The muffled sounds of screeching tires reached her. The lion whipped its head in the direction of the road then bared its fangs at the man running toward their car.
The lion faced her and snarled before taking off.
She glanced at the man headed their way. His hair was brown, not a patchwork multicolor dye job, but his face matched that of the man from Rafe’s phone. He stopped a few feet away, hands clenching and releasing at his sides, and chest heaving. He scanned the woods, spinning slowly on his heel to take in every inch.
After a moment, he lifted his lips, revealing a set of fangs. Jazz stared at the sharp teeth denting his lower lip. He was a shifter. Like the lion he’d chased off. Like her kids and Megan. Like Rafe.
“Jazz, I’m scared,” Megan cried.
So was she, but she grabbed Megan’s hand and squeezed. “It’s okay, honey. He’s one of the good guys.” She hoped.
“How do you know?”
Jazz took in the man’s cautious approach. He moved with his hands held up and out to the side—an attempt to show he wasn’t a threat. It was a lie. With a thought, he could sprout claws and fur, but he hadn’t done anything to them. Except save them.
“I know his friend, and I…I trust him.”
Josh groaned and reached for her. “Jasmine? Megan?”
She grabbed his hand. “I’m here. So is Megan. We’re both fine.”
Josh’s unfocused gaze met hers. “Thank god.” He shook his head, blinking hard, then leaned forward to peer out the windshield. “Son of a—”
She grabbed his arm to stop him from opening the door. “Wait. He’s Rafe’s friend.”
“How—”
“I saw his picture on Rafe’s phone. He just chased off the lion we saw in the road.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. We don’t know Rafe’s story. I don’t trust him or his friends.” Josh popped the seatbelt, then tried the door. It stuck. He threw a shoulder into it, knocking it open.
Jazz hooked her fingers around his waistband, stopping him from climbing out. “I do. I don’t know what’s going on, but I trust Rafe. I should never have left him.”
Anger darkened Josh’s eyes. “So you can trust a guy you just met, but not the one who’s stood by you for twenty years?”
She released him. “It’s not that I didn’t trust you. I—”
Rafe’s friend opened her door before she could finish speaking, not that she knew what she would’ve said.
The shifter’s nostrils flared. Mouth parted slightly, he inhaled. His brown eyes flicked between them before focusing on Megan. The hard lines on his face softened. His reaction eased the last bit of tension in Jazz’s shoulders.
“Be calm, little cub.” Although his voice was rough and gravelly, it had a soothing quality to it. “You’re safe now.”
“Who are you?” Jazz asked.
“Devin Moore, your male’s friend.” He glanced at Josh. “And the one who’ll stop Rafe from attacking Josh for daring to touch what belongs to him.”
Chapter 17
Rafe ended the call and pressed his foot to the accelerator. The news Devin had delivered stirred Rafe’s anger, leaving him vibrating with rage.
Jon was in town. The male who’d kidnapped Nina and killed their father.
Rafe didn’t want to believe it, but Devin had seen Jon’s lion. Devin recognized Jon, even if he didn’t smell him. At all. There was no heavy, lingering floral scent as had surrounded Seth and Levi or anything out of the ordinary for that matter. If Devin hadn’t gotten a visual confirmation, Jon would’ve escaped detection.
The only conclusion was that Jon was chemically masking his scent. There was only one way to do that—with the drug made exclusively for Royals. Each Royal who used it had to register with the government, providing fingerprints each time they obtained a new supply.
The general worry was that those who used the drug would take advantage of the obscurity it offered. If a shifter took enough of it, all traces of scent would be eliminated, not just their animals’ scent. It’d make them invisible…by scent at least. If they wore gloves, their identity would be nearly impossible to uncover.
They’d be able to commit crimes and get away with them.
How had Jon gotten his hands on the Royal’s scent-eliminating drug?
Rafe’s growls filled the car, warning him how very close he was to losing control. He needed to calm down, but he wouldn’t until he held Jasmine in his arms. Saw Megan. Knew they were safe.
He slowed the car and pulled behind Devin’s vehicle. A few leaves and branches remained on the road, but the uprooted tree that had caused the accident was pushed into the woods. Rafe glanced from the thick trunk to the broken and crushed bushes next to it. Josh’s SUV was sandwiched between two trees at the bottom of the small embankment. If it had hit either, the accident might’ve been worse. Possibly fatal.
He scanned the woods for Jasmine. There was no sign of her.
Rafe jumped from his car. Her scent hit him. She was close. He followed the smell around Devin’s SUV and into the woods on the opposite side of the accident.
Rafe spotted them near a group of boulders. Megan sat on one, and Devin was crouched on the ground in front of her, but it was the sight of Josh with his arms around Jasmine that brought out Rafe’s primal side.
His cats snarled and slammed into him, demanding to be set free. Their possessiveness fed Rafe’s. Sharpened nails extended from his fingers.
He quickened his pace, and Devin moved closer to Jasmine and Josh.
“Back off, Devin.”
Devin shook his head and blocked Rafe with his body. “Not with that look on your face.”
Rafe took in Devin’s widened stance and hands held loosely at his sides. He blew out a slow breath. “Jazz is in no danger from me.”
“It’s not your female I’m worried about.”
Rafe glanced at Jasmine. Her guarded expression helped him rein in his temper. She didn’t trust him. The truth was stamped on to her face. Why
