyx Pack’s mutants. The half-animal, half-human creatures were not only gross; they were more powerful than she was.

The scent she did pick up belonged to a human, but there was another scent she couldn’t place, though it seemed familiar. The pounding of shoes hitting the earth grew closer, and she ducked behind the tree, unsure of what the human was doing in this part of the Smoky Mountains.

A human male ran past the tree, turned to look right at her as if he knew all along she was there, and pointed a gun right at her. Sarah gasped and fell to the ground a split second before he fired. Scrambling on hands and knees, she crawled around the tree and froze as another man barreled past her toward the human. The new man wasn’t a man, but a male puma shifter.

And she knew him.

Damian Palmer.

No, not possible. Damian had been in the car with Walt at the time of the accident. He’d died right along with his best friend. She’d seen his body, damn it.

She slowly moved so she could peek around the oak. The puma had the human pinned to the ground with one hand around his throat, trying to take the gun with the other. The human pulled a knife from his boot and, before Sarah could warn Damian, stuck him in the side. It gave the human enough leverage to knock the shifter off him.

The human turned, and Sarah didn’t waste time to see what he would do. She just reacted and ran into his back, knocking him off balance. It also knocked her off balance, and she tumbled to the ground. She started to push herself up but froze at the sight of the human’s shadow falling over her.

Shaking, she peered up and into the barrel of the gun.

She braced herself, knowing this was it. Her only thought was of her kids and grandkids. It had been a few days since she’d talked to them. A tear fell down her cheek, and the human paused as if confused. Then Damian tackled him to the ground. They rolled on the ground, fists pounding into each other as they fought for control of the gun until a shot went off, echoing through the forest.

Damian went limp, and the human pushed him off. Sarah stifled a cry and swallowed. She wanted to go to Damian, see if he was okay. He was a shifter, and as long as it wasn’t a shot to the heart, he’d live. Sarah hoped. Her heart broke all over again.

Sorrow, anger, and adrenaline rushed through her, and she charged the human man. The surprise on his face told her he’d underestimated her. Ha! That was his mistake. Even submissive shifters were stronger than humans. She was no submissive; she was a maternal female. She protected those she cared about. Even though she was pissed as hell at Damian for making her believe he was dead for the last five years, she’d protect him any way she could.

He had been her best friend once.

But she’d deal with Damian later. Right now, she had a human to disarm.

She hit him full force, and they fell to the ground. He punched out, catching her in side. Pain shot through her ribs, but it only fueled her anger and her inner puma’s rage even more. She growled and allowed her fangs to drop. The human paled, and she breathed in the fear rolling off him.

With quick and efficient movements, she grabbed his head in both her hands and twisted. The man went limp under her.

She rushed over to Damian and knelt down beside him. His breathing was labored, but he was awake. He met her gaze with hazel eyes, and something deep inside her stirred. Heat twirled in her abdomen and headed south. She shook off the strange reaction to the male she’d buried with her mate and offered a weak smile. “I don’t have to tell you how pissed I am at you.”

He coughed then winced as if in pain. She peered down at his chest, and her heart stuttered a couple of beats. His shirt was soaked in blood. He lifted his hand and touched her cheek with the tips of his fingers. She grabbed his hand and squeezed.

“I’m going to have to move you. I need to get you back to the house so I can call a Healer.” He didn’t answered, and his eyes started to close. “Damian. Stay with me. Do you hear me?”

She tapped his cheek, and he opened his eyes. “I’m —”

He coughed again, and she shook her head and lifted him to a sitting position so she could get her shoulder under his arm. Damian was a good seven inches taller than she and weighed over two hundred pounds, most of it muscle. So she needed him conscious if they were to make it to her house. Even with her added strength from being a shifter, she wouldn’t be able to carry the male on her own.

It took about twenty slow minutes to reach her cabin. Once inside, she directed him to the bedroom and helped him lie down. As soon as his head touched the pillow, he passed out. With a sigh and a heavy heart, she picked up her cell phone from the nightstand where she left it earlier and called Danica Welsh-Mathews, her daughter-in-law and the Ashwood Falls’ leopard Healer.

****

Damian opened his eyes and cautiously looked around the room, not sure where the hell he was. The room held a warmth to it.  The single window was covered with red and gold curtains. The walls were a soft cream color. The whole room reminded him of something. No, someone. Then memories of the fight with the rebel human and Sarah…

Fuck.

He’d come here to protect her. Instead he gotten his ass shot, and she’d ended up protecting him. Way to go, Damian.

You’re such an ass
.

He sat up and sucked in a sharp breath as pain shot across his ribs. Peering down at his chest, he frowned and touched the red spot just below his heart. He let out a sigh and pushed to a stand, slower this time. He should consider himself lucky that Sarah had been there and the bullet hadn’t hit his heart. By the look of the healing wound, Sarah must had called a Healer, but from where?

