Deceptive promises, p.2
Deceptive Promises, page 2
Diem filled their bowls with the thick stew filled with tender chicken and wide handmade noodles.
“I had no idea how hungry I was until I smelled this cooking,” Cymbre said. She lifted the spoon and blew on it gently. Biting back a loud groan at how good it was, she added, “You’re such a wonderful cook. Who taught you to make homestyle dishes?”
Diem smiled, but her eyes were sad. “My dad. He was raised by his grandma, and when she got sick, she told him how to cook from her bed. He taught me when I was young, so when he was working, I could come home from school and make dinner for us.”
Diem had been exiled as a teenager when she turned out to be a hybrid lion-wolf. The alpha exiled her, and when her father tried to take exile to be with her, she’d told him to stay in Rhode Island and run his business. Because her father and the alpha were close, he allowed them to stay in touch. They talked often and met up halfway for birthdays.
“Does he still cook?” Arely asked.
“He does. We video chat and cook together sometimes. He’s got a girlfriend now. She’s human, but he doesn’t think she’s his truemate, so he’s only dating her for fun.”
“For fun?” Cymbre asked. “What does he mean by that?”
“I honestly didn’t want to ask,” Diem said. “I was afraid he’d tell me he was just having sex with her. That’s not anything I want to talk about with my dad.”
Cymbre chuckled. “I hear you.”
Conversation flitted between talk of their jobs to the book chosen for the book club to read, which met in the bookstore, to the stranger.
“Jewel came in today to borrow some shoes for a date with Trace and told me that Ivar went to the bar last night with Breaker and a few of the other males. The landscape guys asked him to help out today, but it seems that he’s going to end up on the security team.”
“Why’s that?” Cymbre asked, her falcon letting out another curious trill in her mind.
“Most likely so that they can keep a close eye on him. Because of the way he came to town, Rehlik doesn’t fully trust him yet. That will come in time. The patrols are going to keep watching to see if whoever hurt him will come back to finish the job.”
“Wonder if they’re the same people who are trying to get into our town,” Arely said.
“I wondered that too,” Diem said with a shrug, “but according to Rehlik, Ivar’s been on his own since his family was killed a decade ago and simply crossed paths with the wrong shifter group who attacked him. He wasn’t sure how he’d gotten here.”
“That’s awful,” Cymbre said. Her falcon let out a sad whistle.
Okay, birdbrain, we’re not having any kind of feelings for a male we haven’t even met yet. Stop making noises.
Curious chirp.
Snarl.
When the meal was done and Diem packed up two helpings of leftovers, the two females left the apartment and headed home. They shared a three-bedroom and had been roommates for nearly three years. Cymbre had come to Cider Falls first and taken the empty home as her own. When Arely had come to town, they’d immediately become friends and roommates.
“It’s been a good day, but I’m beat,” Cymbre said. “I have to get up early and pick leaves before I head to work.”
Arely unlocked the front door and gave her a strange look. “What are you picking leaves for?”
“Because Davy is doing a science project in school and needs different leaves for it. We have some in our woods that he doesn’t have in his neighborhood, so I said I’d grab them. Wanna join me?”
“Heck, no,” Arely said with a laugh. “But have fun. Maybe you’ll find your forever guy in the woods.”
Cymbre rolled her eyes. “Are you in cahoots with my bird? She won’t shut up lately. And I don’t think I’ll meet my forever guy in the woods.” If I even get one. “That would be like a million-to-one chance.”
“Miracles happen every day, babe. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?”
She tapped the lid of the chicken and dumpling container. “Tasty leftovers and work. That’s it.”
Arely hummed. “If you say so. I’ll be optimistic. It’s more fun to look at life through rose-colored glasses.”
“Good night, you loon.”
“Night,” Arely said.
Cymbre put the container in the fridge and turned off the light with a yawn. Sure, anything could happen tomorrow, but she really didn’t believe that she might randomly be in the woods and find her mate. Especially since she’d pretty much decided she wouldn’t get one anyway. What kind of male would want a female who’d caused the deaths of a dozen falcons?
Chapter Three
Ivar hadn’t learned anything about Cider Falls yesterday that he hadn’t already known from sneaking into the town prior to being carried in unconscious. The run through the woods had been entertaining to his beasts, but as far as reconnaissance, it hadn’t been helpful. Then he’d gone on a walking tour of the town with Shelley, Jewel, and Novak—who were both on the security team—and then Shelley had cooked him dinner and he’d met with Rehlik and Trace again, who offered to let him work on the security team with Breaker.
He knew the leadership was still deciding if he was going to be able to stay in town. Which he very much needed to do so he could get as much intel as possible for Vega. He did his best to be unassuming and friendly so they’d want him to stick around. It wasn’t exactly his wheelhouse. He’d spent the last ten years keeping people at arms’ length. He’d told them only as much as he needed to in order to gain their sympathy, including most of the truth of his family—how they’d stayed off the FSA radar and then been ambushed and slaughtered, with Yva gone and himself near death. What he hadn’t told them was that he’d tracked down the ones who’d killed his family and taken them out, one by one.
