Tempting the Jaguar Page 6

  She continued. “That was my first lesson on what packless meant and why I’ve avoided shifters ever since. I...was forced to kill him.” She stumbled over the words then stopped talking and just stared at Rainer, clearly waiting for his response.

  It took a long moment for him to get his inner wolf under control. The thought of her being targeted because she didn’t belong to a pack had his claws aching to unleash and lash out at anyone who’d ever tried to hurt her. He’d never been so grateful that someone—a stranger—was dead. Whoever that wolf was, he was damn lucky he wasn’t alive.

  “Rainer?” Estrella’s soft voice brought him back to reality. Her eyes were wide as she stared at him.

  His breathing was erratic and he had to force his inner wolf back down. Though he couldn’t see himself, he figured his eyes had likely changed to a darker shade of green, revealing his wolf—which explained the way she was watching him.

  “You were more than justified in killing him,” he finally said. “Whoever he was, he was likely packless or a lone wolf by choice. Shifter violence against females is rare among all the different species. I’m sorry you ever had to deal with any of that. I wish we’d met years ago. Hell, I wish you’d had your parents or someone nonhuman to watch out for you growing up.” Being a lone female shifter was hard and he hated that she’d been by herself for so long. No wonder she’d been so wary of him when they’d first met. And he hadn’t helped things by being so arrogant.

  A small smile touched her lips. “Everyone has crap to deal with and even though I miss my parents every day, I’ve had a good life. Trust me, it could have been a lot worse. I’ve seen what happened to some of the kids in the foster system and it’s not pretty.”

  Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her close, savoring the feel of her lush body pressed against his. She wasn’t alone anymore and he desperately wanted to be the one to protect her. Even if things didn’t work out between them—that thought killed him and he knew without a doubt it would be because she pushed him out of her life—he didn’t want her alone anymore. He might be a wolf, but she was now under his pack’s protection. There was no doubt his Alpha would welcome her. Right now, Rainer just needed to convince her to stay with him and not go to her friend. “Come with me?” he asked before dropping a light kiss on her forehead.

  Estrella sighed and nuzzled her face against his chest. “You’ll fight dirty if I say no, won’t you?”

  He smiled as he rested his chin on top of her head, inhaling her sweet scent. “I can think of plenty of dirty things I’d like to do right now.”

  She chuckled, the sound wrapping around him and squeezing tight. “Fine, I—”

  They both froze as a high-pitched ringing cut through the air. Estrella glanced over her shoulder toward the direction of her living room. “That’s Sabrina’s ringtone.”

  Estrella’s friend. “Grab it.”

  She hurried to the other room and even though he couldn’t scent or hear anyone else in the house and his pack mates had already swept it earlier, he did his own sweep while she took her friend’s phone call. Plus he wanted to give her privacy.

  When he returned to the living room he found her sitting on the edge of one of her couches, a brittle smile on her unusually pale face. “Rainer, I’m going to stay with my friend instead. I appreciate the offer, but I’m just not ready to live with a bunch of strangers, even temporarily. There’s no reason I can’t help you find out what’s going on from someplace else.”

  Rainer’s blood chilled at whatever she wasn’t saying. He could have easily listened to her conversation but he’d tuned her out, needing to give her the privacy she deserved. Now he wished he’d paid attention because whatever had happened in the last sixty seconds was very bad. He could see it in her body language and scent the fear pulsing off her in angry waves. And he’d be damned if he let her push him out now. Whatever was going on, he was sticking by her side.

  Chapter 6

  Estrella watched Rainer as she tried to keep her breathing steady. His expression was dark, angry and a little confused. Unfortunately she felt as if her insides might unravel at any moment. Sabrina hadn’t been on the phone, but that same male from the other night had. The one Estrella had clawed and the same one she’d heard shout in the woods not to hurt her. Terror latched its claws deep into her chest as she replayed the man’s words in her head. Meet me alone at dusk or your friend dies.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Rainer snarled, his expression darkening. “You were just about to come with me.”

  She stood, phone still clutched in her hand as she tried to drag in a breath, desperately needing to pump some oxygen into her lungs. Estrella couldn’t let Sabrina die and these creatures wanted her, not her friend. “I have the right to change my mind. Unless you plan on forcing me to go with you?” It took every ounce of her willpower to keep her tone sharp.

  He jerked back, almost as if she’d slapped him and guilt blew up inside her. She ruthlessly shoved it away. No time for stupid emotions right now.

  She hated hurting Rainer, but she had to save Sabrina. “I’ll give you my cell number so you can contact me, but I’m going to leave now. I just need to pack a small bag.” Avoiding his gaze, she tried to skirt past him, but he grasped her upper arm.

  Not hard enough to bruise, but he wasn’t letting her go anywhere. “Who was on the phone?” There was a dark edge to his voice and his pale eyes had darkened to a stormy green that sent a chill down her spine.

