Dancer's Heart Read online

  “I wish I could have met your family.”

  “Me, too. I know they would have liked you.”

  She leaned forward and picked up their mugs, handing one to him. The marshmallows had mostly melted, forming a glossy white surface on the top. “I have a lot of wishes about things that could have been different about my past and yours, but I feel like if anything was different we wouldn’t have met. I wouldn’t trade you for anything.”

  He smiled. “I wouldn’t trade you either, Dani.”

  They tipped their mugs together until the edges clinked. “To fireplaces and hot chocolate.”

  “To us and the rest of our lives.”

  She took a sip of the hot brew and sighed happily, leaning against him. It was her turn to stare into the fire, watching the orange and amber flames as they licked at the wood. A day earlier, they’d been getting ready for the full moon. It was hard to believe that so much could have changed in twenty-four hours. She was glad that some things had changed; she and Adam were still together, and their bond was even stronger than it had been before she’d been taken.

  Being taken hadn’t made her fear being with Adam. She knew he cared about her safety. Something out of his control had happened, but she had no doubt he would make sure nothing of the sort ever occurred again.

  Chapter 13

  Later that night, Adam stood outside in the dark with Malachi and his partner, a human male named Lucian.

  Mal held up a tablet and said, “I set this up for you. It’s synced to your phone and Dani’s, too. We’ve got perimeter alarms at a quarter mile into the woods surrounding the house. If someone triggers the silent alarm, a digital camera will take a ten-second video and e-mail it to you. There are more cameras one hundred feet into the woods, and some actually on the fence. If someone triggers the fence cameras, floodlights will illuminate them as well and an alert will be sent to our company, as well as me and Lucian.”

  “Obviously,” Lucian said, “you’ll want to be paying attention to any of the alarms. If you see something suspicious, it’s better to err on the side of caution and call someone to check it out. Mal said that you weren’t sure if the people who engineered your mate’s kidnapping were all dead or not?”

  Adam’s gut tightened. “I know there were a lot of bodies. Whether they represented the entire organization or whatever bullshit my father was involved in, I’m not sure.” He looked toward the house. Inside, Dani was making pot roast for dinner, because she knew it was his favorite meal. He didn’t want her to be afraid that someone would come for her again.

  Lucian cleared his throat, and Adam turned his attention back to him. “I checked into the reports of what happened at the park, and according to what the police on the scene said, it doesn’t seem likely that anyone would be able to connect you, Dani, or the Wilde Creek Pack to anything that happened there. The herd torched everything, from the buildings to the grounds. There wasn’t any evidence left behind except the bodies.”

  “That’s probably not a complete relief,” Mal said.

  “It’s better than nothing.”

  “Vigilance is the key,” Lucian said. “If you need anything at all, call me or Mal and we’ll do whatever we can to make sure you have no trouble keeping your mate safe.”

  Adam shook Lucian’s hand. It was the first time he’d ever met Malachi’s friend and partner in their company, L&M Security. The male was clearly human, but there was something other about him, too. Mal had said he was in the military, but Adam suspected there was more to the large, tattooed male than either of them let on. Not that he actually cared, because the only person in the world that mattered to him was standing over the kitchen stove making gravy.

  “Thanks for everything,” Adam said as he shook Malachi’s hand.

  “You’re welcome.” Malachi handed the tablet to Adam and the two left, leaving Adam in the backyard alone. He looked at the tablet. The screen showed that everything was quiet in the woods around them. He tilted his head up to the sky, where the bright moon felt like it was centered completely over the yard, highlighting the place where Dani had fallen while Adam had been helpless to protect her.

  Arms wrapped around him, and Dani let out a soft sob as she moved in front of him and buried her face in his chest. He held her close, resting his cheek on the top of her head.

  “It’ll be okay now, sweetheart,” he said.

  “I don’t want to be afraid of the backyard.”

  “I know. I don’t want that for you, either.” He gripped the tablet in one hand and held her close with the other. “Tell you what. Let’s shift.”

  She looked up at him and rubbed at her wet cheeks. “Now?”

  “Yeah. Look up there, baby. The moon is so bright, and it’s just for us.”

  She blinked a few times, her brows furrowing slightly, and then she smiled. “Okay. I can face anything with you by my side.”

  They walked over to the porch, and he brushed the snow off the small table and laid the tablet on it. He turned to face Dani and saw her staring at the security fence and chewing her bottom lip. “We can do this,” he said.

  “You’re not nervous?”

  “I am a little, but if I stayed afraid of fire I wouldn’t be able to hang out with the pack on the full moon when they have bonfires in the summer. I wouldn’t be able to go in there tonight and stoke the fire so I can warm you up properly after we shift.”

  Her gaze softened and then she smirked. “You always tempt me with sex.”

