Cougar's Luck (Pacific Northwest Cougars Book 2) (6 page)

E
verett had been chatting
with the Kleins for some time. Will had shown up and they were all enjoying their dinner. Talking about Vegas, their pack, and various other topics. Everett couldn’t stand waiting any longer and excused himself telling them he needed to check in with Dax.

“Of course, I hope everything is working out,” Grace said. She meant it too.

Stepping into the house away from the patio where they had been eating, Everett dialed Dax’s cell number. It rang to voicemail so he left a message and then tried his home phone. It rang once before someone picked up.

“Sweet baby Ray, you better be in one piece bitch or I’ll kill you myself!”

This came from a surprisingly cute, but angry voice over the phone.

“Uh, is Dax there?”

“What? Who is this?” the cute voice asked.

“Well, I called my brother’s house, so who are you?”

“Shit, your Dax’s brother? You sound cute, are you cute? Like Dax cute or better?” she asked.

Not knowing if this person was mentally ill or on drugs he pressed on.

“This is Everett Hayes, I really need to talk to Dax. He called and told me his girlfriend was kidnapped.”

“Oh that! Don’t worry, he found her. The Eff-miester is fine. Well, sorta fine. Chris the creep hit her over the head, knocked her clean out! Can you believe that? I mean she’s got a hard head, but that still totally isn’t cool. I mean what an asshole!”

“So you are telling me that Effie is okay? Dax and she are together?” It was like pulling teeth getting information from this girl. He was trying to be calm, although his cat was pacing wanting to know if Effie was all right.

“Sure are, they are on their way back from the hospital. Got Effie checked out. So, you never said if you were cute. I’m Cassie, by the way, Effie’s sister by pinkie swear. Which I guess makes us family. Would that be weird hooking up? It’s not really incest. If you look anything like Dax, I’m totally in.”

Wow, this girl was crazy. He was starting to feel for Dax’s situation. His mate was just kidnapped, who knows the state of the kidnapper, and he had to come home to a girl that sounded off her rocker.

“Could you please have Dax call me when he can? I just want to make sure Effie is okay,” Everett explained patiently to her. Maybe talking slowly will calm her down.

“Fine, don’t tell me if you’re hot. I’ll ask Dax anyway. And yes, I’ll tell him you called. Hey, aren’t you a twin? Text me your picture, if you’re hot and we don’t work out there is always a spare! My number is three six oh…”

That is as far as she got before Everett hung up. Whoever this Cassie was, she was out of his league. At least he knew that Dax’s mate was safe.

Dialing through to Stryker, he was surprised when his brother picked up.

“Yo.”

That was Stryker.

“Dax found his mate, she’s fine, and he’s on his way home with her,” Everett said in one breath.

“Cool.”

Then he heard the phone click.

That was Stryker.

Everett was so used to it, it didn’t faze him. Other people it drove insane. Stryker was always on a need to know basis. He was also the first one to pitch in if someone needed something or was in trouble. He just didn’t want to have long drawn out conversations over tea about it.

Returning the table, he apologized for stepping out. He clearly hadn’t walked far enough inside because as he sat down he saw three pairs of bright shifter eyes staring him.

“Is your brother’s mate safe?” This was from Will.

“Yes, it seems she is fine. Slightly injured and I don’t know about the kidnapper, not that I care. But she’s on her way back to Dax’s and hopefully he’ll call me and fill me in when she gets settled.”

“Well, if the man is still alive, then your brother is a better man than I am,” Russell remarked.

Everett felt the same way. He hadn’t even met Effie, but the idea of someone taking away his brother’s reason to live was enraging.

“Sorry I interrupted dinner, it was just weighing on me,” Everett apologized.

“Not at all dear, we completely understand,” Grace said, leaning over and patting his hand.

They all finished their dinner and Will and Everett excused themselves to go look over the security installation.

Everett was happy working with Will in the mansion’s server room. Not nearly as fancy as the hotels, of course, but still impressive for a personal home. He told Will about the plans for the retinal scanner and Will was onboard with all the changes.