It was better that they didn’t know he was a killer.
Well, they’d learn it eventually. But for his purposes, simply being a male all alone in the world in their eyes worked to his advantage.
On his to-do list was seeing the patrol schedule so he could pass the intel on to Vega. Ivar had watched the patrols, but they seemed to be random. He was certain there was a schedule, he just couldn’t decipher what it was. Breaker had invited Ivar to move into his house today, and he thought that would be just the way to gather the intel he needed.
He walked out into the kitchen to find Shelley sipping from a mug and looking at what appeared to be an old recipe book.
“Good morning,” she said with a smile. “Make yourself a cup of coffee.”
“Morning. Thanks.”
He put a pod into the coffee maker and slid a mug under the spout. As it brewed, he turned to face her.
“Thank you for letting me stay here. You’ve been really gracious with your time and home.”
“It’s my pleasure,” she said. “It’s what I do with my healing gift. When did Breaker say he’d be here?”
Ivar glanced at the wall where a large round clock ticked softly. “An hour.”
“Good, then you have time to do me a small favor, if you want.”
“Sure.” He picked up his mug after adding sugar and took a sip.
“I need to gather wild blackberry leaves.”
“They’re in the woods, I assume?”
“They are. There’s a huge patch. The birds are too active in the summer to gather more than a handful of berries, but the leaves are what I need.”
“What are they good for?”
“A variety of things, including aiding in digestion and healing wounds. I can use my healing power freely, but it does drain me physically if I use too much of it at once. And I can’t really heal humans; the person I heal has to be supernatural for my healing to have full effect. So I like to keep natural remedies on hand for the humans who come for help.”
He stared at her for a long moment. She was really a kind person and genuinely cared for others. He didn’t want to think about what might happen to her when Vega came to take over. Well, she was a healer, so she’d be spared no matter what.
Shaking the thoughts from his head, he said, “Happy to help.”
She smiled at him and finished her tea. “When you’re ready, I’ll be out back gathering my tools.”
He took a few minutes to finish his coffee, then snagged a blueberry muffin from the basket on the counter. He tore off the paper wrapper and dropped it in the trash as he headed out to the back to join her. She held a basket and two pairs of sheers. Handing him one pair of sheers, she said, “It’s about a ten-minute walk.”
They started the trek to the blackberries.
“What did you do for work while you were on your own all these years?” she asked.
Now this was something about his past he could tell her truthfully. “Odd jobs, mostly. I didn’t have anything when I was first on my own, so I stayed in the woods and hunted for food. I can admit to stealing necessities from time to time, like clothes from wash lines or shoes left on back porches.” He shrugged. That had been a difficult time. He’d been young and grieving, wondering where his sister was and planning how to take out the pack that had killed his family. “I eventually found work as a dishwasher in a diner that paid me under the table, and once I saved up enough money, I got a tent and some supplies and mostly camped out. When it was cold, I went south. When it was warm, I went north. I never really let anyone get to know me or see me in my shift. It was too risky.”
She hummed. “That’s quite a life you’ve led. But you’re here, and if you want, you can stay in Cider Falls.”
“Rehlik has to approve it first, though.”
“Well, that’s true and I can’t control that, but I did tell him that I thought you were trustworthy and deserved a chance to join our pack and have a real life.”
He gave her a side glance. “You don’t think I’ve had a life?”
She stopped walking and he faced her. She was smiling in that gentle way she did.
“I think you’ve had a hard life, Ivar. And I think it’s okay to let your guard down. If Rehlik asks you to join the pack, I hope you will. I’m always happy to see new people come into the group, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know you.”
He was touched by her kindness once more, but he steeled himself against letting it get the better of him. He had a job to do—for Vega—and he wasn’t going to let anything stop that.
“Now, about the blackberries,” she said.
She showed him the large patch of bushes and how to collect the leaves. They worked in silence to fill the basket, and he only occasionally got stabbed by pesky thorns.
“Damn it,” he groused as another thorn scraped the top of his hand.
Shelley chuckled. “They’re tricky buggers.”
He pulled the leaves out of the bush and walked over to the basket. As the leaves fell onto the pile, the wind shifted direction and the most enticing scent filled his nose.
It was like honey and flowers and sunshine.
And home.
His heart clenched so hard he nearly fell to his knees.
She. Was. Here.
He ground his teeth together and snarled internally at his beasts.
No. Absolutely not.
He was not going to chase a scent and find out where the female who called to every cell of his being was.
Staying rooted in place was his best choice. Finding a mate was not on his list at all; Yva and Vega were his focus.
But...
No!
* * *
The morning was chilly, but since fall was her favorite time of year, Cymbre didn’t mind. She drove to the bar and parked in the empty lot, which was surrounded by woods. She had a plastic container with a lid to keep the leaves intact. She walked into the woods, tucking the container under her arm and buttoning up her jacket to ward against the chill.
