In a determined fashion, Zach shored up his walls. Focused on gently teasing the knots out of Storm’s tail. After a few minutes, she returned her attention to the house.
The work relaxed him. Soon after, the mare and himself drifted in a state of limbo. Into a place where the world couldn’t touch them.
And it was good. While it lasted.
* * *
Kade wasn’t due back out on patrol, but he couldn’t stay in that house another minute. Not without putting his fist through something.
Or preferably, someone. But if he did that, he’d be taking out not only the best weapon against Braden but also the only person who might get his sister through her delivery in one piece.
Kade had never been so conflicted. Life was usually pretty straightforward. Sometimes hell, but nothing that couldn’t be resolved by tooth and claw. Well, almost nothing. He hadn’t been able to save Isa. What if Cara was right? If the disappearance of Empaths had everything to do with the decimation of the Were population?
Not all Were types had issues with giving birth. Some were capable of doing it in animal form. But the ones based on predators were a different matter. They were forced to deliver as humans; it was just part of their physiology.
And it was killing them.
Even if Zach saved Kitani, and she had her twins safely, there were too few females left. Cara had been collecting their blood for good reason. The Sabres needed a Plan B.
Kade sighed. For him, it was a moot point. He’d had his true mate. And lost her. Lore dictated there was only one.
But Jessie...
The woman’s hold on him was strong. The blood had projected Kade into the dream. He’d managed to pull Braden off, but then he’d started to fade. If Zach hadn’t attacked, Kade would have been forced to watch while Braden did as he pleased.
The resulting surge of rage opened a channel to the darkness within him. A dangerous link, one he struggled to shut down. He stopped and reared up on his hind legs, curling the thick fingers of his front paws into fists until the claws penetrated his own flesh.
The pain helped him focus. And his lips twitched as he remembered how Jessie had attacked Braden. She’d made him bleed. The woman had the heart of a Sabre.
The thought made his beast purr, and the blackness recede. He took a deep, cleansing breath, shook his shaggy head, and resumed his trot through the forest. He crossed Ryan’s patrol path and arced around until the trees gave way to the pasture, then he pointed his nose for the house.
They all needed sleep. It had been a long night, and now the sky lightened with the first rays of dawn.
He paused at the top of the rise and stared at the corral. Zach was brushing the mare. The horse swung her head to look at him and then turned it away. The motion spoke to him.I know you’re there.
Kade watched the young man working on the mare’s tail and stifled a growl. It had gotten to the point that even thinking about Zach raised Kade’s ire. He’d never been so conflicted. Even as a youngster, Kade had retained excellent control over himself. Isa’s death had nearly taken him with her. And now, his beast was flaring like a horny teenager. Forcing him to skate an edge he never thought he’d risk again.
He stared down at Zach. In other circumstances, would they have butted heads? Or was it his attraction to Jessie that was causing this?
Kade was a prickly sort. Friends weren’t an easy thing for him. Although many of his Sabres had approached the line over the years. Fighting side by side forged strong bonds.
Zach wasn’t a warrior. At least, not in the way that Kade respected. He’d worked with many Cryptids. Some had formidable mental abilities. But mental and physical were two different things. At least, he’d always assumed so.
No farmer shirked physical labor, and Kade was sure Zach was no exception to the rule. But he was no fighter. And Kade had a hard time equating the man’s mental ability to that of a true warrior. Yet, Kade had never run into a situation that his Sabres couldn’t handle. It was hard to admit that Zach’s talent was the only thing keeping Braden’s army of Dires at bay.
Kade ground his teeth. Perhaps it was time to acknowledge that there was more to being a hero than teeth and claws. It was a major alteration of his worldview. And not a welcome one. Because it meant admitting that, just maybe, Zach was worthy of Jessie.
The two shared a connection. She’d kissed the man. Twice, in fact. And what Zach projected had made Kade’s body react. Hard as rock, he’d been. Where would it have gone if Kade hadn’t jumped in? The entire farm had experienced that kiss, and their reaction to it. Kade’s fur bristled at the memory.
His prime directive was to protect the Cryptid secret. He’d already altered that directive by trying to give Jessie and the other woman choices. They had none when it came to changing to a beast. But Kade had been trying to give them freedom from Braden. Freedom to choose.
Jessie was choosing Zach. If Kade had any honor at all, he would accept that. And move on.
The resolution did little to quell the uneasy sensation within him. Kade turned away from the corrals and loped in an arc that took him past the barn. He approached the house from that side of the yard.
Paused in back of the hay shed. Dropped his nose into a small hollow that seemed filled with—old boots? A few gloves, too. And a horse halter. Most smelled like Zach, but the top layer included a few that carried scents of his Weres. And over them, Willow’s distinctive donkey aroma.
Kade shook his head and extracted his own boot from the pile. He’d have to talk to Cara about thieving Familiars. Shifting back to human, Kade walked through the shadows along the barn to where he’d left his clothes. Sure enough, only one boot waited for him.
