Moon Shine (Takhini Wolves) (4 page)

“That entire list is like one inch square,” Evan snarled, leaning in to peer closer.

“Get some bifocals, old man.”

Evan backhanded Shaun without looking away from the screen.

His Beta laughed evilly as he rubbed his chest. “Seriously, I know her. She works at the place that fixes all the computers you manage to bust. I haven’t seen her often, but I’ve caught a glimpse or two of her hiding in the background.”

Evan could have sworn that picture hadn’t been there any other time he’d IMed with Amy. Another
ping
dragged his attention back to the computer as she poked him.

You still there?

Evan focused on the screen. On the small picture showing a delicate-looking woman with enormous eyes. Amy seemed far too small to be hiding the burden of deceit from her pack, and his protective nature kicked into overdrive.

We have to stop this
, he wrote, desperate to assure her she wasn’t alone.
It’s not right for so much pressure to be on anyone’s shoulders. I want you to come in. Come to the Takhini pack house, and let me protect you

I don’t need protection

Her response was instantaneous, and totally the wrong thing to say.

Damn. She was going to be stubborn? She hadn’t met the king of stubborn. He was about to try one last chance at diplomacy when a wonderful idea blossomed.
Fine, but if you get worried, I expect to hear from you. Anytime you need a hand, you call me, and I’m there. And no more contacting me via IM.

That little warning message, the one stating
Amy is writing
appeared. Vanished. Appeared again, as if she were writing and erasing a note a few times. Probably planning to protest.

All he got was a final
Okay

This conversation was over, anyway. Now that he knew where to find her? He was going to bring his informant into protective custody for her own damn good.

One quick trip to the computer shop, and she’d be under his wing and then he could get back to the business of straightening his pack affairs.

Because only once that mess was cleaned up could he concentrate on the aching pit inside demanding he drop everything else and look for his missing mate.

Another frustrated battle of wills raged within as the human side and the wolf pulled him in different directions. His wolf couldn’t understand why they weren’t off doing a house-to-house search of Whitehorse if that’s what it took to find her, damn the time and energy it would take.

The human side sympathized and sort of agreed, yet the truth sucked. Alpha wolves didn’t get the chance to do what they wanted. The pack and its well-being came first.

He soothed the wolf the best he could with promises of another nighttime search through the city.

In the meantime, he had a different quarry to track.

Evan rose to his feet and slapped Shaun on the shoulder. “Hold down the fort. Feed Justin, and make sure he has everything he needs. Oh, and could you ask your mate to help at the hotel front desk if she’s got the time? A little of Gem’s social savvy could go a long way to soothe ruffled clients.”

“Where are you going?” Shaun asked as he pivoted out of the way.

“I’m going to have a one-on-one with a certain secret who needs to become un-secret for her own good.”

Chapter Four

Amy leaned back in her chair, annoyance rising. Well, that hadn’t gone nearly as well as she’d hoped. Evan had clammed up, and she hadn’t had a chance to set up the next sting.

Losing the ability to drop leading hints would have hurt a lot more a few weeks ago, though. Now she just about had everything in place.

She rose to stare out the window, the nearby leaves trembling in the slight breeze. Her skin itched, as if she’d been too long in a hot tub and was badly in need of cream.

Her wolf nudged her. Hard.

It wasn’t a trip to the spa she needed, but a good long run. Everything she did for the pack drained more of her energy. She loved each of them, cared for them deeply, but they were a group of individuals who required a unique kind of attention. Plus, there was the computer shop that was a real business even though she also used it to hide her presence.

Add in the extra time she’d put into planning surprises for Evan?

Screw it. A run would refresh her so she would have more to give. Amy pulled off her clothes and folded them carefully, stacking the articles to one side of her desk. She pushed open the sliding door behind her that led to the second-storey balcony, and drew in a deep breath of fresh air.

The sound of an email alert stopped her in the middle of taking advantage of her usual route to freedom. She stared longingly at the slim ramp built along the outside of the building at a narrow incline, stopping just far enough off the ground her wolf could make the leap but wild animals didn’t access her domain uninvited.

Amy took a quick glance at the email in the hopes she could blow it off, but this one needed attention ASAP. She left the door open, though, even as she sat, bare-ass naked in her computer chair and put out the pack fire.

