Dawn's Innocence

Erica eased out a breath as Jack settled down and responded to the commands of the reigns across his neck. Time to take him home and get her feet back on solid ground. Falling off a horse and having an unexpected trip to the emergency room would not do wonders for her life plan or her budget. She couldn't afford a concussion or a broken bone. Jack was still her buddy and she'd enjoyed spending a few moments with him. But, from now on, she'd keep her feet on the ground and her butt out of the saddle, at least, until she got a decent health insurance plan and sick time.

The wolf crouched in the shelter of the brush by the side of the road. The spring day had energized him and the meal of jackrabbit had helped to slake his hunger. He was, after all, opportunistic and the fat, lazy jackrabbit had made a nice snack, too nice to pass up. The human inside his fur woke, struggling to regain control of the body they shared. Reluctantly, the wolf yielded and let the human have his body back.

Torr gasped and shook his head. Achy from the transformation back into a human, he shrugged off the pain and confusion. It was always this way after a shift, hazy, confusing, and painful. He had no idea where his sprit went when the wolf took control of their shared limbs. It was a beautiful place, a quiet place of peace and calm. A respite he'd so desperately needed. He could have hunted with the pack, but it hadn't been the chaos of the hunt and the rippling energy of the wolves he sought. He'd simply needed a break from everything.

He was aware when his wolf was in the driver's seat. His wolf could do no more or no less than what he allowed and it was the same when he took control of the wheel. His wolf was with him, feeding him valuable information about the world he could not pick up with his watered down human senses. Only in times of great danger would his wolf pull rank and seize their shared body. Likewise, he respected his wolf and only took the helm when he had to. He wasn't about to let his wolf do something stupid like eat Farmer Brown's prize cow or get plowed over by a car. His wolf needed his time out in the world. Denying him would be bad for the both of them.

Torr's belly revolted and he wondered exactly what his wolf had eaten. Raw jackrabbit and squirrel left a thick aftertaste in the back of his throat. He was unsteady on his feet, adjusting to walking on two legs instead of four paws. Naked and shivering in the cool breeze, he scanned the deserted stretch of gravel road and rushed to the truck. Eager to put his clothes back on before he was spotted by some passerby.

Just as his wolf never forgot a scent, he never forgot a face, especially not this one. Erica, on the back of that horse riding in the place he'd least expected to ever see her, right under his nose. He'd seen her. She looked just as beautiful as ever. Radiant and glowing with the afternoon sunlight tinting her strawberry blonde hair to a brilliant crimson hue. She was here, so close. She must be visiting Leigh and Alexander. Fallon had to be with her. A mother never traveled very far away from her daughter.

His crafty wolf had ideas of how to get her attention. But, of course they were ways a wolf would seek his mate. Torr snickered and shrugged them off. Erica wouldn't be impressed by the gift of a dead rabbit left on her doorstep as a means of romancing her. Dressing as quickly as possible, he began to devise a way...a human way... to find out where she lived and how he could accidentally on purpose run into her.

His fingers trembled with excitement and hope as he put the key in the ignition, started the engine, and shifted into drive. The truck bumped down the gravel road. He'd find a way to talk to her. He'd never met Leigh and Alexander. He'd seen them at various brotherhood functions, but he'd never bothered with introducing himself. Why would he? With the mutual association between the pack and the Sons, Leigh and Alexander were already part of the family. Like the distant relation you saw at family reunions and knew but didn't really know.

Alex might be his best bet to get to Erica. She might not be too. Alex was cautious and sometimes a little out there, with her visions of the future and all. He didn't blame her. Not everything she saw yet to unfold was good and had a happy ending. It was probably difficult for her to get close to too many people. Not when a vision of how someone would die might suddenly pop into her head. Maybe, she could tell him how this mess between Erica, Fallon, and him was going to end up. Maybe, she couldn't and how it ended had yet to be decided by the fates. Maybe, how it ended was entirely up to Erica and him.

Torr was a big believer in destiny. That wasn't the case years ago when he'd met Erica. He'd only been out searching for a good time. Looking for some way to prove he was above the hand of fate and the world he'd been born into. He hadn't meant for one night to change his entire life, but it had. One night and he'd fallen in love with a girl who represented everything he'd ever wanted but thought he'd never have. She'd known nothing about him. She hadn't wanted him for his money, his status in the pack, or for his good breeding. She'd wanted him for him and that had made all the difference.

