Chapter Five
By the time Dawn got home that evening, she was exhausted — from the sun, from hours of going over security plans and endless calls, and most of all, from the strain of having to work beside Hunter all day.
His dark, sorrowful eyes made her heart weep. His gravelly voice reached into the depths of her soul and stirred embers she’d thought long extinct. The few times they’d brushed up against each other, a thousand sensual sparks flared through her nerves. But each time, they had skittered apart, and the brief exchanges they’d had were strictly business. If he called her Officer Meli one more time, she’d scream.
Of course, she had only herself to blame, because Hunter had been the reserved gentleman he always was, while she had forced herself to don her toughest mental armor and give him the cold shoulder all day. She had to if she was going to resist the pull that kept drawing her in. Whatever form of black magic gave Hunter the ability to change into a bear must have affected her, too, and she had to resist before it pulled her over to the dark side.
“Long day?” Lily Takeo, her landlord, called from the porch of her tidy cottage set high in the hills.
Dawn nodded. A long day of heat pooling deep in her body and a primal hunger in her bones. Just being around Hunter made her feel like a cat in heat.
The irony made her want to tear her hair out. The only man her body yearned for was a well-concealed beast.
“Long day,” she echoed, stepping slowly toward the tiny guest house around the back. Her home. Her escape pod. Her illusionary corner of the universe where she could feel totally in control.
Which was probably part of her problem with Hunter — around him, she always wanted to throw caution to the wind. To feel wild and free.
She frowned. The one time she’d tried wild and free… Suffice it to say, it hadn’t ended well.
“Any word from that beau of yours?” Lily asked.
Dawn bit her lip. Up until she’d discovered the truth about Hunter, she’d been slowly trying to work up her nerve to ask him out. She hadn’t told Lily about Hunter being a bear because she’d promised not to divulge his secret. And even if she hadn’t promised, how would she explain something as impossible as that?
I can’t ask out the man I’ve been crushing on for the past fifteen years. What if he changes into a grizzly again?
Knowing Lily — sweet, kindhearted Lily, who must have been a heck of a flirt in her day — she would completely dismiss that minor detail with a wave of her hands. Such a nice young man. Dawn could picture Lily leaning in with a naughty smile. And such big hands. You know what they say about big hands, right?
Dawn snorted at her own train of thought. What would Lily say about bear paws?
“I told you, Lily. I decided I’m not ready.” There. Cheap excuse. That ought to work.
But not with Lily. “Sweetheart, it’s time you put the past behind you. Not all men are animals.”
Dawn barely held back her reply. This one is. Literally.
“A beautiful woman like you…” Lily started.
Dawn crinkled her nose. That was the problem. She attracted men for all the wrong reasons. No one saw her for who she really was.
Except Hunter, said the little voice in the back of her mind.
She picked up her pace, ready to hide away in her own four walls when Lily changed the subject. “I bet you don’t feel like cooking tonight.”
Dawn let her shoulders slump. No, she didn’t.
“Well, you’re in luck. You know that cooking class I’m taking?”
No, but it figured. Lily was the busiest widow in the state of Hawaii, it seemed. The woman signed up for every course and every volunteer job on West Maui. Mornings at the animal shelter, weekends at the horticultural society, evenings in the library. Lily was always on the go, always spreading her own brand of Hawaiian sunshine and good cheer.
“I’ve met the loveliest woman at my cooking class, and she’s invited me to dinner — me and a friend. And you’re the friend.” Lily winked. “She’s writing a cookbook and needs us to try out her recipes.”
“If she’s writing a cookbook, why is she taking a class?”
Lily waved her favorite fan — the one with a Chinese dragon facing off with a tiger. “It’s a traditional Hawaiian cooking class, and she’s from the mainland. From Nevada, I think. Or was it Arizona?” Lily shrugged. “Some such place where nothing grows. No wonder she moved to Maui. Anyway, she’s the best cook in the class. Whatever she makes, it’s bound to be delicious.”
Dinner did sound tempting, and not just for the meal. Dawn had to get her mind off Hunter and the constant back-and-forth in her mind. Could she trust him? Couldn’t she?
“I’ll drive,” Lily added. “All you have to do is kick back and relax. Now get out of that frumpy uniform and put on something nice.”
Dawn stuck her hands on her hips. “Frumpy?” It was her police uniform, and she was proud of it.
“Frumpy.” Lily gave a firm nod. “Now, shoo. We leave in fifteen minutes.”
