Desert Blood (The Wolves of Twin Moon Ranch Book 2) Read online

  That’s what scared him. His wolf had never claimed a woman before. Usually, the beast sampled anything on offer and quickly moved on, favoring quantity over quality when it came to the opposite sex. Over the last two weeks, though, his wolf had suddenly developed an opinion, and it was all about Heather.

  Only her.

  All the time.

  Mine!

  But what the hell did a wolf know?

  Cody wasn’t meant to settle down. Cody wasn’t the one called by destiny. And he certainly didn’t deserve a woman like her. She was so spirited. So together. So…fresh. But just because he got a rush around Heather, just because he spent day and night wondering about her, didn’t mean he was in love. No, sir.

  The wind taunted him all the way across the ranch.

  Ty, the lucky bastard, had no such concerns. The man was happily mated and the father of an eighteen-month-old he adored. Ty didn’t have to worry about finding his destiny; it had already found him.

  Right now, he was intent on the bat, flipping back the towel for a closer look. Cody leaned in, too. They both knew that there were bats and there were… Well, call them bad bats, even if the latter hadn’t been spotted in Arizona for decades. Cody studied the creature’s eyes, the quivering tongue. It looked so fragile in his brother’s big hand, yet somehow menacing, too.

  “A scout?” Cody asked, keeping his voice low. Why, he wasn’t sure. They were far enough away from the schoolhouse now, and Heather had turned the music on, anyway.

  She’d danced through his senses, one after another, ever since she first arrived. It started with music—the notes had drawn him in on the very first day. He’d overheard her explaining the rules to the kids: they had to keep their voices down during independent work time, quiet enough for everyone to be able to hear the music. Good trick, that. She played classical stuff that no one on the ranch listened to—Beethoven, maybe Mozart, what did he know? It was sweet and calming, though, just like the sight of her. Cody sometimes stopped by just to listen, to know she was close.

  Then it was scent, followed by sight, and now, Jesus, his fingers itched to touch her, to feel the silk of her hair, the smooth of her skin.

  Ty tipped his head left, then right, still examining the bat. “Hard to say.” They hadn’t had vampires around here for a long time. Not the kind that made trouble, at least. But old fears ran deep. Ty wrapped the bat in the towel, careful not to crush it. Yet. “Dad wanted to see us. We’ll show it to him.”

  Crap. Cody’s day had started so well. He’d finally found an excuse to talk to Heather, finally got her to smile. Now everything was sure to go to hell.

  Coming? Ty’s voice invaded his mind. Siblings and packmates shared a close bond that enabled that form of communication. Some voices were weaker than others, but Ty’s always came booming in, loud and clear.

  Coming, coming. Cody let his feet shuffle along. Whatever their father wanted, it couldn’t be good.

  “Hi, Cody!” came a perky voice. Beth waved from the library porch, wearing a hopeful grin that harbored an open invitation.

  He gave a neutral wave, ducked his chin, and hurried on. No use raising anyone’s hopes.

  “Hey, Cody,” came a low, sultry call. His head swiveled left. Audrey stood there, leaning way over in a scooped top that displayed the bountiful goods on offer.

  “Hi,” he murmured, walking faster. He let a minute tick by before turning to Ty. “Do you miss that?”

  “Not one bit.” Ty shook his head.

  “Not ever?”

  “Never.” Ty’s voice left no room for doubt. Cody could see it on him anyway. These days, his brother positively glowed with happiness. It was as if Ty had found a whole new source of energy and was radiating it. Inexplicably, Cody found himself wondering what it was about having a child and a mate that was so satisfying. Wondering if he would ever find out for himself.

  “Don’t you get sick of it?” Ty asked.

  Sick of the girls hitting on him all the time? Cody hesitated. Would his brother laugh if he said the truth? That he was tired of playing a role, tired of a different girl every week? Things had only gotten worse since Ty had mated with Lana, leaving Cody as most eligible bachelor on the ranch. For a time, he’d enjoyed himself. But now, it grated more than anything else.

  Was he tired of loose, empty liaisons? Yes. Sick and tired.

