Secretly Mated (Ouachita Mountain Shifters 4) Read online

  Owyn was stunned by his admission. Gash and Bailey. Maybe others had caught wind that there was something between the two, but he hadn’t noticed a thing.

  “Well shit, man.”

  “Yeah. Shit.”

  “Shit.”

  “Yeah.”

  Minutes ticked by as they both kept watch over Bailey’s cabin. The lights were off inside except for a soft glow coming from the bedroom window.

  “I made her cry earlier,” Gash said.

  “And… you want to tell her sorry?”

  He nodded.

  “So head over there, why don’t ya. And I’ll finish patrolling.”

  Gash clenched his jaw. “I can’t. She needs to think I meant it.”

  Owyn stared at the male’s profile. The tension in his brow stretched to his shoulders and down his back. He was strung tight with regret and sadness, and the only person that could help him was being pushed away out of fear.

  Damn, this relationship shit was hard sometimes.

  “Maybe…” Owyn had to try, had to give the guy something that might help. “Maybe if you’re honest with her. Show her who you are. The problems would work themselves out.”

  “And which version should I show her?” Gash asked quietly. “The man I used to be, or the one I’ve become? Because one can protect her, and the other will get her killed, and it’s getting harder and harder for me to know which is which.”

  Owyn considered it. Gash’s past was shady, true. But the person who’d walked away from that life, the one who worked endless hours to make the lodge secure, the one who waited outside his mate’s cabin to see that she was safe… that was the real Gash. The one that mattered to them all.

  “Show her the one that cares,” Owyn said. “This one. Show her that.”

  The tension bled from him and his shoulders wilted under the relief. “Yeah,” he murmured, gaze still focused in Bailey’s direction. “Maybe I will.”

  But he stood there still, watching and waiting. Hours into the night, Owyn stood guard with him.

  Because Gash needed to know he’d never stand alone again.

  Chapter Nine

  As Doc dressed for work the next morning, she felt oddly like one of those Disney princesses. It was the way the birds sang outside her window as she went about her business, and the undeniable urge to hum along. The smile she couldn’t seem to wipe off just added to the fluffy, cutesy feeling.

  Gulping the rest of her coffee as she headed for the door, the little flutter of nerves in her middle started up again.

  What would Owyn be like today? Would be more talk? Would he ignore what happened last night? Give her space she didn’t want? He couldn’t ignore a kiss like that for long though. It was too loaded with meaning.

  She was about to find out.

  Doc pulled her front door open and stopped short.

  There, lying on the doormat, was a bundle of brightly colored flowers. Her grin broadened as she bent to pick them up, bringing them to her nose to smell the sweet scent. They were a mishmash of daisies, tulips, and other various flowers she’d seen around the dining room lately. If she was betting, she’d say Owyn had raided the flower stash Eagan and Bailey used for the tables.

  Doc laughed out loud at the thought of him going back to clean up dinner and taking all the flowers with him. Silly, sweet man.

  Tucking the flowers in one arm, she closed the door behind her and made her way down the path to the lodge. Hers was the cabin closest to the main building, so the walk wasn’t a long one. It was just the right touch of brisk air and sunshine to give her cheeks a glow.

  As she entered the lobby, she noticed the front desk was empty.

  Odd. Normally Layna was there bright and early.

  Doc peeked in the dining room, considering a bagel and more coffee, but the place was mostly empty. Guests would fill the lodge this weekend for Valentine’s getaways, but right now, mid-week, it was virtually a dead zone.

  She decided to put the flowers on water first. Didn’t want to risk Eagan or Bailey seeing them.

  Doc took the hallway leading toward her office, and nudged the door open with her hip.

  “Mmm hmm.”

  A slow drawl stopped Doc in her tracks. Her office was full of females.

  “I knew it! I knew those flowers didn’t just get up and dance out of there like some Alice in Wonderland shit.” Bailey threw her fist in the air. “I KNEW IT.”

  “Daaaamn,” Layna agreed. “O-boy went gangster this time, stealing flowers from the dining room.” She shook her head in pretend awe while Clara giggled from her seat on the couch.

