both ways, buddy.”
He chuckled. “You didn’t catch my scent at the lake.”
My face paled and I swallowed the swell of emotion. “I thought I recognized your scent. You killed Gabe…”
“So he is dead? Good. One less filthy wolf in the world.”
I slapped him. Hard.
All eyes in the coffee shop turned to look at us. The manager came around in front of the counter. “Is this man bothering you?”
The jaguar man never lifted his gaze from mine, ignoring the Starbucks manager as he snatched my hand and brought it to his lips. “Some are born to sweet delight. Some are born to endless night,” he whispered. “The night is ours, Little One. I will find you again. Stay away from the wolves.”
Without another word, he rose and walked out of the Starbucks.
I jumped when my cell phone rang.
“Adam? You’ve got to get over here. I know who killed Gabe.”
Chapter Six
Adam
My shoulders tensed, my hands shook with rage as I closed my cell phone and put it back into the front pocket of my jeans. Aren, my younger—by a few minutes—twin brother, was staring at me with his arms crossed over his chest. If he expected me to tell him who I called, he could keep waiting. Instead, I cleared my throat, working to keep my expression neutral.
“Everything okay?” Aren asked.
No, it was fucking miles from okay. I shifted with a nod. “Yeah, it’s fine.”
Aren waited for more, but I didn’t bother to fill in the silence. He knew me better than anyone else on earth; being twins, we had a sixth sense when it came to one another. Keeping a huge secret, like the fact that I accidentally found my mate, was going to be tough. But I didn’t see any other way around it. I couldn’t introduce him to her any more than I could tell him that Lana was a jaguar. I needed to either keep quiet or lie.
I didn’t have any other choice.
And Lana knew who killed my friend.
How could she have found out? I left her at her hotel. Did she have some kind of jaguar hotline I didn’t know about? She couldn’t possibly know.
Unless the jaguar found her.
My pulse skyrocketed. If I could smell the jaguar in her, then her own kind most definitely could. I shouldn’t have left her alone. My muscles tensed with adrenaline. I reminded myself that Lana had managed to keep ahead of the armed mercenaries who tailed her before she ever met me. She didn’t need me to come to her rescue.
But that was my human rationale. For the wolf inside of me, the physical need to go to her was almost overwhelming. The wolf demanded protection for his mate. For the first time in my life, my loyalties were torn. The wolf wanted to go to Lana, but my Pack needed me to stay and honor Gabe.
Aren’s eyes narrowed, but he finally shook his head and his arms slid down to his sides. “We should get back down there with the others.”
The rest of the Pack was gathered at the end of the barn aisle. My gut twisted and grief burned inside me, coloring my voice. “I can’t believe he’s gone.”
“We’ll find out who did this, Adam.” Aren gripped my shoulder. “We’ll make things right.”
“This will never be right.” I shook off his attempt at comfort. I didn’t deserve it. “He died in my sector. I let the Pack down.”
Aren ground his teeth and grabbed my arm, pulling me in closer to him. “Don’t put this on yourself. I know Gabe was your friend, but this is not your fault. The Pack is lucky to have you. You’re fast, and you never turn away from a fight.”
Yanking my arm free, I shook my head. “Not fast enough.”
Without another word, I stormed through the center of the barn, away from Aren. I couldn’t stomach listening to him trying to convince me this wasn’t my fault. I knew the truth. While I was out watching over Lana, I should’ve been warning the others about another jaguar. Instead, Gabe was ambushed and dumped out on the shore of Lake Tahoe.
Gazing at all of the faces gathered around Gabe’s body, my throat tightened
He chuckled. “You didn’t catch my scent at the lake.”
My face paled and I swallowed the swell of emotion. “I thought I recognized your scent. You killed Gabe…”
“So he is dead? Good. One less filthy wolf in the world.”
I slapped him. Hard.
All eyes in the coffee shop turned to look at us. The manager came around in front of the counter. “Is this man bothering you?”
The jaguar man never lifted his gaze from mine, ignoring the Starbucks manager as he snatched my hand and brought it to his lips. “Some are born to sweet delight. Some are born to endless night,” he whispered. “The night is ours, Little One. I will find you again. Stay away from the wolves.”
Without another word, he rose and walked out of the Starbucks.
I jumped when my cell phone rang.
“Adam? You’ve got to get over here. I know who killed Gabe.”
Chapter Six
Adam
My shoulders tensed, my hands shook with rage as I closed my cell phone and put it back into the front pocket of my jeans. Aren, my younger—by a few minutes—twin brother, was staring at me with his arms crossed over his chest. If he expected me to tell him who I called, he could keep waiting. Instead, I cleared my throat, working to keep my expression neutral.
“Everything okay?” Aren asked.
No, it was fucking miles from okay. I shifted with a nod. “Yeah, it’s fine.”
Aren waited for more, but I didn’t bother to fill in the silence. He knew me better than anyone else on earth; being twins, we had a sixth sense when it came to one another. Keeping a huge secret, like the fact that I accidentally found my mate, was going to be tough. But I didn’t see any other way around it. I couldn’t introduce him to her any more than I could tell him that Lana was a jaguar. I needed to either keep quiet or lie.
I didn’t have any other choice.
And Lana knew who killed my friend.
How could she have found out? I left her at her hotel. Did she have some kind of jaguar hotline I didn’t know about? She couldn’t possibly know.
Unless the jaguar found her.
My pulse skyrocketed. If I could smell the jaguar in her, then her own kind most definitely could. I shouldn’t have left her alone. My muscles tensed with adrenaline. I reminded myself that Lana had managed to keep ahead of the armed mercenaries who tailed her before she ever met me. She didn’t need me to come to her rescue.
But that was my human rationale. For the wolf inside of me, the physical need to go to her was almost overwhelming. The wolf demanded protection for his mate. For the first time in my life, my loyalties were torn. The wolf wanted to go to Lana, but my Pack needed me to stay and honor Gabe.
Aren’s eyes narrowed, but he finally shook his head and his arms slid down to his sides. “We should get back down there with the others.”
The rest of the Pack was gathered at the end of the barn aisle. My gut twisted and grief burned inside me, coloring my voice. “I can’t believe he’s gone.”
“We’ll find out who did this, Adam.” Aren gripped my shoulder. “We’ll make things right.”
“This will never be right.” I shook off his attempt at comfort. I didn’t deserve it. “He died in my sector. I let the Pack down.”
Aren ground his teeth and grabbed my arm, pulling me in closer to him. “Don’t put this on yourself. I know Gabe was your friend, but this is not your fault. The Pack is lucky to have you. You’re fast, and you never turn away from a fight.”
Yanking my arm free, I shook my head. “Not fast enough.”
Without another word, I stormed through the center of the barn, away from Aren. I couldn’t stomach listening to him trying to convince me this wasn’t my fault. I knew the truth. While I was out watching over Lana, I should’ve been warning the others about another jaguar. Instead, Gabe was ambushed and dumped out on the shore of Lake Tahoe.
Gazing at all of the faces gathered around Gabe’s body, my throat tightened
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