She couldn’t even trust her own men.
Ava began to stride forward, toward the warm lights that glowed in the station. Julian turned and shoved his body against her.
No way.
She tried to walk around him. A snarl broke from him, and Ava stilled.
He saw the understanding on her face even as she shook her head and said, “No. You’re wrong, they’re not—”
The shift swept back over him. Brutal. Fast. The wolf left him with a wrenching burst of pain, and the man rose to stand before her. His hands curled around her arms, and he pulled her close. Since he was naked after the shift, her being close felt good. Better than good. Later. “They knew you were at the bar, didn’t they?”
She licked her lips. “Ken, he knew. He was with me just before—” She broke off and shook her head. “This is crazy. Those are my men, okay?”
“And they weren’t as careful as they should have been. Not this time.” He pushed her back into the shadows. “The jerks who ran us off the road were smart enough to use a scent blocker, but tonight, hell, I guess they figured I was far enough away that I wouldn’t even realize what was happening in town.”
But he hadn’t been able to stay away. Not when he knew that Ava was in danger. So he’d watched her. Stalked unnoticed through the shadows to make sure that she was safe.
And she’d nearly died.
If she’d been closer to that building… If he hadn’t covered her with his body…
The fire had torn the flesh from his back. He hadn’t let Ava see the damage. No point. He’d sucked up the pain, and gotten her clear of those flames. The shift had healed him, for the most part.
If the fire had gotten to her, Ava wouldn’t have been so lucky.
Two times. That made two damn times that someone had tried to kill her. Those assholes wouldn’t get a third shot at her.
“They set you up to die. They thought you were defenseless. Alone. And they just waited for you to burn.”
Her eyes were so big. So lost. “Those are my men. My team.”
She had traitors on her team.
“Cops and deputies have access to the blocking chemical, don’t they?” He knew they did. A special spray could cover them, for a little while.
And a little while would be all the time they needed.
She nodded.
“Deputies could also cross right into vampire territory without raising suspicion.” Cross in and burn those undead bastards with a fire just like the one that had taken out the bar tonight. A fire—a bomb.
Ava glanced back at her station.
“You haven’t reported in.” This was the delicate part. He narrowed his eyes and willed her to just trust him. “As far as those guys in there know, you didn’t make it out of that fire. You’re dead.”
Her breath rasped out. “And you want me to stay that way?”
Her death was the last thing he wanted. “I want you to stay with me. I want you to stay alive, until we can take these guys down.”
With the power of the blood moon coming, his pack could take out anyone dumb enough to get in their way.
But her gaze was returning to the station. “You’re sure the scent goes back…?”
Just then, the station door burst open. Two deputies ran out. He recognized them both instantly—the young guy, Ken Billings was shadowed by Tom McGee, a guy who’d been patrolling since before Ava ever signed on board.
They both froze when they caught sight of Ava and Julian. But after that shocked second, McGee reached for his gun.
As McGee’s finger tightened around the trigger, Julian shoved Ava to the side, making sure that bullet didn’t hit her. But more footsteps pounded out of that station. More bullets began to rain down on them, and he knew he had to get her out of there.
Julian grabbed Ava, kept right on dodging those bullets, and fled back through the night. The deputies would follow—let ‘em. He’d get Ava to a safety, and then he’d rip those traitors apart.
***
Ava paced the confines of the bedroom—Julian’s bedroom—and wondered how she could have been so blind. She’d worked with those men. Day in and day out. And never once realized that they were gunning for her.
The door squeaked behind her. Ava turned around to find Julian standing in the doorway. He’d brought her to wolf land, taken her into his house and into his pack. Protection, for now. The deputies would come, they’d keep hunting, but she and Julian would be ready for them.
Come and get us, assholes.
Julian had put on jeans, a pair of old, faded jeans that clung loosely to his hips. His stride was slow, stalking, as he headed for her.
“Wolves are stationed at all the entrances to the property. If those humans so much as think about coming on my land tonight, they’ll find a war waiting.”
She didn’t doubt it.
He kept closing in on her. “You’ll be safe here.”
Ah, now Ava knew he was lying. She’d never been safe with Julian. That was the problem. “Tell me about the mark.”
That didn’t stop him. A few more seconds, and he stood before her. His hand lifted, and his fingertips trailed over her neck. Right over the skin that still seemed to burn from a bite mark she’d never been able to see. “What mark?” His voice had deepened, and Ava recognized lust when she heard it.
The lust had always been there between them. Flaring between them, demanding release. She’d given in once, then realized too late just how high the price was for the pleasure that Julian could give to her.
The price was her heart. Her life.
He bent and his lips feathered over her throat. Her pulse raced faster beneath his mouth. Faster still, when his tongue slid over her skin.
Her eyes wanted to close, and she had to hold back the moan that rose in her throat. Ava’s hands lifted and curled around Julian’s broad shoulders. Not to push him away, but she should have. She should have.
“You’re like me.” That same dark voice whispered from him as his hand slid down the front of her shirt. Eased right down between her breasts. “You’ve got the same wildness inside, begging to be set free.”
