He opened himself to the animals, hoping for a clue. The three big felines lounged in the mystical field where they lived while he was in his human form. His jaguar glanced in his direction and yawned. The other two didn’t move.
Great. They were no help. He’d have to investigate on his own.
He let the connection to them fade and slowly sat up so as not to wake Jasmine. She rolled to her stomach, and her blonde hair pooled to one side, exposing her shoulder. Her bare skin taunted him. He wanted more than anything to see his bite displayed there.
The conversation he’d started before bed would’ve been the perfect lead-in for the topic of mating and what it meant to be his. He hadn’t been able to bring himself to broach the subject.
Really, how were you supposed to tell your true mate you were going to kill her and not have it go over badly? Okay, not exactly kill her but bring her to the point of death.
He had to find a way. He wasn’t about to lose her.
Rafe ran his fingers lightly over her hair, needing the reminder that she was real.
That she was his.
Hands fisted so he didn’t reach for her a second time, he padded to the attached bathroom. The bag of clothes he’d brought in from his SUV sat in the corner. He dug out a T-shirt and pair of shorts.
Clean and dressed, he slipped into the hallway. A quick run through the woods would ease what tension had stirred him from sleep. Thoughts of Jon had no doubt been the cause. Rafe wouldn’t rest well until the male paid for his crimes.
He headed toward the back set of stairs that led into the kitchen. Another set connected the second floor to the entryway. The old farmhouse Jasmine owned had been built in a time when the working part of the house was kept separate from the living section. For Rafe, it just meant he had his choice as to what door he wanted to leave through—front or back.
A few feet into the hall, he froze. The sound of someone talking reached him. A voice he’d never heard before. A male’s voice.
He parted his lips and tasted the air, drawing on his felines’ enhanced senses to feed him information. No unusual smells were present. It didn’t mean anything. Scents could be masked or eliminated.
The urge to rush toward where the voice came from gripped him. He resisted. If the intruder was talking, it meant he hadn’t killed anyone yet. Rafe didn’t want that to change.
He walked past Seth and Levi’s room, then inched his way past the small game room where Mira slept. The only one left was Megan’s.
“Sometimes when she’s alone, she talks. Well, whispers.” Josh’s words came back to him.
If Rafe had been human, he probably would’ve said the same. The voice had a low rasp to it, such as what would be heard if a person whispered. Even with Rafe’s enhanced hearing, he couldn’t quite make out the words spoken. They were garbled by the door, but he heard the difference in pitch. There was no way Megan was the one speaking.
Rafe reached for the knob to Megan’s door, and the voice coming from inside the room cut off. A light flicked on. The narrowed beam swept over the door, sending an arc to illuminate Rafe’s toes before turning off. He shoved open the door and flipped the switch on the wall, flooding the room with light.
Megan sat on the floor facing the wall with a flashlight in her lap. There was nobody else in the room.
He closed the door behind him and crossed to the closet. Empty. He peered under the bed, then scanned the yard from the window. He caught sight of Xander’s black wolf lying just inside the boundary of the woods. Xander, in his wolf’s form, lifted his head from where it rested on his paws and met Rafe’s gaze. Xander’s relaxed state matched what his cats had shown. There was no danger close by.
Rafe allowed the curtain to fall into place. He faced Megan. She wore the pink set of pajamas with cartoon kittens she’d had on at bedtime. Her hair was tousled from sleep, and her eyes looked droopy.
She stifled a yawn.
No way had he been wrong. He’d clearly heard a man speaking.
Rafe studied Megan for some hint as to what was going on. She didn’t seem all that surprised that he’d rushed into her room or searched it for the mysterious source of the voice he’d heard.
Rafe shoved his confusion deep so as not to upset Megan and sat on the edge of the bed. “Can’t sleep?”
She shrugged.
“Me neither. I was on my way to the kitchen to get a snack. Want to join me? I think Jazz has cookies left.”
She shook her head.
Great. Megan wasn’t going to talk. He racked his brain for a way to coax her into telling him what was going on, but the direct way she’d spoken to Josh at the scene of the accident changed Rafe’s mind. The little girl was a dominant. Rafe would treat her like one.
“Who were you talking to?”
Megan turned her attention to the flashlight in her hand, rolling the black handle between her hands. “Nobody.”
“Pride members should never lie to each other, Megan.” He waited for some kind of sign that she understood what he was saying, but she only stared at him. “You, Seth, and Levi are now a part of my pride, so that means you shouldn’t lie to me.”
She studied him intently. “We’re not family.”
“No, but when you get older, Kade can ask our family’s spirit if it’ll accept you. If it agrees, Kade will join you to us.” Rafe motioned to the door. “Devin and Mira aren’t related to me, but they’re a part of my