Everett also received a call from his brother Dax who gave him a full run down of the events with his mate. The man who kidnapped her was still alive surprisingly, but only because Effie had asked Dax not to kill him. Everett didn’t understand this and told Dax so.

“You’ll understand when you have a mate and she bats her eyelashes at you. Anything they want, believe me,” he warned.

“Who is this Cassie person? Do you know you are harboring a mentally unstable person in your house?” Everett couldn’t help but ask.

Laughing, Dax explained, “Cassie comes with Effie, therefore you should probably get used to her. I’m pretty sure she’ll be living with us since Effie won’t have it any other way. She’s a little crazy, but she loves Effie. That means I love her for my mate. Package deal.”

Still confused Everett offered, “Alright, but if you ever need help evicting her, just call. It may take all of us, but I think we can box her up and ship her to Iceland or something.”

“Thanks for the offer little bro, but we are all good here. After Vegas you swinging by? I’d love for you to meet Effie. Maybe we can all go visit Kenzi and King together.”

“That sounds great, I’ll let you know when I finish up here.”

Everett said his goodbyes and saw Will watching him.

“What must it be like to have a mate whose feelings matter more than your need for revenge. Even when it was someone who really deserved it?” Will said this like he was pondering it deeply.

“I hope to know someday, I really do,” Everett answered.

William checked his watch and saw the time, it would be dark soon.

“Let’s call it quits and I’ll introduce you to the pack. They should all be arriving about now.”

The men headed out and found a number of people already gathering in the main rooms of the house. Will introduced Everett to everyone and many of them came up and shook his hand.

After about an hour of mingling, Russell called out, “About time!”

The group started moving towards the back of the house. The Kleins owned hundreds of acres of desert. Even outside of that is was all government land with very little road access. Lots of room for the pack to roam.

As they walked past the glow of the house, people started stripping down. It was shifter protocol to not look at anyone else as they stripped. It was just considered bad manners.

Everett’s cougar was itching to get out. The minute Everett shucked down his shorts and boxers, his cat was pushing at him. Letting him take over, his animal folded out through his skin, tawny fur sprouting and Everett’s view went to just a few feet above the ground and his cat stretched his huge paws into the sand.

Letting his animal have full control, he felt the elation his cat was feeling getting to run with so many other animals.

John Klein, the pack’s Alpha let out a loud roar, signaling everyone to take off. They did in a flurry of fur. All shapes and sizes, the young ones rushing out ahead. The older ones taking a slower pace. There were even a few kittens that were tripping over each other as they went out to try and hunt down scorpions or snakes.

Everett’s cat followed the pack into the darkness.

K
nowing she was running late
, Layla ran through the house and through the back door. The pack must have been running for a few hours now. The older ones would have taken a short journey then returned to the house. Everyone else should still be out.

As she reached the piles of clothes left on the ground by the pack, she stripped out of her clothes and put them all into a small tote she’d brought with her. She was not going to put her Lela Rose gold brocade dress on the dirt. Or her Manolo’s either.

Once she was naked, Layla had to give her cougar a nudge. Her cat was ready to run, but she’d never be pushy about it. Letting the shift flow over her, her animal rolled out of her skin, long legs flexing. She arched her back letting all her cat’s muscles shift and change. Telling her cat to have fun, Layla stepped back, and her animal took off to try and find her family.

She ran for a while with her cat stopping and sniffing a trail of a few pack members. She’d run across her parents already. She’d butted heads with both of them before running off again. The desert was noisy with feet skittering as the young ones of the pack chased after jackrabbits and other creepy crawlies in the night.

As she was reached her favorite rock outcropping that looked over the valley, she got a scent on the breeze. Sniffing again, her cat recognized that scent and purred. Damn, Everett was out here somewhere.

Layla wasn’t sure if she wanted to meet him. No, she was sure she didn’t want to meet him after her embarrassing dreams. Her cat, on the other hand, was very interested and wanted to track the scent. Her tail was twitching to run after it.