  “I told you—”

  “Don’t lie to me. Who. Was. It.” His fingers slightly flexed and for a moment she could see his wolf lurking beneath the surface.

  Estrella wanted to kick him out of her home, but she knew he wouldn’t go easily. And if she left on her own, deep down she knew this man would follow her. Not to mention, no matter how strong she was physically, she knew so little about vampires and their weaknesses. She could use the backup and Rainer had already proved how strong he was. Taking care of things on her own was instinctual and was why she’d lied, but damn...she could use the help. “I don’t know his name, but he has my friend.” Her voice cracked on the last word.

  Rainer’s expression softened slightly, but not much. “What did he say?”

  “Just that he has my friend and I have to meet him at the art studio right after sunset or they’ll kill her. I don’t know what they want—other than me. They want to trade her freedom for me and I have to go. Sabrina has been my best friend since I was eighteen and I love her more than...” Her voice broke again and hot tears welled up. What the hell? She never cried but in the last twenty-four hours she was like a leaky faucet.

  Rainer let out a string of creative curses and he still hadn’t let her arm go. “You’re not going anywhere alone.”

  “She’s my—”

  “I didn’t say we weren’t going to get her back. I just said you’re not going alone. How could you...” He trailed off and turned away from her. Rubbing a hand over his face, he told her to hold on and then was silent for a long minute.

  She figured he was talking to one of his brothers. Or maybe all of them. The way he’d said “we” made a foreign sensation ignite inside her. She’d never had many people to depend on before and the thought that she did now was almost too much to fathom.

  When Rainer turned back to her, his expression was blank. “Pack a bag, we’re headed to the compound. When it’s near dusk, my brothers and a few pack mates will head to
the studio. We’ll get your friend back.”

  She frowned. So “we” didn’t mean him and her. “I’m going with you.”

  He let out a harsh laugh. “The hell you are.”

  “Unless you plan to kidnap or restrain me, I’m going. That guy told me to come alone. If I don’t do what he says, I have no doubt they’ll kill her. I’m not some weak female you need to protect,” she growled low in her throat. Estrella healed fast—faster than him, as she’d seen last night—and she’d killed before. She could do it again. Anything for Sabrina.

  Rainer growled back at her, his frustration clear in every line of his strong body. Finally he nodded. “Fine. I’ll wait outside for you.” He turned on his heel and stalked from the room, the tension practically rolling off him in visible waves.

  Estrella hurried to her room and packed a small bag. There were hours to kill before the meet and she wanted her own stuff at Rainer’s. As soon as the sun set, she was getting her friend back. No matter what Rainer thought, she was going and there was no way she was letting those vamps see that he was with her.

  She was starting to care for Rainer in a way she hadn’t thought would be possible, but she couldn’t let him have his way in this. She had to be there to help her friend. If those vampires didn’t see her at the studio, for all she knew they’d kill Sabrina. Estrella wasn’t going to let that happen.

  Hours later, Estrella tapped her finger against her knee compulsively—as if she could somehow make time go by faster—and stared out the window of Rainer’s SUV where they sat across the street from the art studio. Five of Rainer’s pack mates, including his brother Conrad who had been giving her the cold shoulder all day, had gone into the art studio about an hour ago. They were supposedly going to hide inside and had wanted to get set up before the meeting. Since she hadn’t heard an alarm or seen any cops drive by, it was safe to assume that they hadn’t tripped any alarms. She was grateful for the backup because in reality, there was no way she could take on a bunch of vampires by herself. She knew that. Still, a huge part of her worried their presence might get Sabrina killed.

  After the big show last night, Estrella knew the owner hadn’t planned to open up his place for the next three days so as things went, it was a decent place to stage a meeting with no outsiders. She wondered how the vampires had known it would be unoccupied. Maybe Sabrina had told them.

  God, Sabrina. Estrella couldn’t stop the worry spinning out of control inside her as she thought about her friend. It was like a tornado assaulting her insides.

  Rainer’s hand on her knee stilled her movements, causing her to look at him.

  “We’re going to get her back.” He watched her with wary green eyes.

  All day he’d been distant, even though he’d been physically present. He’d taken her to his pack’s compound and he hadn’t been kidding about the place being a mansion. She’d been introduced to a lot of wolf shifters and even a vampire who was mated to one of the warriors. Everyone had been friendly enough. She’d seen a lot of surprise and some jealousy on some of the females’ faces, though she knew that had everything to do with Rainer being suddenly unavailable and nothing to do with actual jealousy of her. She couldn’t blame them. Rainer was definitely a catch, even if he was acting distant from her right now. She didn’t think he was angry, but he was holding back.

  Nodding, she looked away from him, hating that there was a wall between them now. It was her own fault, but she didn’t know how to tear it down. She didn’t know enough about him and pushing him away to handle things on her own had been her instinctive response after receiving that phone call. If she had to go back, she’d do the same thing again.

  “Damn it,” Rainer cursed.