It took Dawn more like twenty to shower and change into a strappy pink sundress plus a shrug the color of her eyes and her favorite pair of dressy sandals. The perfect way to turn off her inner cop and just be her — or to try, anyway.
It was dark by the time she stepped into Lily’s aging Toyota, and the stars were bright overhead. She leaned back in the passenger seat, angling her head to watch the scenery slip by, breathing in the crisp night air. God, she loved Maui.
Lily chatted away about this and that, driving at a ponderous twenty-five miles per hour. Twenty minutes later, she negotiated another curve of the Honoapi’ilani Highway and put the left blinker on to pull onto a dim private road. “Nearly there.”
Dawn blinked herself back into focus and slowly sat upright. Wait. What were they doing out here?
Lily hummed as she came to a halt before an imposing gate with a swirling pattern worked into the ironwood.
Dawn’s eyes went wide. “Whoa. What are we doing at Koa Point?”
“Going to dinner, sweetheart,” Lily purred, reaching out the window to jab at random buttons on the intercom. “Hello?” she bellowed. “Hello?”
Sweat broke out on Dawn’s forehead. “Lily—”
“Shush, sweetie. I have to listen to this contraption. Hello? Anyone there? It’s me.”
Good old Lily, booming like she owned the place while Dawn clutched her seatbelt.
“This can’t be right. This is a mistake.”
Hunter lived at Koa Point Estate. She couldn’t be going to dinner there.
Lily patted her hand. “I’m sure it’s the right place.”
“Hello, Lily.” A woman’s voice came over the intercom. “Come on in. We’ll meet you at the garage.”
We? Dawn wanted to scream. How many shifters lay in wait on the other side of that fence?
The gate slid sideways, and Lily drove in. Dawn looked back and gulped as the gate slid shut behind them. “Lily—” This place is full of shifters, she wanted to say. Men who can change into animals at the drop of a dime and rip each other’s throats out.
“Oh, hush, sweetheart. This is going to be great.”
Dawn wanted to melt into her seat. Better yet, to slip on the boxing gloves she kept at the gym. But Lily just murmured happily as she looked around.
“My, isn’t this nice?”
Well, of course the seaside estate was nice. Dawn had visited the property once, two years earlier, before it changed hands in a multimillion-dollar deal that had most of Maui gossiping for weeks. She knew exactly how nice the place was. But the fact that Hunter lived there…
An owl hooted from the trees. Usually, the sound put her at ease. Tonight, however…
“Lovely,” Lily exclaimed at the curving hedges dotted with hibiscus and heliconia.
A willowy figure with red hair pulled into a bun waved to Lily and hugged her the moment she stepped out of the car. “I’m so glad you could make it.”
“Dawn,” Lily called, looking around. Her voice dropped the second time she called Dawn’s name — not quite an order, but close. “Come along, Dawn, and meet my friend Tessa.”
Dawn dragged herself out of the car and pasted on a smile. Her eyes darted left and right, the officer in her on high alert.
“So nice to meet you,” Tessa said, shaking her hand.
Dawn had seen the woman in passing but had never been introduced. She studied Tessa closely but couldn’t find any sign of fur or fangs. But then again, she never would have guessed Hunter was a bear. Was this woman a bear, too? Or maybe a wolf, like Boone?
“Nice to meet you, too.”
Tessa led them down a path lit with tiki torches that made shadows flicker and dance. Crickets chirped, and palm fronds swished overhead. All in all, a beautiful, peaceful scene. But Dawn’s hand twitched at her hip, and she wished she still had a weapon strapped at her side. Of course, a gun wouldn’t help, she remembered a moment later. The attacking wolf Hunter had saved her from hadn’t flinched from a bullet at close range. She shivered despite the warm air and held her breath, ready for trouble from any direction.
Hunter saved you. Operative word: saved, the little voice in her mind cried.
Still, she walked along, expecting an ambush at any turn. Night had a way of turning every shadow and sound into danger, and her nerves stretched thin.
Lily, on the other hand, danced along at her usual flowing gait. Her flower-patterned muumuu swung around her body, and she gestured this way and that. “Such lovely bougainvillea. And look at that hibiscus.” She broke off a flower and tucked it behind her ear, the picture of island gaiety.
Dawn followed with hunched shoulders and stiff hands, ready to defend herself and Lily. But trouble never came, not even several twists of the path later when Tessa waved toward a beautiful open-sided hale, thatched in traditional Hawaiian meeting house style. A line of torches lit the last steps to the open-sided building, and a tall man stepped from the shadows.
Dawn hesitated, but it wasn’t Hunter. This man was taller but nowhere near as broad.
