Winter (Rise of the Pride, Book 2) (18 page)

“I need to see my mate,” Winter snarled, his
canines thickening. “I’m not mad at her.”

“Well, she’s pretty angry with you,” Talon
supplied.

“I know,” Winter replied in defeat.

“Liberty is inside with her,” Talon said,
stepping away. “Let me get my mate and we will leave you alone to
talk.”

“Thank you,” Winter exhaled, following his
leader up the walkway into his home.

He stood in the doorway as Liberty said her
goodbyes to Nova. As soon as his mate looked up, her glare hardened
and she looked away before standing up to walk into his kitchen.
Talon slapped him on the shoulder as he passed, pulling the front
door closed as he left with his own mate.

“Nova,” he began as he entered the kitchen,
but froze when she spun around…tears streaming down her face. He
started to move forward, but she held out her hand in warning.

“Don’t touch me right now, Winter Blue,” she
growled.

“Please, let me explain?” he begged, holding
up his hands in surrender.

“I already know,” she sighed. “I know
everything.”

“I cannot change you,” he admitted. “I don’t
think I can bear seeing you in pain, little one. I remember what
that pain was like and I won’t put you through that.”

“It isn’t your choice,” she replied.

“As your mate, it is my choice as well,” he
growled, moving forward.

“Excuse me?” she gasped in shock, walking
toward him. Winter didn’t move, or even breathe, while she
approached. “My life, my choice.” She actually poked him in the
chest with her finger.

“I know,” he caved.

“Then you should know that I asked Talon to
change me,” she admitted.

“No!” Winter snarled, his eyes glowing
bright amber, his canines lengthening to lethal points.

“Put your fangs away,” Nova dismissed,
tossing her hand in the air. She wasn’t afraid of him or his
partial shift, and that brought him up short. “He refused me.”

“Good,” Winter said, feeling his fangs
recede as he moved toward her. This time, she didn’t protest and
let Winter pull her against his chest. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

“No,” she said, resting her forehead against
his chest. “I’m sorry I left without telling anyone.”

“I know that you needed space to think,
Nova,” he scolded. “You could’ve done that here. I want you to feel
at home here with me.”

“I do feel at home here, but I needed to
have some time to think, Winter,” she said, looking up into his
eyes. She was his mate…the one woman made for him.

“Did Talon explain everything about us…
about the change?” he asked, hesitantly.

“Yes,” she swallowed. “How painful is
it?”

“On a scale of one to ten, I’d rate it as
around two hundred,” he replied seriously. “When Liberty was
changing, we had to forcefully pull Talon from her bedside. He was
in just as much pain as she was those three days.”

“I wish I’d known.” She frowned. “I would’ve
stayed with her.”

“I’m sorry,” Winter said. “Talon wouldn’t
let us in the room on the first day. After we pulled him out, it
wasn’t safe for you to be there. He shifted and the entire pride
was on edge. When our alpha is in distress, the whole pride
suffers.”

“I still want you to change me, Winter,” she
said, placing a hand over his heart.

“I’m sorry,” he said, shaking his head. “I
can’t.”

“You’re not the only panther I know,” Nova
said, gritting her teeth. His mate was determined and a pain in his
ass.

“You do know that if a male touches you now,
it will cause you to be in pain, right?” he growled. “If one of my
brothers lays one hand on you, I will kill him.”

“Oh, no you won’t,” she said, rolling her
eyes. “You know you wouldn’t.”

“I would,” he argued. “You have a lot to
learn about panthers, little one. Our beasts have minds of their
own. When our mates are harmed, our panthers take over and push the
human side away. I wouldn’t be responsible for what he does to the
male that touches you.”

“If one of them touches me, you better not
hurt them,” she warned. “They are my friends too, and your
brothers.”

“They know better,” he countered.

“You’re not budging on this, are you?” she
asked, a brow raised in question.

“No,” he snarled.

He would fight her on this and not give in.
Just the thought of her screaming in pain raised the hair on the
back of his neck and his panther paced in his mind. He wouldn’t
change her. It would be the one thing that killed him…seeing her in
pain.

Chapter Fourteen

“This is my brother, Kye, and this is Evie,”
Talon said, introducing them to the new pride members. Evie felt a
little at ease around them since they were all around the same age.
They’d met in the dining room that was attached to the kitchen
since it was between meals and no one was around the pride house.
For a Saturday, it was very quiet, and Evie was sure her alpha had
something to do with that. Even the alpha’s mate was nowhere to be
found.

“I’m Malaki and this is my sister, Calla,”
the boy with the dark blonde hair replied. His smile was as bright
as his ice blue eyes. His sister, however, cowered at his side, her
eyes were cast downward.

“I have to make a phone call,” Talon said,
excusing himself.

Kye had come to her earlier and said that
Talon thought maybe the two of them could meet and get to know
Malaki and Calla. The girl had been held by the wolves for months,
malnourished and dying from the lack of an alpha.

“Are you guys hungry?” Kye asked.

“Please?” Calla asked from her brother’s
side. When she looked up, Evie swallowed a gasp. Evie saw herself
in the girl’s eyes and gave her a soft smile. Calla looked
defeated, but slowly pushed away from her brother’s side as Mrs.
Shaw, Kye’s mother, entered the room with a platter of
sandwiches.

