10. Miles

TEN

MILES

Seeing Celina at the park had been the highlight of my day, and I felt a hell of a lot better after apologizing for leaving so abruptly last night. The only problem had been hearing how lonely she was. In the short time I've known her, I found her to be cute and charming, funny and beautiful. It hurt my heart to think that someone as great as Celina was ostracized by society for being different. Hopefully, my little pep talk had helped.

My mind drifted to the hunter trouble we've been dealing with. Things had been fairly calm for weeks now, but the second I walked into the office, I knew the quiet times were over. The tension in the air was palpable. Tate saw me as soon as I walked in and nodded for me to come into the back. I followed, anxiety building in my stomach and chest. The guys were gathered in my office. Blayne and Steff both looked nervous.

"Okay, what's happened?" I asked.

"My brother called while you were out," Steff said. "The attacks have started again."

"Hunters?"

He nodded. "Looks like. No one died or disappeared this time."

"Thank Christ." I sighed. "What happened exactly?"

"According to my brother, the guys who were attacked said the hunters seemed nervous and a little scared. They hesitated, which is the only reason they're still alive."

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my thighs. "And they're sure they were hunters?"

"Yeah. Said they called them shifters." Steff tilted his head. "Among other things. It wasn't some random crime. They were targeted."

Tate leaned on my desk. "Sounds like new recruits. Gun shy, maybe?"

I agreed. "That's exactly what it is. The hunters are adding members. I bet they're pulling them in so fast that they don't have time to train them properly. Their leader must be getting desperate." The news didn't sit well with me. I'd been so worked up and consumed with Celina that the search for the leader of the hunters had faded to the background. "I'll get back on the case."

"Whoa," Blayne said. "You have enough to deal with right now."

"He's right," Steff added. "Why don't we contract for some help?"

"What are we going to tell them?" I asked. "Hey, we're trying to find a secret billionaire cult leader who is trying to kill off a magical race of shapeshifters?"

Blayne grimaced. "Okay, not exactly what I'd lead with, but we could figure something out."

Tate swept his hand through the air, silencing all conversation. "You need to focus on your mate. You'll be no good to anyone if you're in pain all the time and unable to concentrate. Trust me, it's not going to get any better from here on out."

Steff nodded. "It's pretty miserable. Tate and I were probably only a few steps away from going feral. We don't want that for you. We can help. There's no real need for you to leave town on another research trip. We're stronger when we stick together."

I didn't like sitting still with so much going on. It made me feel useless, but I had to agree. I'd seen how bad things got with Steff and Tate. The thought of being all the way out in Oklahoma or Missouri or something made my skin crawl. I nodded and acquiesced. "Okay, I'll stay. I'm still gonna do online research, but I'm going to stay close. Fair enough?"

The guys nodded. With that settled, we worked through what information we did have. We talked about the paperwork we found at Ryland's house. There'd been doctored documents, phone records, and even pictures showing us all in various stages of one crime or another. The quality had been unbelievable and must have cost thousands to make. If Ryland had been able to get that stuff to the cops, all four of us would have been in jail. As impressive as the documents and photos were, they didn't help us figure out who the leader was.

Even with everything we found out at his house and what Ryland had said that night in the warehouse, plus what I tried to discover during the two weeks I was away, we had nothing. It made no sense.

"Something is off about all this," Steff said. "No man is an island. This guy is out there. We know it. Why can't we dig up a single damned thing?"

Blayne stood and paced the room. "We know he has a thing about shifters—dragon shifters in particular. We know that because of what Ryland said. The leader's wife ran off with a dragon shifter. That's what set this all in motion. All we know is she's dead, but we still don't know how she died." Blayne paused for a second before continuing, "If we can figure out who she was, we have a doorway to the leader. He can keep himself hidden with his money and power. She's dead and gone. It's a lot harder to cover your tracks when you aren't alive anymore. Find her name? We walk the trail back to the husband, Mister Douchebag."

"Okay, that's the best lead we have. I knew of the clan that got slaughtered in Texas." Tate stopped speaking and grimaced before going on. "It was bad. Every dragon shifter in the country knows about it. I'll see if I can make contact with anyone down there who may have met the wife when they dealt with that clan. Though"—he held up a finger and looked at me—"we've been working on the assumption that the woman and her billionaire psycho husband were from Texas or around that area. Why? Why have we assumed that?"

I stared at him for several seconds as what he said clicked into place in my mind. "Shit. You're right. All my research has been in Texas or within a two-hour drive of Texas. They could be from anywhere, though. Damn it. I'll need to start over from the beginning with our possible suspects."

"I'll make some calls, see what I can find out. I think that's as far as we can go right now. Right?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "I guess we can all go work on whatever else we have. We still have a business to run, so let's leave Tate to it."

Blayne and I left, and Steff stayed behind to see if he could help Tate. I looked at Blayne. "Want a coffee or something?"

He nodded, and we went into the break room. I started the coffee machine. As we waited, Blayne gave me a knowing smile. "How's it going with Celina?"

I groaned. "Had dinner with her last night."

"That's a good thing, right?"

"It was fine. Great, actually. Then my wolf and my hormones decided to run absolutely fucking wild. I started getting these mental images, and one thing led to another, so I had to get out of there. It was getting obvious I was excited to be around her."

Blayne looked at me blankly before realization dawned on him. "You popped wood? During dinner? That's not a huge deal."

I rolled my eyes. "Bro, I looked like I had a flashlight in my pants. It was embarrassing, and Celina seems pretty demure. I didn't want to see what she'd do if she noticed."

Blayne laughed so hard that I thought he was going to fall over. "Hey, man, I get it. Celina's a hot little thing."

