Chapter Three
Reese Valiant drove through the blinding snow. His fingers gripped the steering wheel so hard, his knuckles turned white. After Abby left, the day after their All Hallow’s Eve celebration, it didn’t take long to wrangle a confession from the Shaman. To protect the colony, the Hunter would kill him and chose another alpha—one that might well not be a Valiant. He’d nearly torn the man’s head off his neck when he revealed he’d bonded Abby to the Hunter. She would give her life so that he could live and mate again.
He wanted to do things different than the alphas before him, but he knew bringing the colony fully into modern times would be a slow process. That’s why he’d chosen the town’s only judicial building, the courthouse, for the day of the scenting, and insisted the women remained dressed. The proceeding took place in the largest courtroom, the judge on standby to perform the human tradition of marriage for him and his mate.
Reese had noticed Abby first among all the eligible females in the room. She was curvy with a bright, curious gaze and an energy that drew him like a moth to the flame. She was so beautiful he couldn’t take his eyes off her. She had dressed well, but not provocatively. Her simple dress showed off her sweet curves. She’d worn black shoes, flat and comfortable, rather than trying to totter on high heels. She hadn’t tried to be sexy, offering bedroom eyes or knowing smirks, or posturing with wiggling hips and thrust-out breasts. Her long, silky hair was worn straight, shoulder-length, in a very no-nonsense way. She had straight-cut bangs that touched her eyebrows, and she’d worn very little makeup. Later, when he introduced himself, he could smell the light floral scent of her perfume and the faint hint of strawberries of her lip balm.
It was her lack of artifice that had made him notice her. Truth be told, though, he’d noticed her long before then. She kept her head down and did her work, but her occasional looks his way hadn’t gone unnoticed, and no matter what clothes she wore, her sexy curves hadn’t escaped his attention as well. He’d wondered many times what she would look like naked, and he hadn’t been disappointed.
The night of the scenting ceremony, Abby had looked around the room in open curiosity, her gaze cataloging the architecture and the furniture. She hadn’t glance at the other women, who sized each other up while they tried to make goo-goo eyes at him.
Reese had worked his way down the line, not really listening to introductions, and ignored the bold touches on his arms and hips as the other females vied for his approval.
When he’d finally reached her, she’d looked him in the eye, and held out her hand. She’d given a firm handshake, answered his questions point-blank, and teased him without a thought about his rank. He’d heard the pounding of her heart. It had matched his own.
Reese’s phone beeped, turning his thoughts to the present. As part of the colony’s revamping of security, tracking devices had been placed on the alpha’s cars. Abby didn’t know about the trackers, or she would’ve never taken the SUV. Despite knowing where she was, he’d been unable to catch up to her. She’d been running non-stop, and he couldn’t predict her moves. The red dot on his phone verified that she was only ten miles away. She hadn’t moved for about an hour, and he hoped it wasn’t because she ditched the car or worse, the Hunter had caught up with her. He was so close now. His pulse raced with a mixture of anxiety and anticipation.
Abby was the missing part of his soul.
His other half.
His mate.
And nothing, no rules or traditions, or summoned spirit, would keep them apart.
* * *
Abby stretched on the couch, tucked a worn pillow under her head, and drew the quilt over her body. She stared at the flickering flames, watching them dance as the wood crackled. She drowsed there, her eyelids eventually drifting closed.
She slept deeply, dreaming of her husband, of the baby they would never have, when the child started wailing.
The wailing turned into screaming—inhuman sounds she’d never heard before.
Abby jolted awake.
The lamp on the nightstand glowed brightly, but the fire had burned down to embers. Reluctantly slipping out from the warm quilt, she padded to the picture window next to the front door—the only window in the whole cabin. She flipped on the porch light and stared out in the darkness.
All she could make out from the gray mass of falling ice and snow was the spindly shapes of trees. Everything else, including the lake, was lost in the dark and the storm.
Was the Hunter out there?
Would it come for her now?
Her heart jumped into her throat, and she backed away from the window. Coward. She was such a fucking coward. She hadn’t realized how much it would hurt to be without Reese.
Cords of wood were stacked next to the fireplace along with a pile of newspapers. A box of extra-long matches rested on the mantle. With all the tools at her disposal, Abby had a new fire going in no time.