“This is Kai,” Tessa said. Her whole face lit up as she pressed into his side and patted his chest.
“Hi,” he said, reaching out with a friendly handshake. No flash of teeth or clack of hungry fangs. No hungry looks, no red glow to his eyes. Still, Dawn remained on guard.
“Aloha,” Lily purred and patted his arm. Then she winked at Tessa as if to say, I know he’s yours, but just let me dream a while, all right?
Tessa laughed out loud, giving Lily the green light to flirt to her heart’s content.
Kai hid a grin and nodded at Dawn. “We know each other from school. Seems like light-years away, huh?”
“Sure does,” she murmured. Hunter had grown up not too far from her on the Hana side of Maui — Hunter and a couple of other kids in a foster home run by an eccentric old woman named Georgia Mae. Kai was a year or two older, and a shy girl named Ella had lived there, too. Like Hunter, Kai had certainly filled out since his high school days. Their once-thin chests and arms were now thick with muscle, their torsos extending in a perfect V from the hips. She’d seen Kai around more recently, though she’d never suspected he was a shifter. What kind was he?
“This is Boone,” Tessa continued as yet another big, muscled man stepped into the light.
Dawn took a deep breath. Boone had been there the day it happened — the day of the fight that had revealed to her what these men really were. Boone had confessed to being a wolf. Cruz, he’d explained, was a tiger. Dawn looked around, thankful Cruz wasn’t around.
Lily unfolded her fan with a sassy snap and fluttered her eyelashes. “Why, hello, Boone,” she breathed, stretching out the vowels.
“Hi.” He grinned.
Lily fanned herself faster.
“I’m Nina.” A pretty brunette shook hands with Lily, wearing a smile as genuine and friendly as Dawn had ever seen. Nina had been the one to beg Dawn to give Hunter and the others a chance to explain themselves.
I don’t understand it all either, Nina had said that day they’d stood among the carnage of a shifter fight. But one thing is clear to me, and I know it has to be clear to you. These aren’t the bad guys, Officer. Please, let’s hear them out.
Dawn had hesitated, but yes. She had heard them out. But she was still reeling from what they had said.
“We’re just waiting for one more person,” Tessa said, looking around. “Oh, there you are, Hunter,” she said casually as Kai half dragged him out of the shadows with a firm grip.
Dawn’s heart thumped. Her knees wobbled. Her fingers flexed. Then she pulled herself to her full five-foot-seven height and forced herself to reply. Damn it, she was Officer Dawn Meli of the Maui police. She was not going to be a victim of her own fears.
“Hello, Hunter,” she murmured.
“Oh, you know each other?” Lily exclaimed, looking pleased as punch.
Dawn shot the older woman a suspicious look.
Hunter appeared as shell-shocked as Dawn felt. When he took her hand, his lips shaped her name, but no sound came out. He cleared his throat loudly then turned to Lily with a quiet, “Pleased to meet you.”
Dawn pursed her lips. For all that Hunter had grown into a big, tough hulk of a man, he still had moments when the shy, gangly kid of the past came through.
Good old Hunter, a little voice in her mind sighed.
She held back an inner snort. If only good old Hunter wasn’t a bear.
“Such a nice young man.” Lily winked over the edge of her fan.
Dawn pursed her lips. Was she really expected to sit through dinner with him?
Hunter stared at her, and she steeled herself. It was happening again. That mysterious force she’d fought all day started swirling around the two of them, trying to nudge her closer to him. It had taken all her willpower to keep away from Hunter at work, but she was tired now. So, so tired. Her vision grew a little hazy until all she saw was his face and the flickering torches in the background.
Hunter’s eyes were dreamy, too, until he jolted and looked down at his feet, breaking the spell.
Dawn rocked back on her heels, blinking at the kitten that had pranced out of the shadows. It wound between Hunter’s legs, mewing loudly.
“Whoa there, Keiki,” he murmured, scooping it up and rubbing between its ears.
Keiki meant child. Lily sighed at the sight of such a big man holding a tiny fur ball, and Dawn nearly did, too.
“Need some milk?” Hunter whispered, carrying the kitten to the kitchen section of the building.
“Be still my heart,” Lily murmured, fanning herself in double time.
Dawn exhaled, finding her focus again. God, she hoped she’d be seated across the table from Hunter and not next to him. Otherwise, she might just end the evening in his lap, purring like that kitten.