That wildness had driven her away from home when she was eighteen. It had driven her to work for the government. To grow addicted to the adrenaline rush that came from the jobs they gave her. Hunting. Fighting.
Even killing.
You’re like me.
His truth scared her.
Julian’s fingers, warm, rough, slid under her shirt, and caressed her flesh. “Why did you run from me?” Those hands kept caressing, sliding down ever lower.
“You knew I couldn’t…” In a flash, he’d undone the snap of her pants. Shifters move so fast. She swallowed and said, “You knew we couldn’t keep seeing each other. Not with me being the one who—”
“Kept the paranormals on their leashes?” Now his voice roughened. “You realized what I was from the first moment, and that didn’t stop you from screwing me.”
No, it hadn’t. Her fingers curled around his wrist and stilled his hand. She’d known he was angry with her. Most guys probably would have been happy with a night of no-strings sex.
Julian was far from most guys.
“That night…” She drew in a breath. Confession time. “I thought I was just in Crossroads to train the local officers. A few weeks, then I’d walk away.” So she’d let down her guard—just once—and she’d taken what she wanted.
His eyes, so bright and swirling with emotion, held hers.
“I got the call at 5 a.m. that morning. My boss had new orders. They wanted me to start running things because they were worried the paranormals weren’t being treated fairly down here.” Looked like they’d been spot-on with their worries. The deputies had just been biding their time, waiting for the perfect moment to attack.
A moment right before the blood moon.
“When I agreed to become sheriff, I knew I couldn’t stay with you.” Talk about conflict of interest. How was she supposed t
o mediate between the wolves and vampires if she was sleeping with the werewolf alpha? Ava forced her gaze to hold his. “So I walked away.”
His eyes seemed to harden. “You didn’t walk. You ran because you were scared of me.”
“No, I—”
He kissed her. Not easy. Not soft. Werewolves didn’t mate that way. The kiss was as wild as he was. Hungry. Hot. Lips met. Tongues touched, and the need that was always between them ignited.
There was no reason to hold back any longer. Her allegiance—there was no allegiance any longer. Her deputies wanted her dead. The vampires were all gone to ash.
There was only Julian. Only the hunger. The need.
For just a few moments, she wanted to forget the death that stalked her in Crossroads. She wanted him.
Pleasure. Life.
They moved in a blur of limbs, stripping, backing toward the bed. In seconds, they were flesh to flesh. Bodies eager. The back of her knees hit the mattress, and Ava slipped onto his bed. Julian came down on top of her. She reached for him, and her nails scored his flesh.
Wolves enjoyed a little roughness. Good. So did she.
His touch was hard, so hungry, and he had her gasping as she rose to meet him. He licked her breasts, sucked her nipples, even as his fingers slipped between her legs.
Julian knew exactly how to touch her. Only one night, but he knew. The first orgasm hit her, caught her totally off-guard, and she could only choke out his name. It was a fast pop of pleasure, a taste of what would come.
His fingers thrust into her. Her hips arched because she wanted so much more.
Everything.
And she’d have it.
Her legs parted more for him even as she arched up and kissed his chest. Such a strong chest. Rippling with muscles and power.
“Ava.”
He positioned his hips between her spread thighs. His gaze glittered, a combination of man and beast staring back at her from those bright blue eyes. His hands rose, gripped hers, and held on as he thrust.
He filled her in one drive, and it was even better than she remembered. The bed squeaked beneath them. The rhythm became faster. Even harder.
Her legs wrapped around him. His lips took hers as he thrust. So good. She could only feel now, no more thinking. Feel him. Power. Man. Pleasure.
He kissed her cheek. Licked the curve of her ear. His mouth moved down her neck, hitting all the sweet spots that made her moan and twist beneath him.
His thrusts sent tremors of pleasure spiking through her. Ava’s release was so close. Just out of reach.
“No running this time.” His teeth raked over her throat. Not a bite, just a rough rasp that had her desire surging even more.
“Not one night.” Anger whispered in his words, but his thrusts never slowed. “Forever.”
He bit her as the climax poured over her, burning through her, consuming her.
And Julian was with her. His body tensed, then shuddered against her, and she held him as tight as she could, almost as fiercely as he held her.
She fought to catch her breath as the pleasure slowly faded. The thunder of Ava’s heartbeat filled her ears. So fast and desperate. Julian rose above her, his eyes too bright in the darkness.
“There’ll be no running away this time.” His voice was deep, an animal’s rumble.
“I’m not planning on running.” Her voice came out husky. “Not from you, not from those jerks out there.”
He was still in her. Getting stronger, harder, by the second.
“I want forever.”
His words made her breath lodge in her throat. Forever with a werewolf. That could be a very long, long time. Werewolves, unless they were put down by silver, could live hundreds of years.
His hand slid down her throat. “But I’ll start with right now.”
The breath she’d held slipped from her lips. Now sounded good. Better than good.
Even though now was a blood-soaked moment in time. Killers after them, betrayed by her own unit.
“I watched you for all these months. I waited for you to come back to me.”
Now the words that he spoke held a ragged edge, and they made her ache. She’d watched him, too. Waited, wished for a different life. A different end, for them.
“I’m not going to let anyone take you away from me now.”