  “I love it,” he said.

  Ty snorted.

  “Cody!” Audrey swept closer. The woman was hell in high heels. She raced up, staged a theatrical wobble, and launched herself right into his arms, making sure to heave her hefty rack into his chest.

  If only she hadn’t, because Cody bumped Ty, jarring him enough to shake the bat free. It circled once, twice, and flapped away. “Crap,” Cody muttered.

  Ty launched his curses directly into Cody’s brain, along with everything he’d like to do to Audrey. Starting with throttling her with the lacy red bra advertising itself under her top.

  “Oh, I’m sorry!” Audrey purred, fondling Cody’s neck. “Was it important?”

  We’ll never fucking know, will we? Ty stomped off.

  “Gotta go!” Cody said, peeling himself free. But he’d escaped the frying pan only to jump into the fire because the council house, where his father held court, was coming up next.

  Getting there meant hurrying past two more packmates, both with issues to raise—real issues this time. Bryant had a question about the irrigation schedule, while Zack was reporting on fence damage. That was the thing: everyone came to Cody first. His father and Ty were both short on temper and patience. They kept the ranch running, but it was Cody and his sister Tina who kept it running smoothly. They were the approachable ones, the ones who convinced others with a smile and not a frown.

  Cody exchanged a few quick words with each of the men then hurried into the council house.

  “Ty,” his father greeted his older son with his usual note of pride. The son he’d practically named after himself: Tyrone the father, Tyrell, the son. “Cody,” he added in afterthought.

  Cody tucked his lips together and kept still, except for a nod to his sister Tina, sitting to his father’s right. She did her best to balance the old grouch out with a soft touch, as impossible as the task was. Ty and Tina were the spitting image of their father, dark and intense. Cody, he was different, in every way.

  “Kyle called.” As usual, his father launched right into business. The aspects of it that he still covered, that is. He’d gradually been handing duties over to his offspring, mainly playing the role of elder statesman—meaning he could meddle whenever he damn well pleased.

  Cody and Ty exchanged glances. Kyle rarely had good news. A pack member who lived on the periphery of the ranch, Kyle was also a state trooper. Their inside man.

  “He was on about a series of murders in New Mexico,” Tyrone continued with a dismissive flap of his hand.

  Tina chimed in, outrage underpinning her voice. “Highway murders. Innocent women.”

  Tyrone gave an exaggerated sigh. “We should follow up. Kyle seems to think the killers might cross over to Arizona. We don’t want trouble here.”

  If there was one thing shifters feared, it was discovery. Murder investigations brought outsiders, questions. In a word, trouble. Just because humans were the weaker species didn’t mean they should be underestimated. Once upon a time, humans had hunted shifters to the brink of extinction. These days, Cody’s kind had been relegated to the realm of myths, giving today’s packs a measure of peace—as long as they remained incognito.

  “I’ll go,” Cody said, eager for his chance.

  Ty nodded. “Cody will take care of it.”

  He stood extra tall as his father’s eyes raked his frame. He’d love an assignment like this. But would his father entrust it to him?

  That was the thing. Cody had gone years engineering a persona for himself. Cody the reckless. Cody the playboy. He was no fool; even at a young age, he’d seen the crushing expectations heaped on
his older brother. He wanted none of that, so he’d been sure to goof up frequently enough to keep expectations suitably low. And for a long time, the strategy worked.

  The problem was, he was getting a little tired of acting his own role. But he was so good at it now, he was typecast. Didn’t matter that he was ready to handle responsibility. Didn’t matter that he’d earned number three rank in the pack on his own merits. His father saw only the little boy. This was a chance, maybe the chance, to prove himself.

  His father eyed him skeptically.

  “I can do it,” Cody insisted.

  Their father looked to Ty instead. Lucky for Cody, his brother’s hands shot up. “I’ve got enough to do here. Lana’s got a stack of work, too, and Tana’s got a cold.”

  Cody hid a smile at Ty’s unabashed words. So what if their father was scowling again? Ty was committed to playing an active role in his child’s upbringing and being a good mate—unlike their father in his time. Ty might be the spitting image of their father, but he was a totally different man. A good man.