  She swiveled back to him again. Before she could ask him what was wrong, other than the obvious, his mouth was on hers, claiming and taking. His tongue invaded her mouth with no hesitancy, as if he had every right to kiss her. He stroked against her in a frantic dance while one of his hands cupped her cheek, holding her possessively.

  When she’d allowed him into her bed, she’d let him into her life. All day, even with the walls between them, he’d been like her shadow, silently making a claim on her for everyone to see. His hand had never left the small of her back when they’d been outside his room.

  Eventually he pulled back and she was pleased to see he was breathing just as hard as she was. “Whatever happens after tonight, you’re still mine,” he growled, a possessive note in his voice.

  She blinked, surprised by his statement. He’d been the one to pull away from her, even if she had helped mix the mortar to build the brick wall between them. “I know.” She wasn’t walking away from him, even if her original instincts had told her to run far and fast. She had to see where this thing between them went even if her heart was shredded in the end.

  Now it was his turn to look surprised. Those gorgeous eyes of his widened for a moment before a harsh smile settled on his face. “Good.” He looked like he wanted to say more, but the sound of her phone buzzing in her pocket made them both freeze.

  She’d turned it to vibrate earlier and now felt frantic as she struggled to fish it out of her jacket pocket. When she saw Sabrina’s number again, her blood chilled. “Hello?”

  “Hello again—”

  “I want to talk to Sabrina, now! How do I know you haven’t hurt her?” This wasn’t part of their plan, but Estrella didn’t care. She wanted to hear her friend’s voice.

  “Your friend is fine and we would never hurt her without a reason, so don’t give us one.” His voice was razor sharp.

  Steeling herself, she said, “I talk to her now or I’m not meeting you.”

  He sighed and as she heard a rustling in the background, she watched as an SUV with unusually dark tinted windows pulled into the parking lot of the art studio across the street. The vehicle drove through it, then around the corner toward the back of the building. Next to her, Rainer straightened and she was under the impression he was having a telepathic conversation with Conrad.

  “Estrella?” Sabrina’s voice was slurred.

  Estrella’s heart soared. “Sabrina, are you okay?”

  “Fine...jush really tired. Dunno whash going on.” Oh yeah, she had to be drugged.

  Before Estrella could respond, the same male came back on the line. “See? Your friend is fine. I gave her a little sedative to keep her compliant.”

  It was more than a “little” for her friend to be so out of it, but she was alive and seemed relatively unharmed. Though Estrella wouldn’t know for sure until she saw her. “Okay. So what do you want?”

  “You.” A simple, one-word answer.

  “Why?”

  He paused long enough that even more panic took root inside her, clawing its way through her like out of control vines. “You really don’t know?”

  “I wouldn’t be asking now, would I?” she snapped, angry and confused.

  “Meet me in the studio we discussed. The back door will be open.” He disconnected before she could respond.

  “They’re already inside,” Rainer murmured, drawing her attention to him.

  “What did your brother say? Has he seen Sabrina?”

  Rainer nodded, a frown marring his face. “She’s unhurt, though clearly drugged. From the way they’re talking, the vamps truly don’t plan to hurt her. They plan to free her.”

  “Why is that a bad thing?” His expression confused her.

  “It’s not. We just don’t kno
w what their end game is and their behavior isn’t what I’d originally expected. They didn’t want to hurt you the other night, though they didn’t care about my well-being,” he muttered, his own confusion seeming to grow.

  “How many are there?”

  “Five.”

  “And there are seven of us so we can take them. I can’t believe the vampires haven’t seen your pack mates yet.” Estrella had hated this part of their plan, but Rainer had been unwilling to allow her to walk in there alone and now she was actually grateful to have backup so close.

  “They’re in the rafters and have masked their scents—though that will only last so long.”

  She pushed out a sigh of relief as she wrapped her fingers around the door handle. “I’m ready then.” She planned to use the shadows to get across the street unseen.

  Rainer brushed his knuckles down her cheek, hating to let her get out of this vehicle. But the most primal part of him knew that if he tried to stop her, she’d never forgive him. While he told himself he could live with her hate and rejection, he couldn’t. So now he had to shove his protective, possessive wolf side down and let his mate walk into a room of vampires.

  The only real reason he was doing it was because his pack mates were already there as backup and he’d seen how fast she healed. She was only twenty-six compared to his four hundred-and-fifty, yet she’d healed with the speed of his thousand-year-old Alpha. Rainer still didn’t know what to think of that, but it soothed his inner animal that she could take care of herself.

  Cupping his cheeks, Estrella leaned closer, brushing her lips against his softly before pulling back. She tasted as sweet as the subtle jasmine scent of hers. “Thank you for helping me and my friend.” Then she was gone. Like a shadow, she slid from the vehicle and disappeared into the darkness.

  And he wasn’t far behind. It didn’t matter that she had protection inside, Rainer planned to be a scant step behind her, guarding her with his life if necessary.