Ashe muttered a curse. That was the whole freaking point. “It’s midnight! She’s never been out this late, or for this long. Besides, I thought you were going to talk to her.”
“I did.”
“And?”
Raph hunched a shoulder. “And she said she feels stifled at night. Like she’s been put in a cage. She needs to run.” His gold eyes glistened. “Hunt.”
Ashe could feel her blood pressure rising. For the past four months, Raph had refused to take Soyala’s nightly excursions seriously. She suspected he was secretly proud of his daughter’s feisty nature and adventurous spirit. Hell, Ashe was proud too, but she wasn’t willing to risk her child’s life to prove the girl was destined for greatness.
“And?” Ashe prompted.
“And I…” He allowed his words to trail away, a flash of heat touching his cheek.
“What?”
“I might have said I understood.”
Ashe jerked, sudden pain slicing through her heart. She glanced over at Parish, who was staring down at the map in front of him, no doubt wishing the thing would swallow him up.
Put in a cage.
Stifled.
Goddess, was that why Raph spent so much time at work instead of being home with her? Had mating with her become a prison for him?
Her gaze lifted to meet his. “So you’re feeling stifled too?”
“No. No, of course not.” He sounded shocked by the question, quickly reaching out to take her hand. “I just meant that on occasion I feel the need to shift into my cat and run.”
Her pain eased somewhat—but not her frustration. Soyala had been missing for hours. She wanted her little girl home and tucked in her bed.
“I also might have said that she needed to wait until I could go with her,” he added.
“When?”
Raph blinked. “When what?”
“When did you say you were going to run with her?”
“I…” Once again his words trailed away and he glanced toward the window where he could see the full, nearly purple moon proudly dominating the night sky. “Shit.”
“It was tonight, wasn’t it?” Ashe pressed.
Raph grimaced. “I forgot.”
Ashe ground her teeth together and pulled her hand from his. Soyala had been restless all day, barely eating her dinner and constantly glancing toward the door. Now Ashe knew why.
“You forgot…well, nothing new in that, is there?” she accused, turning to head out of the conference room. “I’m out of here.”
“You’re such an idiot, brother,” Parish muttered.
“Shut it, Parish.” Raph rushed forward and stood directly in his mate’s path. “Ashe, please—”
“Don’t Ashe please me.” She stepped back. “Your daughter is out in the dark. Alone.”
“I’m sure she’s fine,” he assured her in soothing tones.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
She shook her head. “How? How are you sure?”
“I would sense it if she left the Wildlands,” he said with a thread of undisguised pride. “Besides, she’s a better hunter than cats twice her age.”
Everything he said was true. Soyala had already passed the tests needed to become a full Hunter. But while she was physically capable of protecting herself, she was mentally a seven-year-old girl.
Ashe glared at her mate. “She’s a child.”
“She’s a cub,” he corrected. He tried to pull her into his arms, looking wounded when she jerked away. “There’s no need to get this upset, sweetheart.”
Ashe growled at him, feeling like the top of her head was going to explode. No reason to get upset? No reason?
“Shit, Raph.” Parish cleared his throat, his wary gaze locked on Ashe’s flushed face. “I think the occasion calls for a little more listening and a lot less talking.”
This time, the Hunter’s words seemed to reach Raph, who dropped his arms and offered a small nod. “Okay, okay…I get it. I’ll go find Soyala and bring her home.”
“We’ll go find our daughter,” Ashe corrected.
“I—” Raph caught Ashe’s steely glare. He coughed, pretending he hadn’t been about to go all Leader of the Pantera on her and tell her to go home and wait for him. “Yes. Of course. We’ll go find her.”
“Finally,” Parish uttered dryly. “Maybe he’s not quite as dumb as he looks.”
Ashe snorted, moving past her mate and out the door. “I wouldn’t bet money on it.”
Chapter Two
Ashe didn’t stop and wait for him to catch up.
Not inside HQ. Not down the lighted pathway. And not as she threaded her way through the towering cypress and sycamore oaks toward the bayou.
She was certainly aware of his pursuit, however. Not just because she could hear him moving behind her, that large, powerful body, and those long legs taking one calm stride to her frustrated two. But because that damn musky scent of his was teasing the shit out of her nose. Rich. Sexy. Intoxicating. Achingly heady and gloriously familiar. Every inhale making her skin flush and tingle, which in turn made her heart squeeze with pain.
Why did it take this—a fight—to get him to pursue her?
Around them, the air hummed with the sound of insects and the croak of frogs. Above them, the lavender moon broke through the clouds every few minutes, illuminating their way over the lush carpet of moss beneath their feet.
It was the perfect night for a romantic stroll. Hands entwined. Riding on the back of his powerful cat as it purred its pleasure. But instead she was stomping through the bayou—angry and worried, frustrated and sad.
“Are you ever going to talk to me?” Raph asked behind her, his deep voice gentle.
She remained silent. Like a child. A hurt child who desperately missed her best friend.
“Shit, I’m sorry, Ashe.”
“You need to say that to your daughter,” she returned tartly.
“I will. But I wanted to say it to you first.”
She veered to the left and took the trail leading to the deepest and most untamed part of the Wildlands.
Raphael came up beside her. “Are you mad because I forgot to take Soyala on a run tonight?”
“Isn’t that enough?”
“Yes, but it feels like this is about more.”
Of course it was about more. But how was she supposed to say it? I miss you. I miss us. I need you