  He wiggled his brows. “It works.”

  She rolled her shoulders back and let out a deep breath. “Okay. I’m not going to be afraid to shift. This is our yard and our home.”

  “You got that right.”

  They stripped quickly and shifted. Adam saw Dani hesitate only once as she shook herself out from her shift, her gaze darting along the length of the wall as her nostrils flared and steam billowed from them. Then she took a few steps into the yard and looked at him.

  He chuffed at her in encouragement.

  She lowered her head, dug one of her antlers into the snow and chucked a pile of it at him. He barked a laugh and raced toward her, and she bleated and hopped away. He could have caught her, but he just wanted to chase her. He’d catch her later, when they were naked and in the warmth of the house. She darted from one corner of the yard to the other, her tail twitching and her hooves kicking up snow. He pursued her lazily and then sat in the center of the yard and listened to the night around them. He could hear everything, his wolf intent on Dani’s safety above all else.

  He had no doubt that they were safe now. He wasn’t sure how he knew; he just felt a peace that he couldn’t explain. Maybe it was knowing that their property was wired to the gills with technology that would make it impossible for anyone to sneak up on them, or maybe it was knowing that the people who had taken her were dead and there was nothing to tie either of them to the deaths at the park.

  Whatever it was, Adam would take it. Keeping Dani safe and making a haven for them for the future was all that mattered. Someday their kids would be with them, shifting in the yard in one form or another, and he never wanted them to doubt that Wilde Creek was a safe place to live.

  After Dani had leaped and run her fill, she nudged him gently with her antler and tilted her head toward the house. She didn’t have to tell him twice. They shifted together, their bodies morphing from beast to human with ease. Adam swung her up into his arms and carried her into the house, stopping only long enough to grab the tablet from the table.

  Her hands were cold as she slid them into his hair and kissed a line down his neck. “That was fun.”

  “Not scary?”

  “Not with my protector watching out for me.”

  He opened the sliding door and stepped inside, sliding it shut and flipping the lock. “I had a vision of our sons standing with you, watching over their sisters and me while we forage.”

  He grinned as he knelt to set her down gently on the carpet. His leg bur
ned slightly from the exertion of shifting. “How many kids are you thinking about, sweetheart?”

  He pulled some logs from the basket, used the poker to open the screen, and then put the wood on the low flames. The fire blazed to life, and he closed the screen. Dani straightened from spreading out a blanket on the floor and went to her knees in the center of it. “I don’t know. I’d like to have a big family. Neither of us had that, and I can’t think of anything that would make me happier than to have a bunch of little Adams running around.”

  “And Danis,” he said, kissing her gently as he cupped her face.

  “Definitely.” She gripped his hips and moved closer. They tumbled to the floor, putting thoughts of the future on hold for the time being as they warmed each other up, ate cold pot roast, and then warmed each other up again.

  It was one of the best nights he’d ever had.

  * * * * *

  Thursday morning, Adam held open the truck door for Dani as she got in, carrying a tote that was overflowing with yarn. Although she was enjoying learning how to quilt, she’d really taken to knitting, and was determined to make matching scarves for the two of them before the ground thawed. She used every moment of her spare time to work on the black and gray garments.

  “Heloise said she’d help me bind off your scarf today, but first I have to help her organize her pills for the week. That woman is all about natural stuff, vitamins and minerals I’ve never heard of.”

  “You shouldn’t be surprised that wolves like natural things.”

  “I guess not. She’s a sweetie, even if she does smell like garlic from the tablets she takes.”

  He chuckled as he shut the door.

  “What are you and Jer doing today?”

  “Delivering wood.”

  “Sounds exciting,” she said with a wink.

  “It’s a laugh riot.”

  He’d just shifted the truck into gear when a black SUV stopped in front of them. For a heartbeat, he wasn’t sure what was going on, but then the passenger door opened and Liam got out. He waved at them and Dani said, “Oh! It’s Liam!”

  Adam rolled the window down as Liam walked over to his side. “Hi. What’s going on?”

  “Hey, I have some news. Can we talk inside for a minute? Tesli is here, and she’d love to say hi to Dani if you have the time.”

  “Sure. Let me text my friend and tell him we’ll be late,” Adam said. He rolled up his window and then texted Jeremiah to tell him that they were meeting with friends unexpectedly and would be at the retirees’ residences as soon as they were finished.

  “What do you think they want?” Dani asked.

  “Let’s find out,” he said.

  When Dani got out of the truck, Tesli squealed and raced over to her, grabbing her in a hug and nearly taking them both down on the slick sidewalk. “What are you doing here?” Dani asked with a laugh as they regained their balance.

  “We were passing by, and we have some good news. How are you doing?”

  “Really good. You?”

  “I’m okay. I’m so glad to be home.”

