Chapter Two
Dereck stared at his mother, searching for devil horns in her dark hair. Norma Larsen sat serenely at the oak kitchen table, a small smile on her face that belied her deviousness.
"You realize that I am a grown man with responsibilities, right?"
His mother scoffed at him. "If you mean the towing company, your father and brothers can handle things for a few months while you take care of things here."
"Months? How many months are we talking?"
Staying at his uncle's house wouldn't be a trial. It was a beautiful area. The house, a spacious two-story with several comfortable bedrooms and two updated bathrooms. His uncle used it during the summer when he could hunt and fish without being bothered. When the weather turned nasty, he'd pack up and head to Arizona for the winter. The glass doors and windows on the back side of the house gave him a gorgeous view of the pines, especially at sunset.
Right now, he couldn’t enjoy the setting sun as it shone through the trees outside, lighting up the top of his mother's head like a halo. Because the sun lied, making her appear sweet and innocent, when she was actually a master manipulator.
Well, he didn’t want to be her puppet anymore.
"We’d like you to stay until your uncle gets back from Arizona. Since Xander isn't staying here now that he's mated, your uncle needs someone to watch over things and well..."
Dereck grit his teeth at the implication. And I'm don’t have a mate to get home to.
When it came to settling down, he wasn't on the same page as his mother. He wanted a quiet and easy-going woman, the polar opposite of his headstrong mother. She thought he needed someone to challenge him at every turn, but after twenty-nine-years of living with his obnoxious younger siblings and boisterous parents, he wanted a peaceful existence.
Which he would get for four months if he stayed in Twilight alone while his family went home to Colorado... but there was always a catch with his mother.
And that catch was Jill Meyers.
Dereck ignored the twitch in his cock that her name provoked. When he stood next to her, the top of her head barely reached his shoulders and those big blue eyes were hypnotizing, sucking a man in until he got lost in those cornflower depths. Jill was gorgeous and built, but drama should have been her middle name. Growing up in Hollywood, he could see why she would be constantly performing for people. Getting attention became ingrained in her personality.
No matter how much his body responded to her, though, he couldn't let lust rule the rest of his life.
Dereck couldn’t say Jill was all bad. She was sweet. She loved Greer and had put her life on the line to protect her. She possessed an excellent sense of humor and could spar for hours if he stuck around. If it weren’t for outside forces, they could have been friends.
Too bad his mother had taken an instant shine to Jill and done nothing but throw them together. Dropping hints until being around Jill reminded him that he needed to find the right mate and get his own life.
Far away from his mother’s schemes.
As long as he stayed in Twilight, avoiding Jill would be futile. Everywhere he turned, Jill stood there. Always watching him, and surprising him. Almost making him forget that he needed someone less flashy and subtler.
Like today. Dereck went to Xander and Greer's place for some peace, only to have her drop by. Yes, it was her best friend’s house, but she had this smile that could leave his mind completely blank. Her laughter alone could get him thick with arousal, and he’d have to take off just to get the erection to disappear.
When he'd caught her with one hand on her jean covered hip, looking tousled and sexy, it had taken everything to hold onto his control. That sassy dark hair with the teasing of pink curling around her shoulders. Her breasts swelling above the v of her long-sleeved top. Oh, how he'd wanted to grab her by those long strands and pulled her into his arms. Devour that full, pouty mouth in a hard, hungry kiss.
But he'd kept his calm, casual appearance until he could get the hell away from her. And despite her best efforts to flirt with him, he’d convinced himself that she had no idea the effect she had on him.
The hardest part about being near her? Jill didn’t try to hide her desire for him, the way he did for her. He'd listened to her heartbeat quicken whenever he entered a room. Smelled the sweet scent of her arousal when he made the mistake of getting too close.
He almost groaned aloud as his dick swelled against the front of his jeans, painful proof that his brain might know better, but his body still wanted to fuck her.
No, this wasn't going to happen. He wasn't going to be driven by animal attraction and his mother's shenanigans.
But to be safe, he needed to get out of Twilight and as far away from Jill as possible.
