Dire Desires

on.

The shift went from pain to pleasure in minutes. Cain ran between the two Dires, slowing as they scented humans around the same area he and Rogue had seen the hunters gathering.

Quietly, Cain padded forward, camouflaged in the heavy brush. He peered out and what he saw made his groin tighten.

He was back. Holy mother of the moon, Angus was back and he looked . . . like a goddamned warrior.

The scars were still there, marring his chest and back and neck and they didn’t distract from his beauty. Cain hadn’t lied when he’d told the man that, the last time they’d seen one another.

The conversation had gone downhill after that, but Cain knew he’d come back.

He’d just never thought the ex-fed would come back as a hunter.

Angus had always been damned handsome and strong to begin with. He’d always had an edge, but it was more pronounced now, especially the way his eyes glinted as he spoke with the other men in his group.

Cain took him all in, especially the silver knife and the tattoos on the backs of the man’s hands.

Hunter.

He drew a stuttered breath, found himself at a total loss for words as he watched Angus shoot the bow and arrow and hit the target exactly in the center. His muscles bulged and the look on his face meant business.

A woman came out of the trees and hugged him. And then another guy came out too—human—and clapped Angus on the back.

And Angus smiled at the guy.

Son of a bitch. Cain knew that smile. And he wasn’t about to compete with anyone.

“And that’s why you don’t fall for humans,” Vice told him.

He hadn’t heard the Dire approach, which was part of the problem, hadn’t realized he’d even shifted, dammit. He was off his game and couldn’t afford to be. Not now, with the impending move to Manhattan. He was Liam’s great white omega hope, and he wasn’t supposed to be out anywhere alone.

But he wasn’t, technically. He was with Angus and his new boyfriend.

It had been less than a month. And Angus seemed to have gotten over Cain just fine.

It’s not like you had a relationship.

But they’d had something and Cain valued loyalty. Had thought Angus did too. But Cain had obviously been wrong about many things. He could barely bite back a growl when the other human male put a hand on Angus’s shoulder. He could bite that hand off easily and he gave serious thought to doing so.

“They could just be friends, you know? Wolves are extremely jealous and possessive,” Vice continued, giving Cain a lesson in weredom that Cain already knew. He didn’t bother denying anything to Vice.

“Is this going to be a problem?”

“Hunters hunt weretrappers and other bad things, especially Weres gone bad. We’re not bad things, hence, the hunters shouldn’t cause us trouble,” Vice said. “Sounds good in theory, right?”

“Too good to be true,” Cain muttered.

* * *

Angus knew the Were was close. He could feel the tingle on the back of his neck and wondered if being bitten by a Were hadn’t done something to him after all.

But Cain hadn’t been the one to technically bite him. Not enough to scar him, anyway. And he’d always been able to sense the young Were. He’d done this purposely, come to the same spot twice to make sure Cain saw him.

Maybe you really do have a death wish.

Or maybe he missed the young wolf more than he cared to admit. But he had a new life now, and he had to make sure his loyalties remained true.

“You with us, Angus?” Joe asked, turned down the music.

“Just reminiscing about the last time I came to town,” he said honestly. The people in this truck all knew that hadn’t gone well at all. But from there, things had looked up.

He’d heard rumors about this group, usually in derisive terms from his brief encounters with the weretrappers. The hunters worked against the weretrappers, like the hunters actually had some kind of in with wolves, Al had said sarcastically.

But it wasn’t really like that at all. In fact, Angus had learned that many hunters did get killed by wolves, even though they were actually helping the breed. Their main goal was to take down the bad supernatural influences and keep the good.

Angus knew that finding that line in the sand wouldn’t be easy at all.

“Do you have an in to the Were world?” was one of the first questions the hunters asked, and Angus said no, because he wasn’t using Cain like that. Hell, the way they’d left things, he wasn’t sure there was any connection between them left.

In reality, he was still mad as hell at the Were.

Chapter 23

Gillian had her second shift two nights later, with the other Dires and some Weres making a circle in the woods to keep her protected. She ran and ran like the wind and Jinx hung back and watched her.

She was safe and happy. And he was dreaming of hellhounds while Rogue dreamed of hell.

“After we run, I’d like to come hunting with you,” she said when she came back and shifted in front of him.

“Ghost hunting?”

“Isn’t that what you do?” she asked.

“It’s safer for you back at the apartment.”

“I think you’re safer with me,” she asserted. “You’re always saving people. When are you going to let someone save you?”

“It doesn’t work like that.”

“Why can’t it, Jinx?” Gillian asked softly. “What if that’s what I’m built for?”

“You’re fast and strong—a warrior, yes,” he started.

“Faster and stronger than you,” she pointed out.

“That hasn’t been put to a real test.” Shit, he was so going to lose this bet and she wouldn’t let it go.

“Then let’s put it to the test.” She crossed her arms, challenging him.

“I can’t do that.”

“You will. Let’s start with a race,” she suggested. “Last I recall, you could barely keep up with me.”

“I didn’t want to crowd you,” he said defensively but she’d already taken off, flying across the field. She stopped on a dime, turned and told him, “I’ll give you a head start.”

“You’ll give . . .” He laughed a little. “You’ll give me a head start?”

“That’s what I said, slowpoke.” She motioned for him to run past her and he muttered, “Oh, honey, you are so going down.”

He took off at a speed that would make him a blur to her as he ran by. Suitably impressed with himself, he raced toward the woods as a blast of air whooshed past him. . . .

There was no way.

But it was her. He ran faster, but she was already so far ahead of him he could barely see her disappearing figure. He fought the urge to yell at her not to get too far ahead but that would mean admitting defeat and he was not doing that. Forget it.

Something whizzed by him again, this time going the other way and he stopped and heard Gillian’s laughter behind him.

“Have you always been this fast?” he asked and she shrugged.

“I’ve learned to push it down because the boys never liked to be beaten.”