Rapier (Apache County Shifters Book 3) Read online

  No matter how many times he shifted, the marred skin on his arm never completely returned to its original state. Even in his wolf form, the skin remained pink and bare. No fur would grow there. Mackenzie had been through hell and back again and, it seemed, whatever hell he’d visited decided to come knocking on Rapier’s door.

  The acrid stench of smoke-filled Rapier’s nostrils as he drew closer to his home. Quincy, for the last two months, had been pushing himself into Dryer territory. Rapier didn’t have a huge Pride, but those he cared for didn’t want for anything. With Jasmine at his side, he’d picked up a few straggler kids and had begun building the next chapter of his life. The youngest of the bunch, Tate and Henry, stuck close to him and Jasmine. They’d been as excited as they could be about the arrival of a new cub.

  Of course, that was before the first death on his Pride lands.

  A couple had just joined them a week before, around the same time Mackenzie showed up. They were nice and quiet. They wanted to live their life under the protection of an Alpha without all the bullshit that came with the hierarchy of a Pride. He could give it to them. He didn’t run his Pride like a strict asshole. He lived by one motto, don’t be a dick. Sure, he was an asshole, he readily admitted it, but there was a difference. Sometimes he had to be, in the course of being an Alpha.

  Rapier liked to check on the members of his pack at least once a week, but when Jasmine said she hadn’t seen the couple for a few days, he took a ride out to their little house. The scent of decaying flesh and dried blood assailed him. Rapier gagged, puking before he caught a glimpse of their bodies—not that he wanted to, anyway. A message had been scrawled on the wall in blood from one of them, and Rapier saw red.

  You’re next.

  He called in the local sheriff, who brought the coroner and forensic team. He didn’t like the beady-eyed bastard, but he didn’t say shit. As long as they nailed that fucking Quincy bastard, he didn’t care.

  It didn’t go quite as he had planned.

  Never did.

  Because they couldn’t link Quincy to the murder due to lack of evidence, Raymond continued to pace Rapier’s land, like a rabid hyena. The bastard did little things to scare the remaining people in his Pride and forced them to run. He wouldn’t though. He understood why others had to. Rapier, however, wouldn’t let that fucker take his land.

  Then the first fire started. Cormyr’s house burned down within a matter of minutes, almost killing his brother. Then Saber and Wy’s place. He was forcing them all into a small space. It didn’t make any sense to Rapier. Why them? What had he done to deserve this kind of treatment?

  Then Mackenzie started talking. He should have been dead. Raymond thought he’d died. He didn’t say anything because he didn’t want to intrude, but Raymond’s men had been in town for a while, watching Mackenzie as he healed. They were all fucked. Mackenzie brought his problems to Rapier’s Pride.

  “Why?” Rapier remembered asking him.

  “Because I am the last link, besides my son, to Marjorie’s transgressions. Quincy blood is no longer pure.” His tone didn’t change. His gaze never left the spot on the floor in front of his feet. Mackenzie spoke as though all of it made sense now.

  If only Rapier had listened properly.

  He came to a sliding stop. Jenna and Jasmine were placing bags into their Jeep while Rashid, Saber, Cormyr and Wy did the same, filling their beat-up work truck. Two houses down Osirus and Utah were doing the same. The fire had started in one of the empty homes at the end of the block. It’d jumped to the other side, forcing several families out of their homes.

  “What happened?” He grabbed Jasmine by the shoulders.

  “He came. Raymond said if you don’t meet him at the pack line, he’d come back. He’d kill us all. It’s a trap.” Her eyes darted from side to side, filled with suffocating panic. “We have to run. Or...or else.”

  “Fine, I’m coming with you. I won’t leave without you.” He gathered her into his arms while fire raged around them.

  “You can’t. We have to go our separate ways. You know what Raymond will do if he finds us. He’ll kill me and our baby to get what he wants.” What he wanted was Mackenzie back. He wanted Rapier’s Pride too, which meant he wanted Jasmine for his own mate, whether or not it would be physically possible.