  Cody’s eyes drifted to his own feet. What would his own legacy be?

  An image of Heather formed, so real and close it nearly knocked him off his feet. Those green eyes, smiling right into his, showing him just how good the future could be. Telling him how much more he could be. He didn’t have to be the overlooked son of a powerful alpha. He could be—

  And then it hit him. Whatever he might become, it would have to be without her. Because the son of the alpha could never, ever take a human mate. He was supposed to continue the shifter bloodline by claiming one of their own. Everyone knew it. Some other wolfpacks tolerated human mates, but Twin Moon was an old-fashioned kind of place, and humans were strictly forbidden—and doubly forbidden to the alpha’s son.

  His inner wolf let out a low, continuous growl at the thought, throwing crazy messages at the human half of his mind. Like fighting for Heather. Claiming her. Taking her as his mate—

  Cody winced at a burning sensation on his ear, and then looked up to see his brother hitting him with one of his piercing looks. A look that said, Whatever you’re thinking about, it better not be her.

  “Cody can do it,” Tina said, surprising him with the conviction in her words. “He can work with Kyle to stop the killer before another innocent victim dies, and before any reporters or investigators bring trouble.”

  They all knew what kind of trouble Tina meant. The pack kept a low profile for a good reason—their own survival.

  He pushed the image of Heather out of his mind and looked his father in the eye, willing the words to fall from those skeptical lips. A long, uncertain pause followed. Outside, a woodpecker hammered, then listened to its own echo, and a pick-up rattled past, kicking up a plume of dust. Seconds creaked by.

  Finally, Tyrone nodded. “Cody, take care of it.”

  Music to his ears.

  Just watch you don’t fuck it up, Ty grunted.

  Ah, Ty—helpful as ever.

  Their father flapped his hand, dismissing them. Cody forced himself to walk to his truck at a measured pace. He fired it up and pointed it for the ranch gate, ready to roll, then paused abruptly. This murder case was unlikely to be resolved quickly. He might be tied up for weeks, pulling long hours away from the ranch.

  Away from Heather. His heart plummeted.

  Though it was probably for the best. He couldn’t afford to let himself get distracted now. Not with just another fling—with a human, of all things.

  Fling? His wolf roared so fiercely, so offended, that the truck swerved. Mine! Mate!

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Heather heard the clock tick but didn’t look up. It was late, too late, to still be at work, especially three weeks into the job when things should have tapered off. But teaching six grade levels a day meant a mountain of preparation. That and she’d sworn off Friday nights. Sworn off men, too, since the time when bad went to worse and worse became a nightmare.

  The ghost of her reflection haunted her laptop screen, pale and unearthly. She’d changed so much, looking fragile, fearful, and hunched. An old spinster at age twenty-seven. The only place Heather felt like her old self was in school. Maybe that’s why she put in the extra hours. What happened to the confident woman who didn’t let herself get pushed around?

  Simple, Heather reminded herself. That woman had nearly gotten herself killed. That woman’s judgment couldn’t be trusted. Never again.

  Especially now that she was battling an inexplicable pull toward a man she barely knew. Cody. The man had hijacked her thoughts and refused to negotiate a release. Ever since he’d stopped by to deal with the bat, it was all she could do to draw a breath without it having something to do with him. Over the past week, he’d been turning up at the schoolhouse almost daily, just as she was wrapping things up. He’d been spending a lot of time off the ranch on some project, but even so, he’d magically appear, loping toward her like a joyous puppy who’d just slipped his leash.

  “Hiya!”

  It was getting so that Heather didn’t even need to look up to know who it would be.

  “Hey,” she would call back, trying to keep the jitter out of her voice.

  “Looks like you’re going my way.” He’d smile and fall in step with her.

  “Looks like.” She would nod, trying not to show her delight. She could get drunk just from being this close.

  They’d walk side by side, and Heather would slow her step to drag out the simple pleasure of his company.

  “Can I carry something for you?” That had become part of the routine, too. And every single time, his smooth voice rose in hope.