He wondered if the flame that had been set alight so many years ago could be fanned from an ember to a blazing fire once again. How did she feel about him? Did she hate him for getting her pregnant and leaving her to care for their daughter alone? Had she missed him? Did she think anything about him at all? From their brief conversation on the phone, he couldn't tell. She'd been hesitant and reserved and about Fallon, she hadn't breathed a word.

Maybe, she didn't want him in her life. Maybe, she didn't want him in Fallon's life. But, not all decisions were up to her. He was a father and he had not only an obligation, but a desire and the right to know his daughter. He'd push it as far as he had to if she fought him. He didn't want to go that route. For all intents and purposes, he had a human life and a human identity. He had the resources to go through legal channels. He could press the Great White Wolf and Nash to intervene. Fallon didn't belong to the world of humans, not entirely. And Drew and Nash had pull in the paranormal world into which Fallon had been born. He didn't want Erica to find out that way.

He didn't want her to hate him, assuming she didn't. He didn't want visitation every other weekend and holidays. He wanted Fallon in his life full time. He wanted Erica in his life anyway he could get her. But, the whole thing would be so much easier if he didn't have to force her hand. He'd rather be gentle and kind instead of the prick he knew he could be when pushed. The truth of it was, time was running out. Fallon would have her first shift in less than a decade. She needed to be prepared for it and so did her mother. The two of them needed him and they needed the pack more than they could ever imagine.

All his life he'd been deprived of the things most important to him. He should have gotten a father's love. His father hated him. Resented that he was not the wolf his father thought he should have been. Instead of hugs, he'd gotten lashes with a whip. Instead of being loved, he'd been beaten. And things would never be made right. He'd killed because he'd had no other choice. He would have rather had a father that loved him. And now that all was behind him, he knew if his father had shown any flicker of emotion, he would have spared the bastard's life just to give him a second chance to love his only son. It wasn't going to happen now. And even if he had allowed his father to live, it wouldn't have happened then either.

Fallon was his second chance. Her and her mother. He could be the father he hadn't had. He could be the husband to Erica his father had never been. If only she'd let him. It wasn't going to be easy. Erica had suffered over the years. He could hear the weight of it in her voice. His wolf smelled the scent of worry radiating from her pores. He longed to make it right and undo what time had done to her. Losses he could only imagine. Struggles that he'd never had to endure. Forcing her to do anything wouldn't endear her to him. Sometimes the gentlest touch was the best. And what did he have to lose by trying to regain the heart he'd no doubt broken?

Chapter 49

"There appears to be a wolf in my bed," Tristen drawled playfully. There was a wolf in his bed and damn, did she ever look good there. Kacie slept curled up on her side with her arm draped over his pillow. Her hair fanned out to form a dark halo around her head and a sleek piece had fallen over her cheek to cup her jaw. The long lashes brushing her cheeks fluttered as she awoke to stare up at him with sleep dazed eyes. The v-neck of her t-shirt drooped to reveal the sharp ridge of her collarbones. He liked her best like this, soft and warm under his blankets, defenseless and vulnerable as she tried to shake off her dreams, and completely natural without a trace of makeup on her pretty face. She didn't need lipstick, eyeliner, or any of that other stuff to make her look beautiful. She just was.

He'd gotten the hint from his little sister and hit the community bathroom for a quick shower and shave. He'd scrubbed until he was pruned to get all the grease from underneath his fingernails and he'd shaved carefully until his jaw was as smooth as a baby's butt. He thought about a spritz or two of cologne and then put the stuff back in the medicine chest. When they got cheek to cheek he didn't want to smell like anyone else. He wanted her and her wolf to scent him and only him.

His jeans didn't have a single hole in them and his button down Henley was some fancy designer name Janine had discreetly slipped into his closet and he'd immediately shoved way in the back with the other stuff he'd probably never wear. He'd traded in his battered work boots for a pair of hiking boots so new the leather squeaked when he walked. He'd thought about swiping some man jewelry out of Daniel's top drawer and then immediately dismissed the idea. He wanted to look good for Kacie, but not over the top.