She wished the window had curtains or blinds for privacy. Most people probably liked the view, but she wanted to feel covered. Protected. Watching the snowstorm encapsulate the cabin was like watching gravediggers bury her coffin.
A loud, fearsome roar echoed.
Abby froze.
Her werecougar instincts kicked in, and she whirled toward the front door, throwing it open to sniff at the wind.
The rusty scent of blood, and the sickening stench of death overwhelmed her.
The Hunter.
Even prepared, she couldn’t hold back a gasp as a tall, gaunt creature emerged from the tree line. Its gray skin hung in tatters off blackened bones. Its eyes were desiccated hollows, and its mouth a ragged gap filled with sharp, gray teeth. The old rusted scent of blood clung to its awful form. Okay. That was not the same spirit that had shown up to the All Hallow’s Eve party. But maybe this was its true form.
Abby fought to catch her breath.
This was it. The only way to make sure Reese stayed safe.
The Hunter rose to its full height, lifted its head, and emitted a blood-curdling scream.
Abby hurried to the bed where she’d shed her winter clothes earlier. She threw on a sweater, thick socks, and boots, but the heavy thud in her belly told her it was too late. Next, she shoved on her coat and pulled up its hood. Finally, she pushed her trembling hands into fitted gloves.
Where was the spirit? Why hadn’t it come for her already? Why was it waiting? Why wasn’t it busting down the door or crashing through the window?
Abby hurried back to the door and opened it again.
The Hunter was gone.
The biting wind and freezing snow battered her. She shut the door behind her and hurried off the porch. She sank to her knees. Damn.
As she slogged her way toward the tree line, she tried to prepare herself. She hoped it didn’t hurt. And that it didn’t take long. And that Reese would forgive her.
She entered the thickest part of the forest and trudged onward. “Hey!” she yelled “I’m here!”
Her jeans got soaked and snow wiggled into her boots and made her socks cold and squishy. Her heart raced and sweat dotted her brow. Vaguely she recalled that sweating in freezing weather was a bad sign. She’d overexerted herself, and in her human form she could get hypothermia if she didn’t get into a warm environment and out of her wet things.
She reached the top of the slope and looked down at the cabin. She rested against the nearest tree and tried to even out her breathing.
Neither her human nor cougar enjoyed the cold. She’d been a fool to venture out into the snowstorm. She turned around and headed down the slope toward her cabin. She couldn’t see anything in the cursed whiteout, and it seemed her coat snagged on every tree or bush she passed. The wind howled so fiercely it chilled her to the bones.
The wind… or the Hunter?
As she stumbled out of the tree line, she whirled around and saw the gaunt gray figure stalking her through the trees.
You give your life for that of your alpha?
The voice, both male and female, was calm. Colder than the snow, it echoed inside her mind.
“I do,” she said.
You honor the Valiant colony with your sacrifice and ensure its future. For this, your death will be merciful.
“Thank you.” Abby’s tears fell. She watched the creature stalk closer, slow and methodical, its eyeless gaze on her. I love you, Reese. I love you.
She felt hands on her shoulders, and then she was yanked backwards into the solid chest of a man who wrapped his muscled arms around her waist. He scooped her up and ran with her into the cabin, his long legs and strong body unimpeded by the snow.
Once inside, he put her down, slamming the door and locking it behind them.
The white ski mask covering his face muffled his voice, and his eyes were hidden behind goggles. But she’d known who it was the moment he’d put his arms around her. She’d recognized the scent of earth and wind. The scent of home and husband.
Reese.
“Hiding in here won’t do any good,” she said in a shaking voice.
“It’s all we got, sweetheart.” He went to the end of the couch and pushed it against the door as a barricade. He grabbed the other end of the sofa, and together, they pushed it against the door. “That window’s a big problem. Maybe we could rip off the closet and bathroom doors and nail them across.”
She looked out the window. “Where did the Hunter go?”
The monstrous spirit had disappeared before. Was it even real?
Make the alpha leave.
The Hunter’s male-female voice echoed into her head, its demand fierce. Oh, it was real, all right. And it was apparently irritated that Reese had shown up and run off with its sacrifice.