She looked around, trying to stay on guard. The building was just like the couple of traditional hale she’d been in — a huge, open space, except that this one had been furnished with a full kitchen at one side and a living/dining area on the other, complete with couches and what looked like the world’s coziest reading nook in one corner. Not a sign of anything unusual, like skulls or trophies of victims as her imagination suggested. It was all perfectly normal — if you were a billionaire, at least.
She glanced over at Hunter, who was kneeling over the kitten by the fridge, then at the other men, and finally in the direction of where the main house stood high on a ridge. The rumor mill had gone wild when Koa Point sold a few years earlier, but no one had definitively identified the new owner.
A very private man, she remembered the newspapers quoting the lawyer who helped seal the multimillion-dollar deal.
She’d never thought much of it before, but now, her mind spun. Was the owner a shifter, too? A sorcerer, perhaps? Was he one of the men here? But she discarded the thought immediately. Whoever the owner was, everyone knew he rarely visited Maui. Hunter and his friends were all Special Forces vets who’d landed the sweetest caretaker’s deal in the islands. She turned slowly, wondering where Hunter lived. She spotted a roof poking up among the trees close to the beach, where the surf rolled in. But from what she remembered, Hunter hated open water, so she doubted he’d live close to the beach. Did he live in an apartment above the garage or in another part of the estate?
“Can I get you a drink?” Nina asked, pulling Dawn out of her thoughts. “Wine? Beer?”
“Water, please,” Dawn said firmly, folding her napkin into ever smaller, perfectly aligned squares.
She studied the others out of the corner of her eye as dinner got into full swing. But no matter how closely she scrutinized the place or its inhabitants, she couldn’t find a hint of anything to fear. On the contrary, it was all so normal. Conversation was lively. The laughter was genuine. Everyone took turns talking and listening without anyone dominating the scene — except Lily, who cracked jokes and flirted outrageously with the men.
“Oh my goodness. This is so good.” Lily smacked her lips after a few bites. “The food, I mean. Not the view.” She winked at Boone.
Dawn had just worked back the taro leaf wrapped around her pork and snapper, and the first bite just about melted in her mouth.
Kai groaned out loud, and Boone licked his fingers. “Seriously, Tessa. You’ve outdone yourself.”
Tessa grinned. “You guys will eat anything, but I’m glad our guests like it.”
Dawn had to agree. “It’s amazing.”
“Tastes like laulau but different,” Lily said.
“I steamed it then threw it on the grill for a few minutes. Not too bad, huh?”
Dawn kept looking around, trying to spot a hint of evil or a shadow of black magic, but there didn’t seem to be any. Maybe these shifters were really just…normal people, or as close as shifters could be. They were all friendly. Warm. Sincere.
“Boone tried grilling once,” Kai started, poking fun at his friend.
“Yeah. Once,” Boone laughed.
“Ha. My sister and I wanted to surprise my dad one time…” Laughter shone in Tessa’s eyes as she related a tale of a Father’s Day gone wrong.
“Sundays were always pancake day for me and my mom,” Nina added with a wistful smile.
“I think pancake Sundays are just what we need here at Koa Point,” Boone murmured, taking her hand.
Koa, Dawn thought. The Hawaiian word for the toughest kind of wood was also the word for an elite class of warrior. That fit Hunter, Kai, and Boone perfectly, but each had a softer, gentler side, too.
“This is amazing,” Kai said, raising his glass to Tessa.
His voice was full of affection, and Dawn could see Tessa glow. Their love was as obvious as the shine in Boone’s eyes when he looked at Nina.
You could have that, too, the little voice in her mind said. Love. Respect. Affection. Trust.
She peeked at Hunter. If there was one man she’d ever been tempted to trust, it was him. But he’d already made one startling revelation. What other secrets might he be hiding from her?
Hunter’s mocha eyes met hers with an expression so wistful, she nearly reached for his hand. The candle set between them flickered with a warm, yellow glow. Somewhere in the distance, surf rolled over the sand, and a faint breeze made the thatching whisper overhead. Really whispering, as if talking to her.
Him. Hunter. He’s the one.
The crickets chirping outside took up the same call, and the birds rustling in the bushes did, too. As if all of Mother Nature wanted her to understand one simple thing.
This is a good man. You can trust him. He is the one.
She tried pushing the thought away, because that could be the voice of some dark, brooding force trying to trick her into a false sense of security.
A breath of wind nearly extinguished the candle, but then the tiny flame stood tall and bright again, holding back the darkness of night.
Dawn stared over the flame, gazing deep into Hunter’s eyes. Damn it, it was so hard to stay on guard around a man who exuded I-will-cherish-you-forever vibes. She had a sixth sense for trouble, but all her internal alarms were silent. How could Hunter be guided by evil if he only made her feel good?