  All she had was an empty lunch bag and a work bag with her laptop and a notebook inside; not exactly a heavy load. But she’d swing the work bag off her shoulder and offer it to him all the same. On the first day, he’d goaded her all the way to the parking lot before she gave it up. Now she handed it over without argument, finding a strange kind of satisfaction in having a man want to do something for her, even if she didn’t need it. Just because.

  They’d walk and chat, and that became the highlight of her day. Like yesterday, when his proximity made her warm, tingly, and safer than she’d felt in what seemed like a lifetime.

  “So, what’s your next project in the schoolhouse?” he asked. The man was always so relaxed, so assured. She wished just a tiny bit of that could rub off on her. But then she’d get to wishing for a lot more than a fleeting touch, and that inner voice of warning would strike.

  Watch out! You can’t trust him! Can’t trust anyone!

  She knew she should hold back, but it was impossible. The man could charm the gold out of Fort Knox just on the force of his grin. A grin that stirred up a warm, thick pulsing in her veins.

  “Well, I’d set up a reading nook if I could.”

  “A reading nook?” He arched an eyebrow. “I’m picturing leather straps. Hard chairs. Instruments of torture.”

  That Cody hadn’t enjoyed his school days, she’d already guessed. He had probably been the type with too much energy to sit still, too much humor to harness.

  “No, all a reading station needs is a couple of beanbags and a cozy rug.”

  “Cozy, huh?” He gave an impish grin.

  Heather decided not to acknowledge the flame that lit inside her. “And it has to have a theme,” she added, feeling hopelessly girlish as the words came out. The man exuded so much testosterone, instinct had her counterbalancing him.

  “A theme,” he echoed, skepticism in his voice.

  “I was thinking an underwater theme. A blue rug, like the sea…” Like your eyes, though she left that part out. “I’d put the books in a box made to look like a treasure chest, and paint the wall in an underwater scene.”

  “Like what, an octopus holding eight books?” A smile played at the corners of his lips. Either he was making mental notes or kidding her. Hard to tell which.

  She nodded, gulping away images of a bare-chested Cody entering the schoolhous
e with four cans of paint in one hand—because hands as broad as his were capable of great feats—and a brush in the other. A little smudge of blue on his cheek, a line of yellow on his pecs.

  Her heart beat just a little faster. “An octopus reading eight books at once. Great idea.”

  He was delighted, she could tell, and her heart squished just a little more. Hadn’t anyone ever praised his ideas before?

  Every day it went something like that, the two of them walking and grinning like fools. He’d drop her off at the car and wouldn’t turn away until she was around the bend. She knew because she watched him, too, and the rubber band tugging her toward him grew harder to resist on each successive day.

  But she had to resist. Even if he meant her no harm, she was just passing through Arizona on her way to…somewhere. Some place to hide and survive.

  So it was probably a good thing that some days, he didn’t turn up at all. Like today, when not even an hour of hopeful glances or anxious finger-tapping could conjure him out of thin air.

  She sighed and looked out the window. Outside, the sun had just slipped below the western hills, bleeding red and orange across the sky. The colors scribbled a reminder of what she’d been told when she first took the job. Avoid the dirt road after dark. A polite hint, she figured, to get off ranch property by nightfall. She wasn’t sure why, but she didn’t want to step on any toes. The job meant too much to her.

  Never mind that back in town, rumors flew. The ranch harbored some kind of cult, people said. The way the ranch folk sequestered themselves, the way they kept outsiders at arm’s length… It was a cult, for sure.

  Heather had long since dismissed the rumors. She hadn’t seen any sign of a cult, only nice, hard-working people. If anything was unusual on the ranch, it was how neighborly everyone was, in an old-fashioned kind of way. She felt perfectly at ease in this haven from the outside world. In fact, it was an effort to drag herself away.

  But day was tipping into night in that uncertain hour when the desert awoke from its siesta, and it was time to go. Heather hastened to collect her things then stood and turned off the lights. Outside, the first stars were twinkling, asking why she had to go. Every time she headed out, she got this melancholy feeling. As if home was here and not in town.