"I know you're worried about Jill adjusting, but she's good. Really, I’m sure she’d be fine if I went home."
His mother clucked her tongue. "She still has a lot to learn. Things you can teach her."
"I'm not Mr. Miyagi." His mother didn't even crack a smile at his joke. "Why can't one of the girls stay and babysit Jill?"
He knew he was testing his mother's temper based on the way her nostrils flared. It was the same look she got anytime one of her children challenged an order, but at some point, she had to realize she couldn’t control them anymore.
"Because your sisters are busy. Candis just got promoted at the bakery and Tina is finishing up at school. There is nothing holding you in Colorado that can't wait until spring."
Dereck opened his mouth, ready to volunteer one of his brothers, then snapped it closed. Clint was a baby whom Jill would run roughshod over and Luke...
Luke was a horny puppy. The thought of him trying to make it with Jill gave Dereck the urge to throttle him.
Dereck shook his head, resigned. His mother had won this battle, but the war would be his.
"Even if I stay, I'm not going to mate with Jill Meyers. So, if that's what this little power play is about, you might as well give up now."
His mother tried to appear affronted, but couldn't pull it off. "You know that I gave you life, right?"
"Yeah, you gave me life, but won't let me live it the way I want."
"It is a mother's duty to guide her children, especially when they're being pigheaded."
Dereck threw his hands in the air. "If I'm pigheaded, then I got it from you!"
His mother stood up with a huff, her face crimson with temper.
"You want to be treated like a man? Then act like one! It's not just me who wants you to stay behind and help Jill. Your father adores her, and is concerned about her being left alone when she is so new. Maybe you should consider other people’s needs, and not just your own."
And there’s the epic guilt trip.
Dereck stopped arguing. What would be the point? Although Xander could have handled Jill as his protege, it wasn't cool to dump another noob on his shoulders when he had his hands full with Greer. And with the rest of his siblings out, Dereck was stuck in Twilight until spring.
It would be a long winter, that was for sure.
He walked out back, ignoring his mother’s cry of, “Get your ass back here.”
Why continue a pointless conversation that left him feeling like an errant child?
Dereck knew the risks of shifting with the sun out, but he needed to run off some of the frustration bottling up inside him. He played it safe all the time; one instance of throwing caution to the wind wasn't going to kill him.
Once he was a half mile into the dense forest, he shed his clothes and lay them on a tree branch. The snow crunched under his feet as he shifted. The bones beneath his skin readjusted painlessly, and a thick, dark coat pushed out of his skin and covered his whole body.
Dereck's snout lengthened and his teeth sharpened, making him think of the old Little Red Riding Hood fable.
Grandma, what big teeth you have.
He tossed his head and stretched, enjoying the freedom that wolfing out provided. The light from the setting sun turned the forest orange as Dereck took off at a run, dodging between the trees. He leaped over a fallen log, the only sounds the whoosh of the wind as it whipped by and his rapid breathing.
Why the hell did he have to be the good son? He'd always been the rule follower, never taking risks, getting the right grades, and rejoicing in being his father's second in command. Luke and Clint rebelled throughout the years, but Dereck didn't butt heads with his parents about anything. Not until recently. His siblings called him Dare as a joke because he wasn’t daring. He never broke the rules.
If they could see him today, they'd be shocked.
A rank smell smacked him in the face. Faint at first, it grew stronger as he moved along. He slowed his pace to a trot, his ears twitching as he listened for the sound of footsteps in the brush.
No noise except his own, heavy pants.
When he came to a break in the trees, he paused, putting his nose in the air and drawing in the stench.
Man, whoever it was, stunk to high heaven. Beneath the unwashed body lurked something more. Musky. Bitter.
Bear.
The crack of a rifle broke through the silent wood and a lancing pain ripped through Dereck's side. A startled yelp escaped as the force of the bullet threw him through the air until he fell with a crash to the forest floor.
The seconds that ticked by seemed to slow as he tried to get up, dazed and in immense pain. Warm blood soaked through his coat and painted the white snow with splatters of scarlet. His vision blurred slightly. A shadow passed behind the trees. A large, black being drawing closer to Dereck with every step.
