Palm Haven Shifters: Complete Five-Part Series Page 20

  “I have something I would like to talk to you about in private, may I come in?” He said it all so casually, like he was talking about something as mundane as the weather. She didn’t know what he was talking about, but she wasn’t in the position to be able to trust him.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she answered, closing the door as she did.

  His hand shot out and stopped it.

  She saw something in his eyes – a flash of light – it frightened her and made her gasp with surprise.

  “You can either let me in quietly, or I can rip this door off its hinges and draw everyone’s attention. It’s your choice.”

  His voice was hushed, deep and authoritative. He nearly growled the last words at her.

  Sonya’s heart raced beneath her ribcage. He wasn’t giving her a choice and she hated that feeling of helplessness. Still, if she didn’t want to worry Manuel, she had no choice but to let the stranger into her home. Her eye’s darted to her son’s room, checking to make sure his door was still closed. Her fingers sparked on the knob as she closed the door, reaching for the chain.

  A lump in Sonya’s throat made it difficult to swallow. Who was this man? What did he want from her? And how could one look from him make her mouth dry and her magic alive? Her powers had been dormant for so long now…

  She shook her head. It had been too long. Diego was the last man she’d slept with and that had been years ago. There was no time for relationships on the run. Keeping Manuel safe was a full-time occupation.

  “Thank you,” the man spoke as he entered her tiny living room. His posture changed in an instant – no longer was he the scary intruder on the other side of her door. Now he was comfortable, at ease, and radiating silent authority that made Sonya tongue-tied.

  “Am I right in thinking that I am not the first visitor you’ve had this evening?”

  Sonya’s hands went to her hips defiantly and her jaw set into a hard line.

  “What is this about?” She snapped, praying the answer wouldn’t be her son.

  She already knew his answer before the man spoke. She was just deluding herself. He was a wolf; there was no doubt about it. Her eyes traced his face, noticing the faint red lines that seemed to be healing wounds and the bits of dried blood still in his hair. This was a dangerous man. Why did it excite her powers so? Why did she find herself wondering what his kiss tasted like?

  His eyebrows raised and a sly smile quirked the corner of his mouth upwards.

  He was smiling. Why was he smiling? How could this man muster the energy to smile when her entire life was crumbling around her?

  “I believed I asked you first,” he said, sitting on the couch.

  He spread himself out, his arms covering the length of the couch’s back and his legs spread wide in a stance that Sonya knew to mean one thing: he was the Alpha.

  Chapter 2

  JOSÉ

  “Let me make something very clear. I’m not here to hurt you or your son,” José said clearly. He noticed the way her eyes darted from side to side. He didn’t like the panicked look on her. It didn’t suit her. His wolf paced, unsettled by the stench of fear in the air. The boy was scared, too. He could smell them both and wanted nothing more than to protect them from their demons.

  “M-my son? I think you’re mistaken, Sir, I have no son,” she lied.

  “Please, don’t insult me. You think I don’t notice when a new wolf comes into my territory? Even one as young as your son.”

  Tears sprang to her eyes and started streaming down her face. The look of sheer desperation on her beautiful face wiped the smirk right from José’s lips. What was she so upset about? He wondered.

  “Please, please don’t tell Diego that we’re here. We’ll leave. I’ll never come back. He won’t have to know we were here, I swear,” she begged, tears still streaming down her face.

  José stiffened. Diego? The mere mention of the man’s name had the hairs on José’s arms bristling.

  He stood, crossing the room; suddenly everything made sense. Suddenly, he knew why the witch had been here.

  “Diego Rivera is the boy’s father?”

  She nodded with a soft sob.

  He could see it all clearly now – how she shrunk away from him the moment he got too close, the constant fear in her eyes, the haunted look that told him how badly she’d been mistreated.

  “Well, fuck. I didn’t know that,” he growled, his wolf more ready than ever to protect these strangers. The wolf already considered them pack members and an Alpha never let harm come to their pack.

