Annie Nicholas: Hunting Colby

I understood him on so many levels. We had so much in common and he just didn’t know it. Moving on swift feet, I returned to my place in front of him. “I can’t shift either.” There, I’d said it out loud. My family’s dirty little secret, an alpha daughter who couldn’t shift to save her life.

His other eyebrow joined the first in meeting his hairline as his eyes grew wider. “How’s that possible?”

I laughed again and grabbed his hands. “Nature works in mysterious ways, Colby. Who says how mates are chosen? But your problem has an easy fix. I can teach you to shift.”

He chuckled and tucked my damp hair behind my ears. “But you just said you couldn’t do it.”

“Doesn’t mean my parents didn’t teach me. They tried everything, from regular lessons to hypnosis to drugs. Heck, even my master made an attempt by entering my mind—”

“You let that son of a bitch touch you?” The fury that flashed across his face took my breath away. I’d never seen Colby more alive.

I placed my hand over his lips. It was the most intimate touch we’d shared so far and he quieted instantly. “Let’s not argue about him. I know how you feel, but we have enough concerns.” There were unspoken issues between Master Tane and Colby. Things I wasn’t prepared to hear yet. We had enough obstacles to overcome and I wanted to deal with them one at a time.

Colby’s eyes narrowed. Then he kissed the palm of my hand. Soft and gentle, the slight touch sent a spark of desire so strong I almost cried out. “Fine, on one condition.”

“What is it?”

“You stop calling him ‘master’ around me.”

This was such a small thing to ask. I nodded without a second thought. “Okay, Tane it is.”

He flinched as I said my master’s name.

I cleared my throat. “I heard about Budapest and what he did to—”

“Like you said, we have enough problems for now without discussing that soul-sucking monster.” He stared at the ground. I could feel the walls rising between us again. I guess returning to my pack and my position as head of my master—Tane’s—security would be out of the question if I wanted to keep Colby.

I didn’t need a crystal ball to see my future. Hard choices would have to be made. Why couldn’t my life be simpler? Every female wanted to find her mate and take him back to her pack, rear pups, and continue the line. Nothing in my life followed those rules, so why should finding my mate be any different?

“Then why can’t you shift?” He still wouldn’t look at me.

The vise around my chest squeezed harder. “I have a genetic disorder. It runs in my family.” Keeping my chin held high, I managed to maintain a steady voice. “I’m pure shifter. I have all their skills and senses, just not the beast.”

He glanced up at me, curiosity apparent in his gaze.

“I reached my position as an alpha in my pack because I’m the best at what I do.”

“Which is?”

A smile popped onto my face at the question. “Hunt and kill.”

The laugh that exploded from Colby brightened his expression. For a split second, I witnessed what he must have been like as a young male. “Yes, you can.” His mirth settled into a wiry grin. “I’ve never met anyone like you.”

“I kicked your ass in Rio.”

He snorted. “I got away.”

“I let you go!”

His grin faded. “Yeah, right into your master’s grasp.” He shook his head.

I met his glare and crossed my arms over my chest. “I won’t apologize for doing my job well. I protected you to the best of my ability. It could have gone very differently if I hadn’t intervened on your behalf.” Colby had called Rose damaged goods. He needed to look in a mirror. No wonder he’d run from me; I was another problem to add to his list.

Taking a deep breath, I released it slowly. Whenever the thought of Colby crossed my mind, I only considered how to catch him and make him see me. I thought he ran because of something I’d done. Now, I stood before him and saw him. He’d run to protect me. In an odd way, I understood.

A forced relationship wouldn’t work between us. Both of our heads were too thick and stubborn. I needed Colby to want me for who I was as a person, not just because fate made me smell like I was his. I slipped my fingers around his and squeezed.

He visibly relaxed his shoulders and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand. With his other, he kept hold of my fingers. The tentative gesture would be the first link in building a bridge between us. I just prayed that I wouldn’t burn it.

“I need a shower.” He moved with reluctance and waited until right before the door swung closed to release my hand.

Clutching my hands to my chest, I stared at the door, chewing my bottom lip. Shit. What should I do now? My pack would see this as weakness on both our parts. I wish I could talk to someone. Bad enough they all knew he ran. There was Connie, my master’s blood slave, but she had less sense when it came to males than I did.

A ding ran through the apartment and sent me two feet straight into the air. With a racing heart and a sheepish grin, I followed the chime to the washer and tossed my clothes in the dryer. I dressed in one of Colby’s T-shirts that fell to mid-thigh. The robe carried his scent, and I placed it back over my shoulders. A poor substitute for the real thing.

I crawled onto the cot, under the blankets, and waited for him. This was becoming an unacceptable habit.

Heat shrouded my body as I sank deeper into the cushion of my bed. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept so well and didn’t care to rise yet. Faint sunlight played over my closed eyelids, yet that wasn’t the source of my comfort.

No, my blankets kept me cozy. I reached to pull them higher over my shoulder but grabbed something large and muscular instead. I jerked my head off the pillow to see a bare arm sprawled over my torso and a jean-clad leg pinning mine under it. My pillow was actually a bicep. A nicely developed one.

Glancing over my shoulder, I met Colby’s steel green gaze. “Morning.”

“Afternoon.” His voice sounded like gravel. He removed his limbs from surrounding me and it took all my self-control not to roll over, pinning him to the cot for a full-body inspection. That could set him off in any surprising direction, and our truce was too fragile at the moment. He rose from the bed in one smooth motion and headed for the kitchen.

I curled into the warm spot he’d left and watched a shirtless Colby fill the coffeemaker. Poking at the odd sensation within my chest, I decided to name it contentment. Such a simple thing, yet the unfamiliar peace inside me grew. Reluctantly, I sat on the edge of the bed.

Jeans hanging from his hips, he crossed the room, carrying two cups.

With a snap, I closed my mouth, but nothing short of a god would have torn my gaze from his sculpted chest. Scars littered his skin, from thin lines to rough circular patches.

“You need to learn to duck.” I smiled as his head jerked and a hint of a smile played on his lips.

“I’d noticed you carried your own collection of scars.” His gaze traveled to three parallel claw marks that ran across my right thigh.

“Mine are prettier.”

He sat next to me, our shoulders almost touching. Handing me a cup, Colby’s expression grew serious. “Teach me to shift.”

“Now?”

“Why not? Being able to shift will come in handy if we get into trouble this evening.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“Nothing ever is.” He sipped his coffee and stared at nothing in particular as his thoughts turned inward. I couldn’t imagine they were good ones and enjoyed the laughing Colby so much more. The dour side already had too much airtime.