“I’ll be back with some drinks for you,” she
added, and left the room. Kye grabbed some paper plates from the
sideboard and handed them out. Kye and Malaki added sandwiches to
plates and immediately sat them in front of Evie and Calla. Once
the two boys were satisfied the girls were taken care of, they
mounded their own plates and dug in with gusto. Mrs. Shaw returned
only for a moment to set the pitcher of lemonade on the table and
four cups. The boys took over, serving the girls with drinks
first.

“Do you go to school?” Calla asked after
taking a sip of her drink.

“Yes,” Evie said, her eyes flickering toward
Kye. He and Malaki were talking about getting the other guys
outside for an impromptu football game. “We will be on Thanksgiving
break after tomorrow.”

“Oh, I guess Thursday is Thanksgiving,”
Calla frowned. “I’m so lost on what day it is.”

“I understand,” Evie replied. “I still have
days that I don’t do so well.”

“Did…did they hurt you?” Calla whispered.
Evie knew that Kye had heard Calla’s question, because his hand
touched her knee, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Not really,” Evie said, scrunching her
nose. “They hit me and put a collar on me. I was sedated through
most of it. Our healer said I wasn’t violated and I believe
him.”

“That’s good,” Calla smiled. “I think they
were scared to touch me.”

“Because of your brother?” Evie asked.

“He would move and put himself in front of
me when they would come in the room.” Calla shivered. Evie reached
out and touched her hand. Before she could say anything else, the
boys were at their sides.

“What’s wrong?” Kye growled, his eyes
sparking amber.

“We’re fine,” Calla replied, patting her
brother’s arm.

“Yeah, I think we are going to be okay,”
Evie smiled, praying her words were comforting to Calla. She wasn’t
so sure about herself.

Nova ignored Winter as she pushed the door
to the bar open. She disarmed the alarm system and didn’t even wait
for him to check the inside of the building. It was Thanksgiving
morning, and the bar would be closed until the next afternoon. She
would only be in there for ten minutes tops and then they could
go.

“I need to check the freezers,” she mumbled
as she passed him, ignoring his growl of frustration. They hadn’t
talked the night before after their argument about changing her.
Nova had actually slept in the upstairs bedroom, refusing to open
the door when she heard him pacing the hallway. It took forever,
and a pillow over her head, but she eventually fell asleep.

She busied herself with checking the
freezer, and then dropped the thermostat so she didn’t have to pay
for heat when the bar wouldn’t be occupied for at least another
twenty-four hours.

Flipping off the light, Nova turned and
gasped, placing a hand over her heart when she almost plowed right
into Winter’s broad chest. “You scared me.”

He didn’t speak as his hand touched the side
of her face tenderly, but that was where the softness ended. His
hand slid past her ear and tangled into her hair. When he made a
fist, she hissed from the burn in her scalp. It wasn’t painful.
Right the opposite…she
liked
it.

“You drive me crazy,” he snarled.

“Well, you drive me crazy too,” she
growled.

Winter’s other hand folded over her hip,
pulling her body flush against his. Before she could protest, his
lips were on hers, his tongue demanding entrance. His forcefulness
weakened her knees, but she didn’t let it show. God, every time he
touched her now, it felt like home, and she loved that about
him.

Did she love Winter Blue?

Nova could answer that…she knew she did love
him, but things were stressed between them right now. As much as he
drove her crazy, she cared for him, more than she thought he cared
for her.

“Stop overthinking,” he ordered, softly
nipping her bottom lip. When she opened her eyes, Winter was
staring at her with his panther’s eyes. The blue was completely
gone and only the glowing amber could be seen in the dark room.

“I’m an over-thinker, Winter,” she answered.
“I have to be that way. It’s just me now.”

“No,” he stated, pressing his forehead to
hers. “You have me, Nova. Forever, if you’d like.”

“Change me, Winter,” she whispered.

“No,” he replied, a low growl to his voice.
“I don’t want to talk about this here. Let’s go to our home and
I’ll tell you everything.”

“Everything?” she asked, not commenting on
his slip of calling his home both of theirs.

He nodded and took her hand, leading her
toward the front door. Nova punched in the numbers and locked the
door. She shivered as the wind blew across the lot, biting through
her thin jacket, then Winter was there to wrap an arm around her
shoulders to block any other gusts. His warmth bled into her and
she huddled close to him while he led her toward the passenger side
of his truck. The short ride over to his home was quiet and he
didn’t say anything until they were inside the cabin.

“Get settled with a blanket while I build a
fire,” he said, taking her jacket. The house was chilly and she was
thankful he was going to start a fire.

As she bundled up on the couch, Winter
stepped out the back door and returned with several logs stacked in
his arms. She watched as his muscles bunched and relaxed while he
knelt at the hearth. He stacked the wood and used a match against
some wadded up newspaper to light the fire. Within seconds, the
wood popped and an orange glow grew from the fireplace. Once he was
satisfied the fire was perfect, Winter stood and walked toward her,
his eyes heated as he approached.

“Come here,” he said, pulling her into his
lap so she was sitting sideways. Nova rested her head on his
shoulder and took a deep breath, waiting for him to tell her
everything.

But he only stared at the fireplace.

She wasn’t sure if she should say anything,
and when the silence got to be too much, Nova opened her mouth to
speak. “Winter?”