  “You… didn’t?” she stammered, big hazel eyes and wet lashes turned up to him, making his heart skip a beat. His wolf responded much more enthusiastically but he had to keep him at bay. First the fight with the bear and now this. His control was wearing thin. To know that Diego Rivera may be entering his territory soon certainly didn’t help things.

  “No, of course not. I don’t know what that sadistic bastard did to you, but I won’t let him come near you or your son again. This is my territory.”

  Her lips parted slightly in surprise and José fought the overwhelming urge to kiss them. His wolf was convinced she was his; he couldn’t give in to the beast within him. He couldn’t handle the added stress of a mate right now.

  “But… he’ll fight you. He wants me dead. He wants Manuel… it will start a war if you don’t give us over,” she answered, tears spilling down her cheeks again.

  “If you haven’t noticed, there’s already a war out there,” he answered, thinking back to the fight with the bear in the alley. “You and your son will be safe with my pack, but not here,” he said.

  The rush of color that rose in her chest made him swell with male satisfaction. She really was breath-taking, even beneath the layers of fear that years on the run had constructed. Her short stature was accentuated with curves that made his mouth water and made his wolf howl in delight. She was too fragile, though. Too vulnerable.

  “I… I couldn’t live with wolves,” she said, refusing to make eye contact with him. “I’m a… I… I just couldn’t,” she said, suddenly looking alive. Fierce and determined rather than broken and meek. That look suited her better.

  He raised an eyebrow at her, clearly not buying her excuse. “It seems to me that you could do just about anything to keep your son safe,” José gestured around him to the squalid surroundings and barred windows.

  “So what do you say?” He said, extending his hand out to her, “Can you trust a wolf?”

  Chapter 3

  SONYA

  Sonya’s gaze wavered from his deep dark eyes to the hand he held out. Could she trust a wolf?

  What kind of question was that, anyway? After everything Diego had done to them, after this man coming to her door and threatening to break it down…

  But then the look on his face when she’d mentioned Diego’s name, like something inside of him clicked and softened all at once. He seemed to know of her ex — he even seemed to have an intense dislike for him — but did that mean she could trust him?

  Her fingers twitched at her side and she wondered what would happen if she took his offer. If she and her son went into hiding with his pack. She’d be surrounded by shifters at all times, a sitting duck for their aggressive behaviors. Manuel would grow up thinking that behavior was okay…

  She couldn’t do it.

  Her eyes narrowed and Sonya shook her head, ignoring the sparks in her fingertips as she reached for the door again.

  “No, I don’t think I can. You should leave now,” her voice sounded steadier than she felt. Her head spun with everything that had happened, with the revolving door of characters that had come into her home uninvited. Who would be next? How long until Diego himself came knocking?

  Ice constricted around her heart and squeezed.

  The man’s face changed. He’d been too sure of himself, with a cocky confident grin and an arrogant gleam in his eyes. Now he looked surprised, like he’d been shocked by
electricity.

  “W-what?” He managed to mumble, letting his hand fall. Sonya felt her magic lash out like a whip, reaching for him, trying to ensnare him. What did it all mean?

  For years she’d hidden her magic, let it fade to nothingness as she withdrew more and more into herself. Why was it suddenly springing to life once more?

  Was it a sign? Was her magic trying to tell her something?

  It’s time to stand your ground, she thought, speaking for the waves of energy flowing through her, No more running.

  Was that it?

  It felt right.

  She was tired of being afraid. Tired of hiding and running. And it seemed her magic was too.

  That thought was enough to give her the strength to close her hand around the door knob and pull the door open for the stranger.

  “I can’t trust you. I appreciate your concern, but it’s none of your business and you should go.”

  The darkness that shrouded his eyes made her stomach twist — he wasn’t a man used to hearing the word no.

  Just like Diego.

  Sonya shuddered, but stood firm at the doorstep.