Have you met my husband? she thought back at the creature. I can’t make him do anything.
You will find a way. I’ll return soon.
I’ll be here. I won’t go back on my word.
She felt the Hunter’s approval, and it was a strange sensation, as though it had rewarded her with a gold star for choosing death. Now, it was courage she needed. That’s what the Hunter expected. For her to act like an alpha’s mate.
“Abby?” Her husband gripped her shoulders and lightly shook her.
She blinked and stared up at him. “The Hunter is gone. It doesn’t want to harm you. So it left.” She moved away from his embrace and felt his eyes on her as she took off the gloves and rubbed her ice-cold hands together. God, she was freezing. Her whole body shivered, and her teeth chattered. As she shucked off her coat and boots, she studied Reese. His entire body was encased in white and gray camouflage—even his snow boots were white. She briefly wondered at the duffel bag slung over his shoulder.
“You talk to it?” He pushed back the hood and removed the goggles. The white ski mask came off, revealing the short black hair, chiseled good looks, and gleaming amber eyes of her husband.
“It projects its voice into my head.”
“If the Hunter stays away because I’m here, then you’ll be safe as long as I’m with you.”
Stubborn man. The Hunter would lose patience with her husband. She’d felt the Hunter’s reluctance to kill her mate, but it might decide that Reese was no longer good for the werecougars. Especially with his single-minded devotion to her.
He stared at her. “Why did you do it?”
“You know why.” Abby sat on the couch and tugged off her socks. She couldn’t stop shivering. Not all of it had to do with being cold. How could she get Reese to leave? How could she make him stop looking as though he couldn’t decide whether to hug her or strangle her?
He took off his coat and draped it over the couch with a casualness that belied the fury in his eyes. Well, what had she expected? He wasn’t going to thank her for leaving him, even if it was to save him and to make sure his line survived intact. He glared at her, arms crossed. He was probably counting all the reasons why he shouldn’t kill her himself. But she knew his anger was rooted in his fear, his love.
“I must honor my pact with the Hunter. I’d prefer it if you weren’t here.”
“Too bad. I won’t live without you, Abby.” He strode to her and yanked her up by the arms. “You’re everything to me,” he said through gritted teeth. “You are more valuable than my blood line. More than my own life.”
“You are worth a hundred of me!” she shouted. “You are the alpha. The colony needs you. It’s duty. Don’t you understand? You have a duty to our people that transcends anything you might feel about me. It is because I love you and the colony that I made this bargain. You will be stronger without me. Just let me go.”
“I can’t. I can’t let you go. I need you.” He let go of her arms and stepped back. She saw his vulnerability then. “You are my strength, Abby. My heart. If I cannot have you, I will have no one. There is only one mate for me. You. Even if you go through with this, if the Hunter takes you, I will follow you into the afterlife.”
“You can’t. If you don’t take another mate, then my sacrifice is for nothing.”
“That’s what I’m telling you. You don’t get to make bargains on my behalf. If any sacrifice is made for our people, it will come from me. Not you.”
“I am your sacrifice.”
His expression pinched as if she’d punched him in the gut. “You are too stubborn, too fierce, Abby. Your soul is like fire. And I need that. I need you.” His voice broke. He sucked in a breath. “I’m a better alpha with you. We are the strongest together. You bring balance to the colony—and to me. I would have found a way. You should have trusted me.”
That’s what he’d been telling her, showing her, and she’d been in too much pain, too afraid to understand the words, the actions. She and Reese were two halves of a whole. He needed her as much as she needed him. Beyond everything—carrying on Reese’s line—not wanting to be without him had driven her to desperation. To madness. She hadn’t considered that he wouldn’t want to live without her, either.
“You’re shaking so hard I can hear your teeth chattering.”
Abby blinked up at Reese. Her cold, snow-soaked clothes had chilled her to the bone.
He offered his hand, and she took it. He pulled her to her feet. “C’mon, let’s get you undressed.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that one before.”
“Every time I get near you, I want you naked,” he said, but his tone was so grumpy he seemed more resentful than enamored. But hell, did she blame him? “I’ll run you a hot bath.” He waited until she looked at him again. He held her gaze, and she saw his pain, his fear, his anger. “Then we’ll talk.”