  Soot and ash swirled through the air carrying hot embers to the rooftops of the surrounding homes. The orange glow illuminated the area, turning night into day. He couldn’t let her go. He didn’t want to let her go. God dammit, they were having a baby, how dare anyone try to interfere.

  “I can’t,” he shouted over the sounds of the sirens. “I can’t leave you.”

  Jasmine cupped his cheek. “It’s not forever, only until you can nail Quincy’s ass to the wall. Prove he killed that couple. Prove what he’s doing in his pack with Mackenzie’s help. Then you can come find me.” She brushed her lips over his.

  “How?” His voice cracked. Tears swam in his vision, causing everything to blur. “How will I know where you are? How will I know you’re safe?” His heart broke and soul shattered. He didn’t want to leave her. He couldn’t stand the thought of being alone.

  She caressed his cheek, not taking her eyes off him for a second. “Because I have faith you will always find me. I also have one badass bitch on my side.” She kissed him once more before stepping back. “It’s time. He’ll be here any minute. Run, Rapier. Come find me.”

  “I’ll always come for you. I promise.” He stood there as she jumped into the passenger side of the Jeep while Jenna got in behind the wheel. She peeled out of the driveway, leaving him to stare after them.

  A hand wrapped around his forearm, jolting him out of his grief. “We have to go, brother. It isn’t safe anymore.”

  Saber dragged him to their truck and practically shoved him inside. The words, “follow her,” were lodged in his throat. Instead he said, “Go east. We need to go in the opposite direction of the girls, so we don’t accidentally tip them off.”

  Saber grunted, starting the vehicle. “On it. Osirus and Utah are coming with us. They have Tate and Henry with them.”

  He didn’t say another word as they pulled away from the house. Smoke billowed from the attic. Red flames danced along the shingles before latching onto the wood beneath, setting the house ablaze.

  He should have listened to Mackenzie from the beginning and now, it cost him everything.

  I will find you, Jasmine. I’ll never give up.

  Chapter One

  Outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado...

  Present Day

  The GPS on Rapier’s truck had gone out two hundred miles ago. He stopped to make one phone call and to take a piss. Since Keeley programed everything for him, he hadn’t a clue where the fuck he was going, only that he would finally be reunited with his mate and, he’d found out, his twin daughters.

  Beside him, his best friend and brother, Osirus Blake, held onto the paper with the written instructions on it. His brother hadn’t said a word since they left the restaurant early in the morning after he talked to Keeley or since they began their trip. He didn’t blame his friend. Rapier wasn’t in the mood to talk, and he worried if he did, he’d yell and curse more than he talked.

  At first, he’d been shocked, then pissed. Now, he yearned to hold his mate. Rapier understood his emotional rollercoaster was throwing his brother for a loop. It always did. He compartmentalized everything, except anger. Yes, the raging beast he chained within him had reared its ugly head when Keeley told him about finding Jasmine, but she’d done it because of the FBI agents tracking Quincy’s men. They were making their way towards Colorado, so she’d started digging.

  Rapier realized there could only be one thing—one person—in Colorado Raymond wanted; Jasmine, her sister Jenna, and his twins. Leaving Cormyr and Saber in charge hadn’t been hard. He knew they would continue to work and watch over Tate and Henry as well as protect against anyone who might want to do them harm. However, not doing
stupid shit along the way had been a whole other thing. Hence, why Osirus said he’d go too. His friend didn’t mince words. He didn’t give Rapier the optimistic view. After all the shit Osirus had been through with his boy, Utah, Rapier didn’t expect him to, which made their friendship even tighter.

  “Where do we turn?” Rapier glanced at the exit sign on the freeway.

  “Next exit,” Osirus replied. “Do you think Keeley warned her you were coming?”

  “No. She wouldn’t want to tip Jasmine off if there is anyone watching her. I trust Keeley’s intel on this.”

  His friend stared out at the highway. “You figured out what you’re going to say?”

  He made a derisive sound. “Hell no.”

  “She is going to kick your ass.”