  They were all there, crowded into Doc’s cozy little office. Josie, Bethy, Layna, Clara, and Bailey. They each wore expectant little expressions, like they were about to be given the best news of the century.

  Doc cleared her throat and tried to seem natural. “What are you all doing here? Don’t tell me this is some sort of intervention,” she quipped, stepping inside and shutting the door behind her.

  “Intervention?” Josie grinned. “Why, Doc? Do you have an addiction? Can’t get enough of that O… O… Oooo….” Her voice took on a breathy, high pitched tone that sounded like someone reaching orgasm. “OOOOO-mannnn.”

  Doc’s eyes bulged, and she put a finger to her lips. “Shhh!”

  Josie waggled her eyebrows.

  “It’s not… it’s not whatever you’re thinking,” Doc rushed out, setting the flowers carefully on her desk.

  “O… really?” Bethany grinned, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

  “Yes, enlighten us, Doc,” Clara added, sitting forward on the couch and putting her chin in her hand. “We’d really love to kn…O.”

  “Know what?” Doc asked, feigning innocence. “There’s nothing to know.”

  “Right,” Layna smirked. “And we’re just suppOsed to believe that?”

  Doc looked at each of her friends, weighing her options. But damn. She was had. They all knew something was cooking in her love life, and they weren’t going to let her off the hook until she gave them a breadcrumb.

  “It’s just…”

  “Yes?” Josie urged. “In the words of the great Queen Elsa, let it O, let it O…”

  Doc crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow at her First Mate’s antics.

  “Now, Josie,” Layna drawled. “You know that’s not how that song Os.”

  Josie frowned. “O? It isn’t? My mistake. O on, Doc. Fill us in on the details.”

  “Come on, you guys.” She’d try to reason with them. “Can’t you just give me a break on this? It’s so new.”

  Bethany pretended to check her nails as she mumbled, “That’s not what Mason says.”

  Doc frowned. “What?”

  “He says you’ve been sampling the O-juice for a while now.” She lifted her eyebrows twice in emphasis. “Squirt, squirt.”

  Doc wrinkled her nose. “Ew. You’ve been hanging around Josie too much.”

  Bethany shrugged. “Yeah. Probably,” she agreed and then reached over to fist bump Josie.

  Something bugged Doc though. How did Mason know about her and Owyn? He’d left his scent on her only yesterday. How would the other cat know they’d been together for longer?

  Doc shook her head. “It’s complicated.”

  “I’m sure it is,” Bailey said, showing genuine compassion underneath her wide grin.

  “What we had before was… different. This,” Doc gestured to the flowers. “This is brand new.”

  They were quiet for a moment, absorbing that tiny speck of information.

  “Aww,” Clara gushed. “Your love story is in the baby stage. Just beginning.”

  But that wasn’t quite true. Their love story started many years ago in a bar in Northwest Arkansas. When the devastation of a brutal forced mating brought them together under a common goal. When an honorable male promised her safety with no expectation of anything in return.

  The only thing that had changed was time and their circumstances. Time
had taught her Owyn was trustworthy, and their circumstances had altered to allow them to be honest about their feelings.

  But these females wouldn’t understand what they’d gone through to get here. And it was private. Between her and Owyn. Hidden in the recesses of their heart.

  Doc smiled because she couldn’t help herself. “There is one thing I can tell you.”

  They were on the edge of their seats.

  “He’s a good man. A mighty good man.”

  They blinked practically in unison.

  “Wait,” Layna said. “That’s it? That’s all you’re going to divulge? And to think, I missed breakfast for this.”

  Doc grinned wide. “That’s all you need to kn…O.”

  Chapter Ten

  Owyn pulled his truck into the parking spot nearest to the front door and took a deep breath. He hadn’t seen Doc all day. And not for lack of trying. Every time he found a spare minute to run her down, something came up.

  First it was the generators. Renner tested them weekly to make sure they’d run properly if bad weather decided to strike. But today, neither machine would start. He and Renner worked for hours, trying to jog whatever was hanging them up, to no avail. They’d have to call a mechanic in the morning.

  Then it was a dead tree branch that had fallen over the main road into the lodge. The damn thing was nearly a tree itself, and it had taken him and Clara two hours to turn it into firewood and haul it to the shed.

