“This was easier. Straddle the pommel and settle back. Black Jack is a gentle giant. Neither of us will let you fall.” He tightened his arm around her waist as she leaned against him, and then nudged the horse into a slow walk. “See, not so scary, is it?”
“No, this is nice.” The smooth gait for such a large animal surprised Aislyn. It wasn’t the stallion’s powerful muscles shifting beneath her though that lulled her into relaxing but the strength of Gavin’s arm under her gripping hands and his thick thighs pressed against hers, his wide chest a comfortable brace.
They came upon the spot along the trees where she had dashed into the woods without thinking last night and he said, “Cody, Drake and I know every inch of these woods and the forested areas on our land, having grown up exploring them on two legs and four. Our parents started educating us about our heritage when we were around six or seven, preparing us for our first conversion to occur during puberty. It was scary, painful and so fucking awesome I never regretted the ability to live as two species until I met you.”
The sadness and guilt in his voice drew Aislyn’s head around. From this angle, she could see his eyes under the shadowed brim of his Stetson and her heart executed a slow roll at the look in them. “Because I’m not a shifter?”
“We were told we would know our mate as soon as we set eyes on her. No other explanation, no warning of telltale signals within our bodies, just that we would know. And I did. The moment I saw you in the club, just as I knew you weren’t wolf.”
Aislyn turned back around, hurt bringing tears to her eyes. “So, all along you intended our relationship to be temporary. You should have told me that at the beginning.”
Gavin pulled up on the reins, halting Black Jack and reaching around to grip her chin and force her to face him. His thundercloud expression dissipated the chill that had invaded her body. “No. From the first night, I intended to make you mine in every way possible. My dad wasn’t planning on relinquishing his position as Alpha of our small pack for at least ten more years, but a toss off a wild mustang landed him in the hospital with a broken hip and my mother insisted he retire right away. I was called home to take his place and duty and family always came first. That too was drilled into us from a young age, along with the importance of keeping our secret. Two of my father’s ancestors mated non-shifters and both women fled upon learning the truth, spreading their tale and drawing unwanted scrutiny down on the family.”
Aislyn couldn’t imagine turning on Gavin that way, no matter what shocking family traits he revealed. If nothing else, if she couldn’t handle staying with him, she would walk away in silence, not cause him and his loved ones grief just because she was too weak to accept his paranormal side. “What happened, to the rest of the family?”
She felt the sudden tenseness go out of him as he released her and spurred the horse into walking again. “The rumors weren’t proven and eventually died down, but those two great, great uncles never married or fathered children, which dwindled our pack to the small handful it is now. My siblings and my uncle’s kids are all that’s left. My mother, however, comes from a large Canadian pack and there’s talk of us merging. I’m resisting, at least for now.”
Aislyn took in the shimmering lake as it came into view, surrounded by colorful grasslands of summer growth, a herd of bison grazing in the distance, the mountains a silhouette against the never-ending blue expanse of the Idaho sky. All this outdoor living, the hard work that went into ranching with rewards like this view and tending to animals like Lily was new to her. Now, after a few short days, she couldn’t imagine leaving all this behind, not to mention returning to her lonely, boring day-to-day existence. Nothing Gavin just told her changed her feelings toward him, and none of the answers to the questions she still harbored would matter, so she was prepared when he asked her, “What do you want, Aislyn, now that you know?”
“You.” She squeezed his arm, keeping her eyes on the spectacular view of the land she could picture him thriving on for decades to come. “That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“Then let’s get back so I can free you to stay here with me.”
“Gavin.” Aislyn clutched his arm and looked up again, her worry for the three of them stronger than her concern for her freedom. “Promise me you’ll be careful. Heath is not a nice guy.”
“Neither am I when it comes to someone threatening you. Trust me, little one.” With that, he turned them around and kicked the stallion into an all-out run, the exhilaration of the galloping speed whipping through Aislyn, lightening her mood until they returned to the house.
She tried to trust him, as he had asked, but found it difficult as the day wound down to evening with Gavin taking off for Drake’s house right after dinner, telling her only to trust him again. When he called thirty minutes later and told her they were making a trip to Boise and don’t wait up, Aislyn fretted over what he didn’t tell her as well as worried about his and his brothers’ safety.
****
Damn he’s good, Gavin thought as he read over the proof Drake found that Heath Farnsworth had his sticky fingers all over the accounts in Aislyn’s name. It was enough to get the charges against her dropped for now while the D.A.’s office investigated. He planned to present it to them first thing