  Didn’t he know it. Their mating hadn’t been a conventional one. Their paths crossed in Farmington, New Mexico. The full moon had grabbed him by the balls. He’d gone for a run, not really sure if it would work, to at least tire the lion out and cool the rising arousal coursing through his body. Instead, he’d literally crashed into his mate. The sleek panther had tumbled with him, and her sweet-as-fucking-sin scent had coated him. It’d made his dick ache. All he had been think about was rutting. And, they had. All night long.

  In the morning, she was gone.

  The next time he saw her, she’d been walking out of a pharmacy and he’d been helping a customer. His mouth watered. His dick thickened. If he affected her in anyway, she didn’t show it. In fact, she scowled at him, pushing her big-ass fugly glasses up her nose before walking away. She didn’t need the glasses, of course, but for whatever reason, she always wore them. Something about blending in with the natives so as not to stick out like a sore thumb. Superheroes and shit like that. Later, she went in-depth with her reasonings and it’d made sense. Not everyone likes shifters you know.

  He thought she’d been adorable.

  She called him a tom cat.

  He probably chased her for a good year, hoping he’d get another glimpse of the sleek panther invading his dreams, night after night. When she finally gave into him and agreed to have dinner with him, he’d tracked her down where she worked, at the local library—a place he’d have never really thought of, had Wy not spotted her there. She’d been sitting behind the counter checking in books when he entered the building. He caught a glimpse of pink, turquoise, and purple streaks underneath her raven-colored hair. She had been a conundrum rolled into a compact ball of pure grace and power.

  Her sister, Jenna, who lived with her, had been the opposite of her. She worked through the ranks to become a SWAT officer. The bitch, and he used the term affectionately, because she was one of the baddest bitches he knew and respected, could take down a man at two thousand meters without batting an eye.

  In a way, he understood Danielle and Caden because they reminded Rapier of him and Jasmine. Sure, Caden had done some fucked up shit, but the guy had his own fucked up past he had to deal with, but the same could be said for Danielle. Whereas Jasmine did everything to keep people at arm’s length due to her being a shifter and not wanting any trouble, Danielle did it because she couldn’t trust anyone. Caden and he, on the other hand, were a lot more alike than he cared to think about. Both didn’t have great families. Both felt the sting of betrayal.

  Truth be told, Rapier and his ragtag group of brothers were orphans too. Cormyr and he and Saber were the first since they were biological siblings, same mom, different dads. Then Rashid. He met Osirus in high school and then one day, the runt, Wy, showed up looking for food. Damn pup wouldn’t go away so they had to keep him. Anyway, it made it hard for him, as much as he wanted Jasmine, to connect with her. It had led to several contentious arguments, and in the end, almost cost him everything.

  Shit, ten years ago, he’d finally been in a good place to start his life over with a family filled with love and hope. Then shit went south and he... He lost it all.

  Rapier followed the exit ramp to the light and turned left. The miles slipped by as the town grew distant in the rearview mirror. At mile marker 58, he turned right and followed the dirt road. Anticipation thrummed through his veins. Ten fucking years. Ten years of waiting to hold his mate. To meet his cubs. Fuck. He realized they wouldn’t get a chance at getting to re-know each other. They had to get back to Window Rock first. His house didn’t have much security, but all of his brothers lived with him. Plus, after they were settled, he’d have Keeley come by and put in one of her security systems. If they couldn’t protect Jasmine and their cubs there, they couldn’t protect them anywhere.

  They came to a Y in the road. “Where to now?”

  “To the right,” Osirus said. “You okay?”

  “Ask me tomorrow, when we’re home and I can breathe,” Rapier grunted.

  “She is so going to kick your ass.” His friend chuckled.

  “Probably.”

  They drove down the rutted lane. Trees closed in around them, giving them a good cover but also exposing them to anyone who might be hiding in the thicket. Fuck, he hated this. The hairs on his arms stood on end. He went on alert. Paranoia allowed the thoughts he’d squashed several times to swell back to the surface. What if they were too late? What if Quincy’s men were waiting for them? What if Jasmine didn’t want him anymore because he’d been gone for so long? He licked his lips out of nervous habit.

  The first glimpse of the small house on the left side of the road made his whole body tense. There. A few more feet and he would see his mate. “Keep an eye out.”