She wandered around the woods looking for different trees, plucking the most perfect leaves she could find from the lowest branches.
After a good bit of walking, she finally found the one tree she was looking for—a white birch. It was Davy’s favorite tree, and he had specifically asked her to grab a leaf for him if she could.
The tree had a wide central trunk with thick branches that rose up a few feet above the ground, shooting upward into a beautiful, tall tree. She walked around the tree, looking for the best leaves, but the ones on the lowest branches were turning dark brown in spots, which wouldn’t do for Davy’s project.
“Welp,” she said, “I gotta go up.”
She’d purposely worn her hiking boots, which she’d never hiked in before. She bought them for a Halloween party that she and Arely had thrown the previous year. Cymbre had gone as a lumberjack and the boots were a necessity to pull off the look. Then she’d promptly put them in her closet and never touched them again.
Grasping a low branch, she hefted herself up, wedging one foot between branches to give herself leverage. After figuring out she needed to go higher, where the branches were closer together and the leaves more intact, she climbed up another foot.
Peering at the branch in front of her, she spied the perfect leaf. She reached for it, holding on to the branch with one hand and leaning as far out as she could. It was almost within reach.
Gripping the branch tighter, she pointed the toe of her boot and stretched out farther.
She touched the stem of the leaf but couldn’t quite grasp it.
So close!
Stretching as far as she could, she could almost grab it.
And then her foot slipped, along with her hand, and she tumbled to the ground.
* * *
Cymbre closed her eyes, thinking she was going to hit the ground hard, but instead something caught her.
Someone.
Opening her eyes slowly, she found herself staring into the caramel-colored eyes of a male she’d never seen before.
His cheeks were covered with stubble, and his chest vibrated with a mixture of a big-cat purr and a call from a bird of prey.
Immediately she knew exactly who he was.
He was the reason her bird had been acting up.
He was her truemate.
“I…” she said, but then words failed her. He was just too damn sexy and made her brain misfire.
He put her gently on the ground and straightened. He was tall and broad-shouldered, thick with muscles. What she found most noticeable were the scars on his neck and forearms. He’d been hurt and hadn’t yet healed.
He reached up and pulled down the branch she’d been trying to get.
She plucked the leaf from it and chuckled, feeling super awkward.
Before she could think of anything to say that didn’t involve asking him if he’d like to get naked and roll around, he turned and walked away.
“Wait!”
He didn’t stop. His shoulders hunched and he lowered his head, but he didn’t turn around.
Had her truemate just saved her from a bad fall and then walked away without saying a single word?
What the hell?
Chapter Four
Ivar had made some miscalculations over the years since he’d been on his own, like the time he’d been chasing a male that Vega wanted punished, and he’d jumped from the roof to take the fleeing male down and ended up nearly impaling himself on a pile of metal scraps he hadn’t seen.
But no miscalculation had been quite so large as catching the beautiful brunette when she’d slipped from the tree.
He’d been picking damn blackberry leaves with Shelley and ignoring the bewitching scent that kept assaulting him whenever the breeze blew his direction. Then he’d heard her make a strange sound and his beasts had overridden his desire to entirely ignore her. He’d raced through the woods, following the delectable scent, and happened to catch her as she’d fallen.
The fall wouldn’t have hurt her. It would have, at the most, stunned her a little, maybe bruised her delicate flesh.
But some part of him was thrilled with the way she looked at him, as if he’d saved her life by pulling her from the very jaws of death.
The way she felt in his arms?
Heaven and hell.
She’d been reaching for something on a branch, so he’d set her gently on her feet and pulled the branch down for her. She was shorter than him by almost a foot, so it had been easy enough for him to grab. Then she’d plucked a leaf from the branch and given him a smile so sweet and thankful that he wanted to fall to his knees and make her smile like that all the time.
Among other things he wanted to do to her.
The images flashing through his mind courtesy of his suddenly love-starved beasts involved lots of nakedness and a bed, and he’d had no choice but to walk away.
He couldn’t even bring himself to say anything to her because talking to her would mean being in her presence a single moment longer than necessary.
As it was, he was furious with himself for even rushing to her aid.
He was no hero. He was the villain in her future, the one who would bring about the destruction of the town she called home. He had a job to do, and it was taking him far too long to get it done as it was. The female, no matter how beautiful or how perfect she felt in his arms, was a complication he did not need or want.
“Wait!”
He snarled to himself and kept walking, ignoring the hurt tone in her voice and the way the word she shouted at him tried to wrap around his heart and squeeze him to death.
He was a solitary male. He did not get to have a truemate and he did not want one.
Yva and Vega were alone at the top of his loyalty list—period.
Shelley gave him a curious look when he reached the blackberry bush.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
He nodded and lifted the basket he’d dropped, stooping to pick up the leaves that had fallen.
She cleared her throat, and he looked up at her.
“Her name is Cymbre. She’s a falcon.”
“What are you talking about?”