  “I urge you to reconsider,” he said, his voice soft, tugging at something deep within her. “If I found you, he can too.”

  A lump rose in her throat and Sonya swallowed painfully, forcing her expression to remain unruffled. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she said, power flooding her, making her head swim as he stepped toward the door. She clutched the knob with white knuckles as he leaned forward a little, his pure spicy scent flooding her already dizzy mind.

  He frowned and reached out, his fingers hovering just above the fading bruise on her neck. Sonya winced and the man turned to leave.

  “You’re always welcome in our pack if you change your mind,” he said, crossing the threshold and walking out of her home.

  She didn’t know what to say to that. He didn’t say that Manuel was always welcome. She was. But he couldn’t know what she was. Couldn’t possibly know what he was inviting into his den.

  Sonya managed a forced smile that turned to more of a grimace and closed the door, only breathing a sigh of relief after she’d re-locked the half dozen deadbolts.

  After a few minutes of standing there, silent panic flooding her chest, making it difficult to breathe, Sonya heard a creak and noticed Manuel’s door open just a crack, his eye pressed to the opening.

  She smirked. “He’s gone,” she said gently and Manuel left his room and crossed the tiny living room to be wrapped in his Mama’s embrace.

  With her son wrapped in her arms, everything felt okay. She smoothed his unruly curls away from his forehead and kissed the top of his head.

  “We’re not going anywhere, okay? You don’t need to be scared, sweetheart.”

  Manuel buried his face into her chest and she held him tighter than ever, taking in deep lungfuls of his clean scent, fresh from his evening bubble bath.

  “But it’s time for bed,” Sonya said after a moment, scooping Manuel into her arms. “You’re up way too late.”

  He yawned and shook his head, his eyes hardening. “I had to make sure you’re okay,” he said, suddenly looking much older than his four years. He fancied himself the man of the house.

  Sonya gave him another little squeeze as she carried him to his room. “You don’t need to worry about stuff like that. That’s grown-up stuff.”

  She laid him down and pulled the covers up over his shoulders.

  “I’m old enough,” he mumbled, his eyelids growing heavy as Sonya hummed a familiar lullaby and stroked his forehead.

  “You’re growing up too fast,” she whispered, “Mama’s grown up little boy.”

  His chest rose and fell in a slow and steady rhythm and Sonya gave him another kiss on the forehead before retreating from his room with a peaceful smile.

  The feeling didn’t last long, though. Everything that had happened that night was because of one person: her mother.

  Sonya grit her teeth as she thought about Estrella’s meddling ways. They’d moved to Palm Haven because her mother said she wanted them nearby. Now she was trying to take Manuel away?

  Never. Over Sonya’s dead body. If her mother wanted to help, there were plenty of ways to do so without sending the Coven and Clans knocking on her door.

  She gripped the phone in her hand until it hurt as she waited for the older woman to pick up.

  Three rings later, her mother’s familiar voice picked up. “Hola?”

  In an instant, Sonya’s blood pressure shot through the roof as she fumbled to come up with the angry tirade she’d prepared in her head while the phone rang.

  “What were you thinking?” She spat finally, her entire body trembling with fury.

  “Que?”

  “Don’t play dumb with me, old woman. You sent that witch to my house to take Manuel away.”

  There was a long pause and Sonya could see her mother in her mind, trying to look innocent, trying to pretend she hadn’t had any part in this calamitous night.

  “Sonya,” she said with a sugary plaintive tone.

  “No. Don’t Sonya me. That witch attracted the Alpha here. Now Diego is definitely going to find us. Because you couldn’t trust me to protect my son,” her voice cracked ever so slightly and Sonya bit back a sob. If her own mother didn’t believe in her, how could she possibly succeed?

  “Hija, it’s not about trust,” Estrella said. “I have friends that could protect Manuel…”

  “Manuel isn’t going anywhere without me. Period.” Sonya’s anger made her voice vibrate and crack and she knew she didn’t sound very convincing.