  “You expecting anything?” Osirus went on alert.

  “Don’t know, but we should be ready, just in case. Fuck knows, if Quincy’s men saw us, they might be on our ass.”

  “Do you think they would?” Osirus cocked a brow.

  “Well, they aren’t the smartest fruit on the fucking vine,” Rapier grumbled.

  Osirus laughed. “True.”

  They pulled into the driveway. No car sat near the house. No toys. Nothing that said the house was lived in or loved. Rapier scowled. Could Keeley have gotten it wrong? He looked at Osirus, who shrugged. He popped open his door and slowly got out, palming the gun at his hip. The still air heightened his tension. He could feel a set of eyes on him. Where, he couldn’t pinpoint, but they weren’t close. Osirus got out next. He cocked the shotgun he’d brought with him and covered Rapier’s back as he started for the front door.

  A squeal came from inside, before the door swung wide and two young girls appeared. His knees went weak. His heart slammed against his ribs. His daughters. One was blonde like the color of Danielle’s hair, and the other was the spitting image of her mother. They didn’t come close to him, and he didn’t want them to. Not until they were safely back inside. The screen door opened once more, and there she was.

  His kitten.

  Jasmine held the door open by leaning against it. Her eyes sparkled with mirth. “It took you long enough, mate.”

  “Sorry, got stuck in traffic.” Rapier smirked, taking a step toward her. “Rush hour is brutal.”

  Jasmine snorted. “Come on inside. Breakfast is waiting.” She glanced to a spot over Rapier’s shoulder, in the tree line. “Jenna, you can get down now. They’re friendlies.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Osirus muttered. “She is still one deadly bitch.”

  Rapier laughed. “Don’t let her hear you say that. She’ll kick your ass.” He placed a hand on each of his daughters’ shoulders and guided them to the door. “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”

  He couldn’t believe he was there or touching his daughters. A welling of pride filled his chest. They were adorable. Polite. They smelled like their mother and their aunt, but also themselves. The blonde put her hand on his as they got closer to the door. What an asshole was he, he didn’t even know their names. I’ll fix it here shortly.

  When they stepped into the house, the scent of cinnamon and heat hit him square in the chest. The throbbing ache in his balls intensified. Rapier sw
allowed hard. Now was not the time to mount his mate. Not while they were in danger. Not while Raymond’s men could be headed right for them.

  “I don’t mean to tell you what to do,” Rapier stated. “But, we should get back on the road shortly.”

  Jasmine glanced at him from over her shoulder. The ache in the center of his chest diminished, and another sensation took root there. Mine. He curled his hands into fists, pushing back the clawing need thrumming through his veins. He had to control himself. Things had changed in the ten years they’d been separated. He couldn’t go forcing himself on her with their children present.

  “A woman named Keeley called,” Jasmine said, scooping the scrambled eggs from the pan onto a plate. “Said you’d be coming. Bags are packed.”

  “I don’t want to leave, Momma,” the dark-headed twin said. “We should stay here.”

  “Zoe, we’ve already had this discussion. We’ve been preparing for this your whole life.” Jasmine placed the dish in front of Rapier. “When your daddy returned, we would leave. It was the promise we made to each other.”

  “Took him long enough.” Zoe pouted as she took a bite of her sausage. The glower on her face rivaled that of any of the Raferty brothers.

  “Don’t be mean,” the blonde said. “Daddy only did what he thought was right. He was protecting mom.”

  Guilt settled in Rapier’s gut like a heavy weight. He did what he thought had been the right thing to do in the beginning. Finding a beaten Mackenzie in the middle of the desert changed the trajectory of their whole lives. No matter how much Rapier wanted to believe neither were connected, the evidence had been right in front of his face. Raymond hated the Raferty Pack, and that hate transferred to Rapier’s Pride when they brought Mackenzie into the fold.

  I couldn’t let him die though. What was I supposed to do? Exactly what he did, saved the wolf’s life, be damned the consequences. They’d been severe though. They cost Rapier valuable time with his mate and his daughters.