But as soon as this was dealt with? She would take her cranky butt into the bush and work off her lingering aggression. The power of her wolf side hovered in the background as always. The beast made her strong and drove her nuts. One of the downfalls of being an Alpha female—she rarely had someone to work out her itch without them caving to her superior wolfie vibes.

The date with Colin on Monday was very much needed. He seemed strong enough to give her physical relief without her wolf becoming pissed off or bored by a weaker partner.

Solitude and frustration had become her constant companions, and she didn’t expect that to change. She’d been alone for years, and she always would be alone. Expectations of anything more had long ago been burnt away. Her heart was devoid of all but two things—love for pack.

And vengeance.

She bent her head and put her fingers to work composing a reply, the fire burning up her spine balanced evenly with the ice in her soul.

Evan stared at the computer-shop signage, every nerve in his body on high alert. This neighbourhood wasn’t his usual stomping ground, and a computer store? The last place on earth he’d ever go for shits and giggles.

But the closer he got to Bytes Unlimited, the more agitated his wolf became. He paused across the street in the shadows to scope the place out. Make sure there wasn’t a hidden assault team from the mysterious Canyon pack waiting in ambush.

Amy might have thought she was safe, but that didn’t mean her Alpha wasn’t checking up on her. Evan needed to get the woman out of danger, his sensation of uneasiness rising by the second.

Damn the risk to himself, this was happening now.

Evan strode across the road, jaywalking between moving vehicles. He was at the door in no time, jerking the glass open. Somewhere deep in the shop, a gentle buzzer sounded.

From the back of the store, two males turned to face him, welcoming smiles melting into rigid grimaces. Before Evan could say a word, the men vanished.

Gone. Completely.

It was like the coolest magic trick imaginable, only Evan was more pissed than impressed. He stepped into the shop and closed the door behind him, glancing past shelves that were loaded with computer thingies and plastic packaging.

“Hello?” he called into the silence.

And that’s when it hit him.

Peaches. Sunshine. The aroma of a wind that had crossed miles of seemingly empty tundra—wilderness at its rawest yet full of hidden life. All mixed up into one unique package.

It was a full-on dose of the scent he’d caught a hint of nearly two weeks ago. His stomach tightened, his heart rate kicked into overdrive. Instinctively his legs carried him forward as he tracked the scent that grew stronger and stronger.

His mate.

His
mate
had been in the computer shop. More than once. Often enough that as he moved toward the cash register and the counter, his head was so full of her he had to work hard to remain alert.

What was the deal with the missing staff? Evan kept his gaze moving as he silently padded forward. To one side, he spotted a couple of doors that explained where the men had gone, but not the why.

Until he hit their scent. Wolves.

Two unfamiliar wolves who vanished when they spotted him? Had to be Canyon pack. He’d deal with them later, though. Spend a little time explaining he wasn’t the enemy.

The enticing trail led him to the back of the shop and a narrow set of stairs. He moved like a wolf, noiseless and invisible. Sensing which treads to avoid stepping on to maintain absolute silence.

Easing his way upward was brutal when everything in him demanded that he run. Rush forward and swoop in on the woman who had to be at the top of the stairs.

His wolf clawed at him, eager for the hunt. Evan wrestled that part of himself under control for long enough to reach the top landing and step through the doorframe.

The room was filled with her, the open door pushing her intoxicating scent toward him like a sledgehammer to the brain.

He got a quick glimpse while she was unaware of his presence. Impressions struck like lightning bolts. Short dark hair worn in a simple style that suited her. Smooth creamy-brown skin, similar in shade to his own.

Lots of
naked
skin as she sat behind a desk and stared at her computer, and he wasn’t even going to ask why the hell she was working in the nude because she was his mate, and if she chose to wear nothing but skin for the rest of her life, he was oh-so-fine with that.

Then she looked up, and their eyes met. Pupils widened against her dark brown irises. Her nostrils flared, and if possible, her eyes widened farther.

“Amy?” Evan moved cautiously.

His naked goddess didn’t answer. Just blinked, hard, as if in total shock to see him in her office, which made sense.

