Becca bit her lip. “You mentioned your pack wanted a scenting ceremony. Do you know much about how a rite like that is run?”

He shrugged. “Only what I’ve read in our history over the years.”

“A scenting ceremony can be a weeklong event, at least for us, and it ends with intended couples mating.”

He raised an eyebrow. “That sounds pretty exhibitionist if you ask me.”

She had to laugh. “They don’t do the physical act in front of the crowd. It’s a private affair that ends with the female being claimed with a mark at the nape of her neck.”

“And?”

“Like you already guessed, I have such a mark. Technically, I was mated to a cougar. Nick Reece. His clan was from the same area in the Rockies where my Leap originated.”

“Was this an arranged mating?”

She shook her head. “Far from it. The scenting ceremony had been planned for months and Nick’s pride, Wind River, was one of many invited. There were at least two dozen males and females circling each other like sharks in heat. Nick was a participant in the ceremony.”

“And you?” he prompted.

She shook her head. “I was too young. I was barely eighteen and since I wasn’t of age by the cutoff date, my father told me I had to wait for the following year.

“Nick ignored the other females, setting his sights on me. I suppose I got caught up in the attention.” She looked at Jaylon, her mouth suddenly dry. “I got in over my head. It was stupid and adolescent, but that’s what I was—a stupid teenager.

“Nick kept the mind games going,” she continued. “Telling me we belonged together, that not only was I his, but my inheritance was his as well. It didn’t seem real. It was fun at first, intoxicating even, until that moment. I tried to shrug it off, telling him I wanted to go back to the gathering, but like a wild cat he held me and marked me as his, knowing that in the eyes of everyone at the ceremony we were as good as mated.”

Jay balked. “Regardless of your choice in the matter?”

Becca nodded, scrubbing her eyes. “Nick bound me to him against my will. I had no idea this was what he planned all along. I was his ticket to land and power. He had no standing in his Pride other than he was young, strong and good-looking.

“By that point, my father noticed I was missing and executed a search. A storm had blown in from the beaches south of us. I remember the wind and rain were furious. I had never seen lightning like that.

“I got away and ran farther into the woods thinking I could hide, but Nick caught me just as my father rounded the trees to where we were. The two fought, and it was as if my dad’s anger brought down the heavens. Lightning struck, splitting the tree behind my dad. It burst into flame and fell, crushing both my father and Nick.

“The fire spread like quicksilver and I was lucky to get out alive. The next morning, searchers found them both and I’ve lived with the guilt ever since.”

Jaylon’s shoulders bunched as his fists clenched at his sides. Anger rose in a feral snarl and his t-shirt strained, tearing across the back.

“What are you doing?”

Jay sucked in steadying breaths. “If he wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him. The bastard marked you against your will.”

“Yes,” she answered, her voice edged with guilt. “I guess being naïve made me easy prey.”

“Of all the cowardly, despicable, underhanded things, this is one of the worst things for one shifter to do against another. Even as far removed as we are, my pack would never consciously accept this sort of act.”

Becca got up from the end of the bed and went to him. She hesitated before putting her hand on his tense back, unsure of how he would react.

Jay would never hurt her. Of that she was sure. But would he reject her now that he knew her history? That she didn’t know and it scared her silly.

“See why I got the hotel so close to the train?” she said with a half-hearted chuckle.

He froze, but not because she touched him. “You think I would turn you out that easily?”

She leaned against his back, slipping her hands around his waist. “Certain members of my Leap would. In their eyes, I’m damaged goods.”

His fists clenched again and he turned so they were face to face. “Never say that. Never think it. Ever. Whoever made you feel that small is an ass. You were a kid. You made a stupid error in judgment. Half the teens in my pack have done as bad.”

She shrugged. “Your teens don’t have an archaic council hanging over them like a steel fist.”

He took her in his arms and held her tightly. “Well, now you have my steel fist to hit back.”

Her eyes searched his. “You’re staying?”

Laughing softly, he slipped two fingers under her chin. “How can you honestly ask me that?”

She shrugged again. “Easy. A week, Jaylon. That’s all we’ve got between us.”

He shook his head. “That’s not all we have between us. I know you’re mine, Becca. I feel it in my bones. In my very skin. My wolf wants you and only you. For the first time in my life, my dual natures agree.” He kissed her nose. “How can I deny that? Shifters aren’t like humans. You know that better than anyone. Our instincts know when our mates find us. It’s why you ran from Nick Reece all those years ago. What you felt was physical. Adolescent wild oats. We’ve all done the same, Bec.

“Humans may have trouble separating sex and love, but our animals certainly can. It’s why after only a week, you live in my very skin, a part of my being.”

She flung her arms around him. “Thank God, because I feel the exact same way. My cat won’t leave me alone. Her damn purring is keeping me up at night. I’ve got luggage under my eyes!”

He chuckled. “Your eyes are beautiful, now if you would just get rid of the worry, we’d be golden.” Kissing her nose again, he gave her a soft grin. “Is that everything you needed to tell me?”

She pressed her face into his chest, “Unfortunately, no. There’s more.” With a shiver, she pulled away and took a steadying breath.

“Nick had a younger brother. His name is Alastair. At the time, he was about ten years old. He worshiped Nick, even though his older brother ditched him every chance he got. When they carried Nick’s body out of the woods, Alastair lost it. He blamed me and swore he would make me pay for killing his brother.

“The boy waited, biding his time. Two years ago, Alastair showed up at the Leap and demanded my brother hand me over as retribution. Charlie laughed at him, and of course, refused. However, Alastair came prepared. He pretended to leave with his tail between his legs, but it was a lie. He and his friends raided our camp later that night. He killed my brother, but Alastair didn’t get what he came for.”

“You?” Jay’s eyes burned with foreboding.

Becca nodded. “Charlie wounded Alastair badly, and we thought taking revenge on my family by killing my brother had satisfied his lust for leopard blood, but I was wrong. Someone in your pack found a way to contact Alastair and now it’s started all over again, only this time he’s brought a legal army instead of a physical one.”

He blinked. “Legal army? What do you mean?”

“Alastair is claiming a rule of Levirate be brought against us.”

“Levirate?” Skepticism laced Jay’s tone.

Becca nodded. “The right to marry his dead brother’s mate. The right to first refusal or a demand by blood challenge.”

“I know what it means, Bec. What I can’t believe is that someone thought to use that archaic ruling.” He stood from the bed and paced. “That practice was abolished. No one heeds that rule anymore.”

Becca shook her head. “It might not be practiced any more, especially not in the city, but not everyone is as enlightened.”

He turned and looked at her. “Have you refused?”