Get up and run! Run or you're dead!
The adrenaline kicked in as though someone had thrown a switch. He climbed to his feet, and tried to run, but stumbled when the muscles in his side and abdomen pulled excruciatingly. He hobbled as fast as he could, but Dereck heard the shooter moving behind him, hunting him. Although his body was healing, it wouldn't be fast enough before his assailant caught up to him.
Another crack sounded behind him and Dereck waited for the ripping sensation, but it never came. Instead, the bullet whizzed by his ear and shattered the bark of a tree ten feet away.
And that's when Dereck saw the cougar. Tawny and lithe with brilliant blue eyes.
Jill.
Less than fifteen feet away, she crouched to the ground. Staring at him with her long tail swishing behind her.
He barked at her, praying she would go before the hunter took another shot.
Instead, she sprang for him, and before he knew what she planned, she grabbed him by the scruff of his neck. He could feel the squeeze of her jaws as she gripped him.
Then she took off, dragging him with her through the maze of trees. There were several close calls where he thought she'd run him right into one of the thick trunks, but she managed to weave between them as though her bones were made of liquid. Graceful and rapid, the rancid aroma of the shooter soon dissipated, but Jill didn't slow.
With the danger passed, humiliation throbbed through him and he growled, wanting her to release him. She'd saved him. A noob and a female had literally carried him off like an errant pup.
Jill ignored his struggles until she reached the back porch of his uncle's house. There, she dropped him unceremoniously onto the deck and shifted, her golden fur replaced by tan, smooth skin. Her beautiful face hovered over his, a mask of concern.
"Dereck? Can you shift?"
He tried to muster the strength through the fog of his agony. Jill stood up, her tight ass flexing as she ran to the back door and out of sight.
"Norma! Clyde! Help!"
He ground his teeth as his body twisted and writhed, his fur disappearing. He lay on the porch, panting and groaning as he touched his wound. A slick coat of blood covered his stomach and when his fingers found the bullet's entry, he cried out as a thousand knives stabbed his nerves.
"Oh, don't." Jill kneeled beside him once more, her arm going under his shoulder. "Come on, I need to get you inside."
"The tracks..." Dereck wheezed. "He'll find them. The blood. Kill everyone."
He waited for his words to sink in and make sense, praying she understood his concern.
Tell my dad
"Oh my God," his mother cried out of sight. Too weak to lift his head, he sank back against the porch.
Jill moved out of the way, standing over him in all of her lush glory. "A hunter shot him. I need to cover our tracks or he'll come straight for us. Can you get Dereck inside?"
A shadow spread over him and he stared up into his father's face.
"Of course, we'll take care of him,” Clyde said.
His parents lifted him into a sitting position, and he bit down on his bottom lip to keep from screaming. Jill jumped off the porch and the minute her feet touched the ground, she shifted. They managed to lift him to his feet and led him toward the back door, but he couldn't tear his gaze from Jill.
She turned her head and bit into her shoulder. Within seconds, blood flowed from the wound, running down her front leg in multiple rivets.
When she picked up a bag of ice melt in her mouth and started dragging it down the hill, he realized she'd created a new trail. A trick to lead the hunter away from their homes.
By herself.
"No..." he called out softly. He couldn't seem to raise his voice. He tried to wrest away from his parents, but they held firm.
"We need to take him inside and stop the bleeding," his mother said.
Dereck looked over his shoulder as the glass door closed behind him but Jill had vanished.
The idiot woman's going to get herself killed.
His mother was right. He needed to be a man. If he hadn't run off into the woods at dusk like an angry child, he'd never been shot and Jill wouldn't be risking her life. If they both lived through this, he would owe her a depth.
"She'll be fine, son. She's a fighter," his dad said as he hefted him onto the couch.
Yes, and also reckless. If Jill got herself killed because of his stupidity, he wouldn't be able to live with that guilt for the rest of his life.
If anyone's listening, please keep her safe.