The dinner guests at the table may as well have wandered off for all Dawn noticed. She sat, deaf and mute to the others. But inside, her body heated and sang.
Hunter. He’s the one.
Hunter’s long, dark lashes barely moved, he was so intent on her. Dawn felt light-headed, staring into his eyes. Intoxicated. Fascinated, the way the most sensual hula performances fascinated her. The kind performed on a beach at night with swaying hips, bare bellies, and pahu drums beating a frenzied beat.
Maybe he really was the one. Maybe she could trust him, after all.
“Dawn,” someone called, but the sound was faint, as if spoken at the end of a long tunnel. “Dawn.”
Dawn cleared her throat sharply, breaking away from Hunter’s steady gaze. “What was the question?” She reached for her water glass and took a huge gulp.
“I said, tell us about this celebrity wedding,” Lily prodded.
“Well…” Dawn and Hunter started at the same time.
Lily clapped. “Oh, you’re working together? How nice!”
Funny how Lily didn’t appear the least bit surprised. Dawn was going to have a long talk with her on the way home.
Everyone else looked on expectantly. Hunter studied his fork. Dawn cleared her throat — again.
“Is that Regina Vanderwhatshername as bad as they say?” Lily asked.
Everyone leaned forward for the juicy details as Dawn fished for words.
“I guess a lot of brides get stressed,” she managed. There. That sounded diplomatic, right?
Kai snorted. “There’s stressed, and there’s spoiled brat. I took her photographer up for some aerial shots today, and she just about smacked the camera out of his hands when he showed her the results. She made him go up again saying — and I quote — ‘Make sure it doesn’t look so windy this time.’”
“I’m glad I decided not to take a job with the catering company, after all,” Tessa said. “What did you think of her, Hunter?”
The kitten had jumped into his lap, and he petted it while he mulled over a reply. “I guess I didn’t notice anything much.”
Dawn raised her eyebrows, admiring his restraint. Where was the raging animal she had seen a few weeks ago? When the wolf had attacked her, Hunter had turned into a marauding beast. Did animal outrage come out of nowhere and take over his body from time to time?
An owl hooted, and everyone quieted, listening to the muted call.
“Pu’eo,” Lily whispered.
Nina tilted her head.
“Pu’eo means owl,” Dawn explained.
“Where is it?” Tessa asked, craning her neck.
Kai pointed one way, but Dawn pointed overhead. “Listen. He’s about to fly over the roof.”
Everyone’s heads followed the sound of wing flaps overhead.
“Wow. How did you know what it was going to do?” Nina asked.
Dawn shrugged. Some things, she just sensed. If only she could read shifters the way she could read birds.
“Pu’eo is Dawn’s aumakua,” Lily said.
Nina cocked her head. “Auma-what?”
Dawn looked at Lily. Aumakua were hard to explain, especially to someone who didn’t grow up on the islands.
“Ancestral spirit,” Hunter surprised her by whispering. “Like a family god.”
“The owl is a protector,” Lily said.
Hunter’s eyes flashed at Dawn, communicating something that looked like, I will protect you.
He had. He’d saved her. Twice now. Once way back in high school, from an ugly incident she’d disciplined herself not to think about, and again a few weeks ago, when the wolf had come within a hair of her throat.
“Do you have an aumakua, Lily?” Tessa asked.
“Sure. Most everyone with roots in the islands does. Mine is the pua’a — the stubborn old pig.” She chuckled. “Lucky Dawn. I swear she has the night vision of an owl.”
Dawn kept her lips sealed. It was true, but it didn’t seem like much compared to her hosts. They could transform into animals, for goodness’ sake!
“What other aumakua are there?” Tessa asked.
“Oh, there are lots. Bats. Sharks. Dragons…”
“Dragons?” Tessa’s eyes went wide.
“Sure.” Lily fanned herself casually. “You can even see them from time to time.”
Tessa choked on her food. “You can?”
Kai nodded. “There’s one over on Molokai.”
Lily shook her head. “That’s just a shape nature carved into the rocks. There are real dragons, too. Mo’o, we call them. I’ve seen them flying over West Maui at night.”
Kai was the one choking now. Tessa’s eyes glowed green, the color of the pendant around her neck.
“Yes, indeed,” Lily went on, cheery as can be. “There are a couple of them around.”
Dawn’s eyes went wide as she looked at Tessa and Kai. Could it really be?
“But don’t worry,” Lily finished with a sly smile. “They seem like nice dragons to me.”