As he got closer to the door, he heard voices coming from the living room. They were speaking low, but Damian could sense the tension in each syllable. A few of the voices were male and made Damian’s puma growl and claw at him from under his skin. Opening the door, he took slow steps down the hall and stopped at the sight of Sarah sitting on the arm of a recliner with her arms crossed over her chest. Her blond hair fell around her shoulders in soft waves, framing her slightly rounded face. A face that held a mother’s scowl, which did nothing to take away from her beauty.

Following her line of sight, Damian saw one of her sons, Graham, sitting on the couch, head in his hands.

Graham let out a sigh and said, “Mom, please. It is much safer for you at Ashwood. Plus you’ll be closer to Nev and me and the kids.”

Sarah snorted in an unamused way that made Damian smile. She was so beautiful. “You mean so you can keep an eye on me.”

Graham sat back on the couch and shrugged. “We can’t help it that we love you and want you safe.”

Nevan stepped out of the kitchen with a very attractive redheaded leopard shifter by his side and stopped to stand next to his stepmother. The female leopard wrapped her arms around Nevan from behind and rested her chin on his shoulder.

The love that radiated from the couple caused a dull ache in Damian’s chest. Too long he’d watched Walt and Sarah share the same love, the same connection. He’d been happy for them. They were his best friends, but it hurt to be around them because Sarah was also his potential mate.

“I’m not leaving my home, and that’s final.”

Sarah’s stern outburst brought Damian out of his thoughts and drew his attention to the only female he’d ever loved. Shaking his head to clear the fog caused by blood loss, he stepped into the living room and said, “I’ll have to agree with your sons.”

Everyone in the room turned to him. Now that he was fully inside the living room instead of hiding in the hallway, he saw the other two shifters in the room. A male and female stood with their shoulders touching next to the patio door. Both of them glared at him.

Whatever. They could send their accusing gazes to him all they wanted. Damian was here to make sure the human rebels got nowhere close to Sarah.

Graham stood from the sofa and turned to face him. Shock, confusion, and anger mixed into his expression and his scent. But it was Nevan who walked toward him with his hands fisted by his side. The human male stopped a foot from Damian and said, “Why are you alive?”

Damian didn’t flinch at the venom in the male’s voice. In fact Damian deserved everything Nevan threw at him, even his fist. Nevan had a right to be angry. They all did.

“I ask myself that question every day,” Damian replied, much too tired to spar with his best friend’s son. The thing was Damian didn’t have any answers, at least none Nevan wanted to hear right now. He looked at Sarah and locked gazes with her. “Your life is in danger.”

Sarah’s expression didn’t change as she said, “For all I know, the human I killed was after you and not me.”

It was a lie. He knew it, but not by her scent. No, her scent didn’t change. He knew by the way her left eye twitched in that subtle way it did when she was nervous and hiding her feelings from her boys. That only confirmed to him that she already knew she was a target, but how?

Sarah let out a low growl and addressed her sons and their mates. “Please leave us.”

The male standing behind Graham who Damian didn’t recognize moved forward to stand in front of Sarah. There was a power surrounding the male that Damian could only describe as an Alpha’s power. The male held out his hand to Sarah and said, “You are always welcome to Ashwood. Just say the word, and I can have a place set up for you. Hell, you’re welcome to stay with us.” The male looked back at Graham and the female before continuing. “Or even with Nevan and Dani.”

Sarah eased her shoulders and placed her hands in his. “I know, Blaine. I’m just not ready yet.”

Blaine nodded and tugged Sarah into a hug. Damian had to force his feet to stay planted in place. Jealousy rushed through him, making his cat pace within.

Sarah was the first to pull out of the hug, and her gaze met Damian’s for a brief moment as if she sensed his mood shift. “I’ll be fine. Damian won’t hurt me, and I’m not alone now.” When no one moved, she rolled her eyes. “I promise to call if things change. Please.”

Blaine nodded. “I’ll send some sentries over to guard the property.”

That made everyone but Damian, and Sarah by the way she pursed her lips, a little happier. They said their goodbyes and left Damian alone with Sarah and her pissed-off stare.

Chapter Two

Sarah stared hard at Damian. A cyclone of emotions spiraled inside her. She was happy that he was alive, hurt that he was alive and never bothered to tell her, and pissed that he could know who was behind the sick message in her mailbox.

“Start talking.”

His shoulders dropped, and he moved to sit on the sofa. “Your life really is in danger.”

She stood and repositioned herself to sit in the recliner. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

He lifted his gaze to hers. “The human you killed was a member of a human rebel group called Shield. Their main purpose is to hunt down shifters and kill them.”

She looked away, breaking the visual hold he had on her. This was all too much. She should just go to Ashwood as Graham and Nevan wanted. But she didn’t want to leave her home. The home she’d made with her mate was the only part of him she had left.

Her heart ached at the thought. She wasn’t ready to leave that part of her life.

Was she?

Her boys were grown and off living their lives. Cale, her oldest, was mated to the only daughter of the Crimson Stone Alpha couple. Monica was a wonderful mate to Cale and a loving mother to their twins, Kara and Kyla.