Him and everyone else in the family. Devin and his twin, Mira, weren’t related to Rafe, but they were members of the Alexander pride. That meant their issues became everyone’s. The cursed prophecy surrounding Mira would damn them all.
Rafe pinched the bridge of his nose. There was no point in allowing his anger to take over. If he focused on all the ways Mira had been wronged over her life, rage would consume him. “I stumbled upon an unexpected find.”
“And that is?” Kade asked.
“Did Devin mention the scent-marked female we smelled at Tony’s house?”
“Yeah. Several times.”
“I found her. She came to talk to Josh too.”
“And? Did you recognize the scent?”
“No, I don’t recognize it.”
“We know all the Royal feline males living in the States, but they could be from Europe. We haven’t met many of the younger males yet.”
“Maybe, but…” Rafe closed his eyes and pictured Jasmine’s face when she’d pleaded with him to understand why she didn’t want to see him. “She has twin boys. My instincts tell me it’s their scent on her.”
“That’s the best news I’ve heard in a long time. I wonder if she adopted them from the same lawyer Tony used.”
Rafe pressed the heel of his palm to the thump in his temple. “She claims they’re her biological sons.”
A long moment passed in silence. Finally, Kade cleared his throat. “Who do you think she’s lying to protect?”
Because they couldn’t be hers. Human and shifter biology was too different to allow for breeding.
“A shifter she knows maybe?” At least Rafe hoped that was the reason. “Some prides still allow humans to live in their territory.”
“Did she recognize you for what you are?”
Because most humans who spent a lot of time with shifters learned to pick up on the clues that hinted at their non-human status. More luminous eyes, for example. Or their too perfect teeth and limited body hair.
“No. She’s not mated either.” But he had no problem imagining how sexy a bite would look on her shoulder. Or how much he’d enjoy licking her mate mark and making her writhe in pleasure. He hissed out a strained breath. “And the claim rubbed onto her wrist consisted of two males’ scents. Two Royal males.”
That made the likelihood of what Rafe suggested true. Felines were possessive, more so than wolves or bears. Once they claimed anything—an object or person—they held their treasure close. They didn’t share and would never tolerate another’s scent mixed with theirs, unless that person was important to both of them, such as a mother would be.
“Do you have the female’s name?”
Rafe ran his tongue over the roof of his mouth where her taste still lingered. “I have more than that. I have her.”
“Good. What do you need from me?”
“Nothing. I’ll text her number to one of our brothers and see what they can find on her, then I’m following her home.”
“Her boys will scent you on her and clue her in to what you are. She might run with them.”
“I know.” And he hated what he would have to do to prevent that from happening. “I’ll make sure my scent is masked.”
“Then I’ll meet you at the woman’s house. I’m just wasting my time here. There’re no signs that the fire was deliberately set. At least that I can see. We’ll have to wait for the humans’ assessment.”
“I hope it was an accident, but it’s certainly convenient.”
“Let’s just be glad Megan was with her uncle. Maybe the goddesses intervened to help her.”
“Yeah, just like they helped Mira, right?”
Kade’s sigh sounded overly loud on the line. “They did, brother. They guided her to us.”
Kade was right, of course. The Alexander pride was one of the few who’d extended their protection to any shifter outside of their immediate family. Unfortunately, they’d been screwed more than once because of it.
Rafe pushed those unsettling thoughts away. “I’ll send you what I have on Jasmine. She mentioned she left her boys with a neighbor. Check the surrounding area first.”
“You’re lucky you’re my twin. Otherwise, I wouldn’t stand for you ordering me around.”
“Thirty seconds separated us. You’re only leader because you popped out first. You and I both know I could take the reins from you if I wanted to.”
“Don’t tempt me. I might just take you up on that offer, and I know you don’t want the job any more than I do.”
The line went dead.
Rafe texted Jasmine’s number to Kade and their younger brother, Zach, then settled back to wait for her. The eagerness humming within him worried him. Lust was one thing. The desire to lock her to his side was an entirely different beast. So too was the longing to look into her gray eyes or hear her voice. That kind of fascination could be dangerous. For both of them.
He came with baggage, the kind that thought nothing of ripping a person’s throat out if it didn’t like them.
Chapter 6
Jazz ended the call and leaned against the bathroom door. She breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was quiet on the home front. The boys were watching the black-and-white westerns Mr. Wilkins always had playing at his house. They hadn’t even noticed she was late picking them up. In fact, they’d begged her to stay longer. There was another episode they wanted to watch. She’d agreed. As a mother, she was both glad they felt comfortable away from home and sad too. They were growing up.
And she was getting older. Before she knew it, her boys would be on their own. She’d be left with a huge, empty farmhouse and nobody to share it with. It wasn’t that she needed a man in her life. She could fix a leaky faucet and take out her own garbage, but the encounter with Rafe showed her what she was missing: passion, love, and companionship. Quite frankly,