Her animal so rarely asked for anything, Layla couldn’t deny her the hunt. Giving her agreement, the animal took off tracing the scent on the breeze. It was still that savory, sweet smell from before, but now mixed with cougar.

Little did she know that across the valley were Everett and his cougar who were both sniffing into the wind. The scent was of perfume, nice perfume that wasn’t overpowering. The kind that you had to get really close to a woman to even smell. There was also something else. Something neither could put their finger or paw on.

Everett’s cougar opened his mouth and scented again, letting it roll over his tongue. It was making him crazy. They had to find out who it was. The cougar took off in the direction of the scent, running as fast as it could.

About halfway through the valley, Everett saw the reflection of another pair of cougar eyes running towards him. The moonlight causing the eyes to glow in the distance. The other animal was running straight towards them. Interesting.

As they came within a few feet of one another, Everett’s animal put on the brakes and skidded to a halt. The other animal did the same. They both stared at each other. Eyes locked, flashing, and pulsating a message as old as time.

Everett was staring at his mate. The second the thought went through his head, his cougar threw back his head and let out a ferocious roar. The sound echoed through the valley.

Layla was hyperventilating, her mate was sitting across from her and he was huge, and he was roaring, and he was hers. Her mate, her One, he was real. Her cougar was being patient waiting for the male to stop his declaration.

When he did, her cat let out a loud purr that rolled between then. She took a step closer, then another until they were almost nose to nose. She purred loudly again, then bumped her head under his chin.

Everett was spinning, his mate just touched him. It was really happening. His heart was bursting, he couldn’t believe it. A Klein pack member was his mate. All these years his mother had been sending the wrong son.

His cougar rubbed back at his mate. First over her head, then he circled around her, brushing his head against her fur. Marking her with his scent and making sure her beautiful scent was on him. The female waited like she knew he needed to do this. Once he’d made a full circle he rubbed his nose against her face again. Desperate to be close to her.

Everett told his cat, he had to let him take over. They had to talk to her. His cat reluctantly agreed. Taking a few steps back, he watched her do the same.

His cat fought him the slightest bit before letting Everett roll back into his skin. He straightened and waited as the cougar across from him watched.

Layla and her cat were mesmerized by a very naked Everett Hayes standing in front of them. He was more handsome than she could have imagined. Her sneak peek the other night did not do him justice. He was the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen, and he was hers.

Telling her cat they’d stared enough, she push back through her animal’s fur and stood up before her mate and watched as recognition flared in his eyes.

“Holy shit,” Everett blurted.

Layla raised her eyebrow at him.

Everett realized what he’d said and had the good grace to blush. Stepping towards her, he stopped when he was close enough she had to tip her head up to see him. He brought one hand up to her face, cupping her cheek.

“Layla Klein,” he whispered.

“Everett Hayes,” she replied.

“Mine,” he growled.

“Mine,” she growled back.

They stared at each other. Then Layla leaned forward and touched her lips to his. He opened his mouth and took her in a deep, searing kiss. Layla didn’t even try to battle for control. Everett was masterful as he tasted and plundered her mouth.

Layla’s only thoughts were of his mouth, how good he tasted. His scent filling her nose, washing over her. It was better than cologne, it was man. Normally her mind would be racing to figure out the logistics of mating. There would be parties and planning. Someone would have to move, decisions would need to be made. Instead, she was feeling drugged, blissed out, relaxed, and there wasn’t a worry in the world as long as Everett kept kissing her.

Everett was frustrated and happy all at the same time. He loved her mouth, goddamn her fucking mouth was like heaven. The overwhelming feeling of dominance and ownership poured over Everett. He’d never felt anything like it. He wanted to lay her in the dirt and fuck her senseless. Then he wanted to make love to her slowly, then repeat the fucking and making love until they passed out from exhaustion. He also had an internal rage, his need to protect his mate at all costs. There was nothing to protect her from out here unless you counted scorpions. But his cat was still looking for someone to beat up.

He felt an urgency to cover her, cherish her, feed her, he wasn’t sure what. It was all jumbling through his head and he didn’t know where to start, so he just kept kissing her.