  “You can’t keep running on your own. Diego is going to find you and you’ll need help. Protection. Magic at least,” her mother said, her concern making her own voice tremble.

  Sonya felt guilty, then. Her mother was just trying to protect her baby the same way Sonya herself was. If Manuel were safe somewhere far away from Diego, he might give up on her. All he wanted was a successor. He didn’t care about her at all.

  “I’m not running anymore,” she said. Once the words were out in the open they felt real. Real and final. Was she really going to stand her ground now after all of this time? It seemed like the right thing.

  She looked around at the bare apartment, hardly any decorations or even furniture. What would it be like to have a home again? Manuel deserved a home. He deserved to have friends and a school and a normal life. He’d never have that as long as they ran.

  “I think it’s time to stop being afraid,” she said, though fear still burrowed deep in her gut despite the words.

  Her mother said nothing and her insides twisted.

  You’ll need magic at least, she remembered. She wasn’t quite ready to tell her mother about her magic bubbling to life after years of dormancy.

  She thought it meant that she should stand up for herself. But it seemed to have fizzled away after that strange man had left. Was it responding to the man himself, or the threat he represented?

  It didn’t matter, she’d never trust another wolf. They were all monsters.

  “Well, it sounds like you don’t need my help anymore,” Estrella said coolly.

  Sonya frowned. “Mama, I’ll always need your help. But this is not the way.”

  The old woman sighed. “Very well.”

  Estrella didn’t have to say anything else for Sonya to know that she disagreed with the decision. Of course, Estrella had never liked Diego to begin with. Neither of them knew he was a wolf, but Estrella knew, in that way that mothers always do, that he was bad news.

  If she had listened to her mother then, maybe none of this would have happened.

  But she wouldn’t have Manuel.

  If she listened to her mother this time, what might she miss out on?

  Chapter 4

  JOSÉ

  “Heya, boss, we got someone you should meet,” Carlos said, not two seconds after José walked through the heavy oak door of the pack’s sprawling log
cabin clubhouse. He was surprised to find so many of his men milling about — he expected more of them to be licking their wounds after the altercation with the bear and witch.

  His stomach turned a little at the memory. Physical harm and menacing threats weren’t his go-to tactic for intimidation and control — José preferred his pack follow him because of his leadership skills, not because of fear — but he’d thought his people in danger.

  Now, he wasn’t so sure. And maybe he shouldn’t have come right back here. He needed quiet. To think.

  “No thanks,” he growled, stalking past the older, slightly chubby, man. “If you hadn’t heard, I had a shitty night.”

  Carlos’ eyes flashed golden for a brief moment and José remembered the older man scruffing him on more than one occasion while he was growing up. He may be the Alpha, but even José knew not to disobey his elders.

  “He’s seeking refuge from an abusive pack,” Carlos said, his voice even and low, knowing this simple phrase would erase all of José’s irritation.

  The Alpha sighed and pushed a hand through his hair, thinking about how nice it would be to swim a few laps or run through the pines as the wolf. He growled again, this time softer and to himself. “Fine.”

  Carlos waved him forward, down a plush carpeted hallway full of doors in every direction, most of them leading to offices or small meeting rooms. Some doors concealed bedrooms for just these sorts of occasions.

  “Where is he from?”

  “Originally, he grew up out west, somewhere in the mountains. Then he moved out east and…”

  José rolled his eyes; why couldn’t it ever just be a simple answer? Where’s he from? Toronto. Where’s he from? Montana. Was that so hard? Instead, Carlos wanted to give him the guy’s entire life story and that left his mind to wander.

  His thoughts didn’t so much wander as they did sprint, right to the woman he’d met earlier. The young mother with her almond-shaped eyes and unbelievable curves. He didn’t even get her name. But she had Diego Rivera’s son and that spelled trouble. He’d have to follow-up with her even if she didn’t want his help. Figure out her story… taste those plump lips and…