She wasn’t about to let those traitors take her out. Not now, not when she’d just realized that a werewolf might just hold her heart in his claw-tipped hands.
Chapter Five
It was the screams that woke her on the morning of Halloween. No, not screams. Sirens—coming closer.
Sirens and the thunder of gunfire.
Ava’s eyes flew open.
They were coming.
She shoved up in the bed and realized that Julian wasn’t with her. The spot beside her was cold to the touch. Just how long had the wolf been gone?
With his hearing, he would have heard those cars coming from far away, even without the snarl of those sirens. So why the hell hadn’t he woken her up?
Ava grabbed her clothes and dressed as quickly as she could. She sprang for the door.
Locked.
Blinking, she twisted the knob. Nothing. She pounded against the door. “Julian! Dammit, Julian, open the door!”
No response.
She ran to the window. Shoved aside the curtains. Second floor. No nice cushion below for her. If she hit the ground wrong, she’d break a leg. At the very least.
Damn him.
Did he really think he was going to leave her behind when the danger came? She wasn’t that kind of girl.
Her gun was on the nightstand. She grabbed it. Checked her clip. Locked and loaded. This wasn’t a fight that Ava planned to sit out. It was her battle, her town.
And cars were screeching to a stop outside. Crap. If she jumped out that window now, she’d make a perfect freaking target as she fell.
So Ava crouched low and made sure no one had a body to aim at as she risked a glimpse out that window.
“Sheriff!” It was Ken’s desperate yell. Two patrol cars were out there. Only two? Where were the rest of them? “Sheriff, we’re here to help you!” he shouted.
Uh, help her? How? By giving her a fast pass to a fiery hell?
“The wolves are gone. We lured them away.”
Her fingers tightened around the gun.
“Come out, Sheriff, it’s safe now!” Ken sounded desperate. “That bastard alpha is gonna kill you if you don’t escape now!”
She risked another glance out the window. Ken’s face was white. His gun trembled in his hand, and the deputies behind him were glancing back over their shoulders. She could practically smell their fear.
They should be afraid. They’d come into wolf territory, and they might not get out alive.
“They set the fire at the bar! They wanted you to burn.”
No, Julian had saved her then. Without him, she would have died.
“That alpha…Sheriff, he’s been following you for months. We got a tip from one of his men—he’s planning to make you like them! The alpha’s gonna force the change on you as soon as the blood moon rises.” Fear thickened Ken’s voice. “Please, I know you’re up there. Come with us.”
Ava didn’t move. Where are you, Julian? Her position was good. The deputies didn’t have a solid shot at her as long as she stayed down. “Is there a reason,” she called out, keeping her voice flat and holding all the emotion back with an iron chain, “why you and the boys tried to kill me back at the station?”
“Not you!” Was Ken’s immediate denial. “Him! Julian Kasey! He’s gone rogue. He killed the vamps, he killed the reporter, and the other humans who were dumb enough to come onto his land.”
Dumb…like the deputies were being dumb then? To just race right up to the werewolf compound…like lambs to a slaughter.
“We all know he’s…been with you.” Ken’s voice faded a bit. “The vamps could see the mark he left on you. One of ‘em told Vi
ki Thomas—”
Viki Thomas, the first victim they’d found slaughtered and staked out right between vampire and werewolf land.
“Word got back to me,” Ken said. Strange, the guy was sounding less afraid and more too-damn-confident. “I knew you wouldn’t believe anything I had to say about the wolves turning bad, not when—”
Not when you were screwing the alpha. Yeah, she could finish the guy’s sentence for him.
“But with the blood moon coming, there was no time to waste! I had to get the others ready to fight.”
The others…the other deputies that Ken must have brought over to his side. The others in town who’d been all too willing to believe that the big, bad wolves were killers who had to be put down.
How many folks from Crossroads were helping him? How many believed this crap he was trying to sell her?
“Come to me!” Ken cried out.
Really? This was the kid who’d vomited at the Powell crime scene? The guy was a good actor, she’d give him that. He must have shoved his finger down his throat at that scene. Must have made himself sick when she hadn’t been looking because Ava would lay odds he’d been involved in that brutal kill.
“I can save you!” he promised her.
Ava laughed. “Funny thing there, Ken…I don’t want to be saved.”
Silence.
Then…gunfire. One shot. Two. Three.
Ava risked another glance just in time to see three of her deputies—Jonathan, Lyle, and Pat—hit the ground. Ken, with his gun still up and aimed, glanced to her window.
“Hope you’re happy,” he snarled at her. “Cause you just blew the whole fuckin’ bit about us being here to rescue you.”
Pat’s arm was trembling. Still alive. Oh, jeez, all the deputies hadn’t turned against her. They’d bought into Ken’s lies but—
Ken brought his arm around and fired up at her.
Ava slammed onto the floor even as glass shattered from the window pane. The glass cut into her, drawing blood, and that just pissed her off.
Ava rolled, knocked off the glass, and brought her own weapon up. She looked down for Ken.
Gone.
In the distance, wolves were howling. Whatever distraction Ken had planned, well, looked like it was over and the cavalry was coming home.