Hearing him say that about her caused my hair to rise, and my wolf growled. Instead of scaring him, Blayne only laughed harder. I groaned and shook my head. "I'm sorry. That's not like me."

Blayne wiped his eyes and got himself under control. He patted me on the shoulder. "This is your mate. It's expected you'd be really protective. What's your next move?"

"I invited her over for dinner. I'm going to cook for her. It seems like she's not a huge fan of crowds. Very introverted, so going to a restaurant doesn't sound like the best plan. I thought dinner at my place would work best."

Blayne looked at me and put a hand to his mouth dramatically. "Aww, you are so thoughtful."

I snatched a napkin off the counter, crushed it into a ball, then threw it at my best friend's face. He chuckled. "For real, though. I know this is hard for you, but I'm proud of you for pursuing something with this woman. It's a big step."

"I have no idea what I'm doing here, Blayne. Picking up a girl for a random hookup is easy—I've done enough of that. Trying to truly pursue someone? I haven't done that since I was a kid."

"Just be yourself," Blayne said. "Do that, and everything will fall into place. Make sure she knows she'll be safe with you. After that, it should be easy."

"If you say so. We'll see. Hopefully, you're right."

After finishing my coffee, I headed to the door to get started on dinner. Before I got out the door, April came in, almost running me over.

"Oh, jeez. Sorry Miles. I should have watched where I was going."

I laughed and stepped out of the way. "No problem. I was getting ready to head to the store."

She raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Now that I've got you, who was that cute woman I saw you talking to today?"

Rolling my eyes, I sighed. "You guys will meet her eventually. Trust me."

April leaned in close so no one else would hear. "Is it happening to you?" She glanced around again. "The curse?"

I nodded.

April huffed out a breath and crossed her arms. "You know, I'm going to be happy once all this is over. I mean, I'm happy it ended with me and Steff together, but it's too crazy. Witches and hunters and curses? The sooner it's over, the sooner we can all get on with our lives." She placed a hand on my arm. "Keep your mate safe. If the way things went with Harley and me are any example, I'm afraid trouble is on the way. Hopefully not, but better to be ready."

April's words echoed through my head the whole way to the store. I tried to get the thoughts of danger out of my head by deciding on what to make. Celina had shared some of her heritage with me by making a meal from where her family was from. I figured I could do the same. My family had roots in Italy, so one of my mom's recipes sounded perfect. Every New Year's Eve, my mother would make this fantastic pasta carbonara.

I pushed my cart around the store as the thought of my mom took my excitement down a notch. I missed her and my father so much. I grabbed bacon, eggs, all the stuff to make homemade pasta, and all the other accouterments. By the time I got to the checkout line, I was stuck reliving nostalgic memories and feeling pretty down. There was a little stand by the register that had a display of postcards, and I took it as a sign. The postcards were so old-fashioned, but exactly what I needed. It had been months since I'd sent my parents one. I snatched one up and set it on the conveyor belt with the rest of my stuff.

Back in my car, I scribbled out a note to my parents on the back of the postcard. I told them I was safe, that I loved them and missed them. Since I always kept a book of stamps in my car, I swung by the post office on my way home to send the card out. Knowing that in a couple days my parents would receive the postcard lifted my spirits a bit, and by the time I got home, my excitement at having Celina over for dinner had returned.

Celina had really enjoyed the wine the night before, so I grabbed another bottle and set it on the counter, then started working on the pasta. As I worked, I was transported into the past, back into my childhood kitchen with Mom stirring the eggs into the flour. In no time, I had dozens and dozens of strands of pasta hanging around the kitchen to dry. It wasn't until I was halfway into mixing the dough that I realized I didn't have a pasta drying rack, like my mother and grandmother had. So, I draped the pasta over coat hangers and scattered them around the apartment. It looked ridiculous, but I was pretty proud of my quick thinking. With that done, I cleaned up the kitchen before making the salad for the night.

Halfway through chopping the romaine lettuce, I remembered I never told Celina what time to come over. A glance at the clock showed it was five. Would it be weird to go tell her now? I didn't want her showing up when my place looked like a disaster. I sighed and washed my hands, wiping them on my pants before heading out the door.

I knocked on Celina's door three times, but there was no answer. Was she out somewhere? I couldn't remember hearing her leave. I was about to walk around the stairwell and see if her car was there, when I heard the door latch snap open. I smiled and turned back to the door. Then I froze. My eyes widened, and I had to stop my jaw from dropping.

Celina must have been in the shower when I knocked. She was wrapping a towel around her hair and wearing what looked like a silk robe. It was short, and I could see her legs up beyond mid-thigh—toned and gorgeous. Not wanting to stare, I yanked my eyes up, but then caught myself staring at her chest. The silk was thin enough for me to see the outline of her nipples through the fabric. My wolf lusted for her, and my body started to respond to the magnificent sight before me. The robe itself was tied loosely, which left very little to the imagination.

I was rock hard when she spoke. "Oh, hey. Sorry…uh…oh shit." She glanced down, then pulled her robe tighter around her body. All that did was cause her nipples and breasts to stand out more as the fabric tightened around her torso. I swallowed hard and forced my eyes up to meet hers.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to bother you." I cleared my throat and fought back a hungry growl. "I only wanted to let you know to come over at seven if that works for you. Is that okay?"

Celina smiled shyly. "That works, yeah." I could tell she was getting self-conscious standing there half naked, and I certainly wasn't helping matters by staring at her like a horny thirteen-year-old boy.

"Okay, cool. See you then." I nodded and did my best to give her a smile, then turned and went back to my apartment. I closed the door and leaned against it, looking down at the throbbing bulge between my legs.

God, it was like I was back in junior high again.