Regrettably, there wasn't a single thing to be done with his hair. The dark strands were that awkward length and stuck up at odd angles as it grew out. But, with a lot of help from Gina and no small measure of patience, the hair gel had done wonders as far as an attempt to tame the mess into submission. She'd preened and cooed as she worked the gel through his hair. Getting all misty eyed on him and grooming him like a mama hen about to kick her chick out of the nest. Of course, he'd had to endure another 'little talk' as she'd worked him over and declared him finally date worthy.

She'd meant well and other than a few tips and pointers she kept the bulk of her opinions to herself. Everyone meant well though not everyone was so quiet about what they thought. He appreciated the sentiment and the advice, but all this meaning well was grating his last nerve. His family treated him like he was a zit faced, horny teenager with a crush on the prom queen. Like what he felt for Kacie was just some phase and he'd get over it. He knew what he was doing and this thing he felt for Kacie wasn't some damn crush. This was it, real as it got, and it wasn't going away ever.

Kacie's eyelids fell shut and she snuggled in, burrowing deeper under the covers with his pillow tucked in tight against her body. He'd never wanted to be a pillow, but watching her so warm and cuddly, he wanted to be one now. He bounced up and down on the bed to get her attention. Hell no, he hadn't endured another well-meaning lecture and squeaky boots to have her fall back asleep on him.

"Huh?" Kacie yawned, stretched, and forced her eyes to focus. Tristen bounced on the bed, yanking the covers off of her and tickling her awake with his soft brushes of his long fingers over her ribs. She giggled and grabbed at his wrists to get him to stop. Ordinarily, if anyone else had woken her up like this she would have had plenty to say about it. But, this was Tristen and when he did it, waking her with tickles and light, fluttery kisses over her cheeks and the tip of her nose, somehow, she wasn't annoyed at all.

Tristen smelled fresh and clean, like soap, from a recent shower, the mint of toothpaste, and the slightly tangy, almost sweet smell of hair gel. Somehow, the mix of scents blended with his natural smoky, earthen, somewhat spicy scent, like fall leaves and crisp nights, worked for him. He'd shaved and his cheeks were smooth, brushing against her and traveling down her neck to nuzzle her collarbones. His playful pecking of lips and tickling slowed to longer, more meaningful strokes of his fingertips over her belly and of his lips along the hollow of her throat.

Kacie arched her back eager to explore and be explored. The arousal and the attraction between them spiked like the power of an oncoming storm about to hit landfall. He pulled out all the stops, teasing and taunting her with what they both so desperately wanted. She was not one to suffer alone. Wrapping her fingers around his broad shoulders and angling her hips, hungry to feel his weight pinning her to the mattress, she coaxed him with long, slow brushes of her fingertips up and down his spine until he was centered over the top of her. Facing him cheek to cheek and hip to hip, the evidence of how very into this he was probed her through the thick fabric of her jeans. He was hard, ready, his breathing hitching in his throat and his molars clenching to hold back a groan. "Are you afraid of the big bad wolf?"

Tristen let a little of his wolf out and growled playfully in Kacie's ear. He locked his grip around the loose fabric of her t-shirt and licked his way down the curve of her neck with the tip of his tongue. Her skin was warm and tasted like sleep. Afraid of the big bad wolf? Hell no. Afraid of this little vixen in his bed. Oh, fuck yeah. But, he wasn't the only one who should have some measure of trepidation. His fingers wandered down to the snap on her jeans and it took every bit of his will to wrap them through her belt loops instead.

"You should be," he growled. His wolf was slipping the tight chain Tristen kept him on. The pressure of her soft body beneath him was dizzying. His wolf wanted her wolf. The two of them were frolicking though some weird metaphysical woods leaving Kacie and he panting and shivering with the need to take this physically to the place their wolves already were. Instinct was a bitch. He wanted nothing more or more desperately than to bury his aching cock deep inside Kacie and bind them together till there was neither solely her or just him and only the two of them together.