  “I am, too.”

  Liam and Dragos joined Adam, Dani, and Tesli as they walked into the house. “Can I make you guys some coffee or tea?” Dani asked.

  “No, we can’t stay long. The herd is waiting outside of town for us. There’s a winter storm coming and we want to be on the way before it hits.” Dragos said.

  The reindeer sat on the couch, and Adam pulled Dani onto his lap as he sat on the oversized chair.

  Liam cleared his throat. “A member of our herd is very good with computers, and he did some tracking of the men who had been part of the kidnapping. It confirmed what the human told us before he died; they’re part of a group that I can only describe as a gang. There was a main man at the top, and his henchmen. The petting zoo was a front for the operation, a way to launder money and a headquarters of sorts. Since the petting zoo was closed, the main barn was used as a holding area for abducted shifters.” Liam said. He paused for a moment and Adam knew he wasn’t going to be happy with what he said next.

  “I think you probably already figured out that your father offered Dani in exchange for a debt. The reason we know that is because Tesli overheard the humans discuss bringing in a new shifter in repayment for a debt. They had at least one buyer who wanted a rare shifter, and they were trying to get more buyers for an auction.”

  Dani shivered, and Adam held her a little tighter.

  Dragos said, “We dropped off your grandparents’ car. It was cleaned of any and all evidence that could have possibly linked it to what happened there. We also found the tracking device they had installed and disabled it. With the organization destroyed, there’s no reason to believe that anyone else will come for you or Dani.”

  “Where will you guys go now?” Dani asked.

  “We’re going north. We’ve decided to find a place to call home permanently. I think our people have been nomadic long enough. When we settle, we’d like to invite you to come visit,” Dragos said.

  Liam leaned forward and handed a business card to Adam. “I set up a website. You can send us a message anytime if you need us.”

  “Would you be willing to come to our wedding?” Dani asked. “We’re not sure when the date is yet, but I’d like to have some of my own people there.”

  Dragos nodded with a smile. “We’d be honored. Send us the details when you know them and we’ll be sure to be there. Tesli can tell you about our mating traditions, so you can add them to your ceremony if you’d like.”

  Dani smile. “I would.”

  They said goodbye to the herd. Dani and Adam stood on the front porch and watched their SUV until it was gone. She turned to him and he held her. “Did you want to go with them?” he asked.

  Her head snapped up. “What?”

  He touched his thumb to the corner of her frown. “I don’t mean without me, love. I mean, did you want us to go and live with the herd?”

  “Why would I want to do that?”

  “Because they’re your people.”

  She nipped his thumb and smiled softly. “You’re my people – you and the pack. I don’t need to be where other reindeer are.”

  “I’d go anywhere for you, Dani. I just want you to be happy.”

  “I’m happiest here,” she said, standing on her tiptoes and kissing him.

  He was glad she wanted to stay in Wilde Creek, but he would have gone anywhere she wanted if she’d asked. He looked down into her beautiful eyes. At that moment, he could see their future clearly: children, a home full of love, waking up to her sweet face every morning forever.

  “I’m the luckiest wolf to have such a beautiful and loving mate.”

  “When you’re ready to start on our family, let me know,” she said, lifting an eyebrow suggestively.

  He reached behind her and opened the front door, pushing her gently back into the house. “How about now?”

  She giggled. “What about work?”

  “I’m calling in sick for both of us.” He tugged his phone from his pocket and gave her a hot look. “Get. Naked.”

  She gave him a saucy salute as her coat dropped to the floor and she toed off her boots. “Yes, sir.”

  She darted off to the bedroom, dropping clothes in her wake. He texted Jeremiah as quickly as he could and then shut off his phone so they wouldn’t be disturbed. He glanced at the door and flipped the deadbolt before shedding his coat and boots. He was thankful that the reindeer had stopped by to share that Dani was safe from the people who had kidnapped her, but Adam had no intention of ever taking Dani’s security for granted again. He’d made an error once, and it could have cost his sweetheart her life. He’d be damn sure that never happened again.

  “Adam,” she crooned, her voice low and sultry.

  He growled softly, ripping his clothes off as he drew closer to the bedroom, where he found her naked and waiting for him. The sight of her, lush and aroused, always made his brain stall out, and he found
himself struck dumb by how gorgeous she was.

  Her hips flexed as she ran her hands down her sides, and her eyes, always such a gorgeous blue, flickered to the burnished gold of her beast. “Mine,” he growled.

  “I am. Entirely.”

  Pouncing on her with all the grace of a moose in a ceramic store, he took her good-natured laughter with a snarl, silencing her with kisses as they tumbled to the bed. It was a great way to start their family – with love, laughter, and growling.

  The End

  Contact the Author

  Website: http://www.rebutlerauthor.com

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  * * *

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