He lifted a hand to reassure her—

She bolted. Twirled and shot through the open door, naked skin transforming in a flash to midnight-black fur.

He cursed even as he leapt after her, scrambling onto the balcony. The lithe body of a wolf ran full-out down a narrow ledge on the side of the building. Evan stripped his clothes off as quickly as he could, but she’d already hit the ground before he was able to make the shift.

Chasing her wasn’t a good idea. She’d obviously been shocked enough to flee, and having an Alpha on her tail wasn’t a very nice thing to do to any wolf, especially to one who was afraid.

But hell if he could let his mate get away again.

She wasn’t thinking. Wasn’t plotting. Wasn’t doing
anything
but trying to get the hell away from him.

How had Evan found her? Amy twisted between the trees, ducked under a low bush. She considered doubling back to hide her trail in case he chose to follow her, but that would take time she didn’t have. Her best bet was to lose him in the distance before he was able to track her.

She knew these paths, heading north and east on the straightest route possible to the bridge over the river.

Once on the other side, she had a dozen places where she could vanish. Even as she considered her options, she chastised herself.

How had everything gone wrong in just the past few hours?

Her wolf wasn’t cooperating either. The edge of adrenaline she usually got while running was dull this time, as if her wolf had a different agenda. Two parts in one whole, she was the wolf and the wolf was her, but the human mind and the animal’s could and did disagree about what they thought was important.

Now was not the time for a lengthy internal self-debate.

Muscles burning with exertion, she tore up the trail, cutting into a clearing where she could choose one of four escapes. She headed to the right in the hopes of disappearing when she was tackled to the ground by the weight of a far heavier wolf.

Her first response of panic was washed away by an entirely new emotion as she slipped from under him and whirled to face him.

Evan’s scent wrapped around her, and for a second she froze in utter shock. Comprehension slid in and ensnared her in its icy realization.

Oh,
no
. No. No.
No
.

He was
not
her mate. Amy snarled because she couldn’t let loose the howl of frustration and fury she wanted to give voice to. Not without baring her throat, and that was one thing she would never willingly do. She’d
never
give him a chance to see her defenseless.

Evan sat back on his haunches, head tilted to the side like a puppy. Confusion at her growled response was written into his posture.

Had he known they were mates? Amy wondered.

Frustration filled her, yes, but even stronger was bewilderment, and sorrow, then all-out emotional-anger hit, and she did the only thing she could think of to stop herself from leaping at him and swiping her claws across his defenseless throat.

She shifted, letting her rage escape in a shout. “Damn you, Evan Stone. Damn you to
hell
.”

He was on his feet seconds later, his muscular human form so pleasing to the eye and such a knife to her heart. “Amy? What’s wrong?”

She planted her fists on her hips and stared about four inches over his head, fighting for control. In her worst nightmares she could never have imagined this. “Everything is wrong.
Everything
. Oh my God, you’re my
mate
.”

The final word escaped in a choking gasp, and her guts twisted as if someone had reached inside her, wrapped their fingers around her heart and were slowly tearing it out.

She folded her arms around her torso and held on tight in the hopes of stabilizing her shaking world.

He didn’t try to touch her, which was good. He
looked
, though. Looked as if his heart was breaking as well, and it was beyond annoying that she instantly cared what she’d said had hurt him. She should have been rejoicing, but instead the conflict threatened to rip her in two.

“This is wrong. All wrong.” Amy swallowed hard, fighting tears of anger. Fighting the need to lash out and plant a fist into that perfectly formed muscular six-pack.

He shook his head. “I don’t understand what’s upset you, but we’re mates. We can fix it. We can fix it together, Amy. I know we can.”

She took a deep breath and ignored the tone in his voice, the one that was oh-so-reasonable and oh-so-logical, because this had nothing to do with reason or logic, and everything to do with pain and sorrow. “You can’t be my mate. It’s impossible,” she whispered vehemently.

“It’s true. You sense it. Can taste it on the air.” Evan inched closer. Only one step, but enough she shot out a hand to warn him off. “Why are you denying it?”

She pulled back her shoulders and lifted her chin. Stiffened her spine to brace against the coming battle. His dark eyes were pools she could fall into, but that way led to madness and regret. “I have to deny it. I can’t be mates with the man who killed my brother.”