He leaned on an elbow and traced a trail between her breasts with his finger masking a very satisfied grin as she shivered beneath his touch. The ripe points of her nipples were visible through the thin material of her t-shirt and so damn tempting. If they didn't get out of this bed now, they weren't going to for hours and hours. Until they were both fully sated, sweaty, and trembling and the deal between them irrevocably sealed.

Mouse had taken such care to pack the perfect picnic lunch. She'd be pissed if they never made it out of the bedroom and the food spoiled. Anyway, molesting Kacie was not on the agenda. His wolf wanted what he wanted. But, Tristen was in the driver's seat and while his body and his thoughts were online with those of his wolf. He wanted to take a decidedly human approach to winning the girl. As badly as it hurt, he withdrew and dragged Kacie to the edge of the bed. "Come on. I've got a surprise for you."

"A surprise? What is it?" The speed in which Tristen switched gears left Kacie's head spinning. One minute he was kissing her and so into it they were both breathless. And the next, he was dragging her out of the bed by the wrist. He offered no other explanation as to what the surprise might be other than it was a surprise. And Kacie hated surprises. He was dressed, better than usual. Instead of his normal baggy, severely abused jeans and rumpled t-shirt covered by a ratty flannel button down. He wore a form fitting pair of jeans still crisp with newness and hugging his ass like a glove. His shirt was new and of a designer label that had her heart aching just a little bit for the world she'd put behind her. He'd traded in the awful steel toed work boots he wore everywhere except when he was training in the gym for a pair of fawn brown hiking boots. His dark hair had been artfully styled into submission. There was a mischievous glimmer in his smoky brown eyes. And of course, the cocky, crooked grin that was so much Tristen on his handsome face.

"It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you. Get your shoes on. We're going out."

Kacie watched Tristen bounce off the bed with childlike enthusiasm. She was still a little groggy from her nap. He bounded down the hall and stomped down the stairs noisily as a herd of elephants. Maybe, he was going to the kitchen to fetch her a cup of coffee. Nah. Tristen drank coffee after he'd properly doctored it up till it was thick as syrup with cream and sugar. He didn't like coffee and to him coffee was coffee and not a luxurious treat, or in her case, a necessity to get her ass in gear. She got up and ran a hand through her wild, disheveled hair. She had no doubt she looked like hell, rumpled and unmade, as the bed she'd been sleeping in for the last two hours.

She glared at the glittering sunlight shining through the blinds. Outside, it was a perfectly gorgeous spring day. Shame to waste it. But, all she could think about was crawling back into those covers and coaxing Tristen into the bed. From the way he was banging around and making all kinds of ruckus downstairs she wasn't going to get away with it. He was a man on a mission of some sorts. And even with the constant din of activity that was just part of the everyday calamity of a house so filled with people she could hear his every move over it all.

She could hear Tristen downstairs riffling through the closet and trotting across the wooden floors as he searched for her shoes. Chuckling, she lifted the bed ruffle and pulled out her sneakers. Taking her time, casually tying the laces, she grinned when he jogged into the room and eyed the white tennis shoes on her feet.

Tristen returned Kacie's mischievous smile. She could have just told him instead of making him look for her shoes. He almost grabbed a pair from the bottom of the closet and shoved her feet in them just to get her moving. There were enough shoes here, there, hell, everywhere, to provide a thousand centipedes with footwear. "Oh, there they are." He grabbed her hand and towed her onto her feet. "Come on, daylight is wasting."

"Where are we going?" Kacie asked. He was pawing through her closet. Shoving clothes out of the way and pulling out a lightweight jacket, borrowed and actually belonging to someone else, just like most of everything else she didn't own. His pack lived by different laws and principles. Tristen had tried to explain it, but she had a hard time understanding how nobody actually owned anything and everything down to the last sweat sock was community property.

She had precious little that was actually hers. A suitcase of clothes and a few trinkets from her previous life and that was it. The jeans Tristen wore weren't his. The ten bucks he probably had in his wallet didn't belong to him. And the car he so painstakingly worked to restore was the pack's. He accepted and never gave any hint that it bothered him in the least. In his world, it was just the way things were. There were a lot of things he accepted because he simply believed on some blind leap of faith that it was how they were supposed to be. Kacie wished sometimes, she had his ability to just go with it and focus on the more important issues at hand.