  But now, since the lodge was completely vacant of guests, Magic had called for a clan dinner. He called it the poor man’s pot-luck, because business was down and the party was on. Except it was never a pot-luck. Eagan still cooked everything like a boss.

  Owyn examined his reflection in the rear view mirror. He’d shaved again so he couldn’t hurt Doc’s skin if he got close. He looked alright, but he was nervous as hell anyway. What would Doc think of him in the light of a new day? When the moon wasn’t making things feel so romantic? What did she feel about last night?

  He was about to find out.

  Owyn stepped from his truck and headed for the front doors. The sun was setting behind the mountain, sending a chill over the place.

  Inside, the music was already cranked loud. Some country song about taking a smoke break blared through the speaker system instead of the calm and relaxing shit Layna usually had playing.

  Rounds of laughter came from the dining room, and Owyn stood back, closing his eyes to take it all in. No one had to know what a beautiful sound he thought that was. No one had to know how it made his heart soar knowing his clan was happy.

  The scent of sweet oranges hit his senses and his panther let out a satisfied growl. Slowly, he opened his eyes and found Doc staring at him from across the room. She held a beer in one hand as she listened to something Clara was saying, but her eyes, they were focused on him.

  He held her gaze, letting her see exactly how much he’d missed her today. No more hiding behind the hat. Show her who you are. He’d done that, and tonight he was going to tell her what he hoped he’d already showed her.

  He’d intended on taking his time with this, but after the way she’d responded to his goodnight kiss… he didn’t want to wait anymore. He and Doc had been inching toward this point for years. It was finally their time. Nothing was going to stop them now.

  Doc’s mouth curved upward in a private smile that couldn’t be hidden no matter how hard she tried. He wanted to stalk to her and devour that grin right in front of everyone, but his feet were rooted in place. The moment was too fucking perfect. Everything he wanted was just within his reach and he needed to savor every second of the climb to the top.

  Bailey stepped in front of Doc, blocking out Owyn’s vision of her. Damn. Moment gone.

  He sighed, walking over to the bucket o’ beers to grab a drink.

  Mason and Magic snickered, sharing an inside joke that Owyn didn’t give half a fuck about.

  “Feeling okay, Owyn?” Magic asked.

  Owyn frowned, taking a swig from his bottle. What the hell? Magic was never this… amused. And Mason, he looked like the cat that swallowed the canary. Like he had a great secret of his own.

  Owyn eyed the two males. “Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”

  Mason popped a handful of peanuts in his mouth before joining in. “We’ve been worried for you.”

  Owyn’s forehead wrinkled. Were they drunk? They would’ve had to down half the lake’s worth of alcohol but maybe they’d been here a while.

  “It’s just…” Mason shrugged, his face turning deadly serious. “You’ve been seeing the doctor a lot lately.”

  Owyn’s eyes went wide, and Mason burst into a fit of laughter. Knee slapping, choking on his tongue, blood vessels busting, the whole shebang.

  And it was contagious. All around him, the guys were laughing whether they’d heard the lame joke or not.

  Renner grinned as he knocked one back, tipping his bottle at Owyn first.

  Ryan brought up one hand, forming fake claws. “Rawr,” he said.

  “Oh, you think you’re funny don’t you?” Owyn stifled a grin and glanced at Magic. His friend was grinning so hard it looked painful. For him, it probably was.

  “You’re looking pale, O-boy,” Magic quipped, using Owyn’s childhood nickname. “Should we call the doctor for you?”

  “I don’t think she does house calls,” Eagan called from the table where he was stirring a steaming pot of something. “But I bet she’d make an exception if you ask real nice.”

  Another round of laughter, and this time it caught the attention of the females across the room.

  Layna narrowed her gaze at the men. “What the hell’s so funny over there?”

  But before any of them could answer, the lights went out.

  “The hell?” Magic muttered as they were thrown into pitch darkness.

  “Aw, shit,” Renner’s voice rose in the blackness. “I’ll go check it out. Damn fine time for the lines to die when our generators are on the fritz.”

  “Wahooooo!” Mason hollered. “Party in the dark! None of you be getting fresh with me now, you hear?”

  “Spshhh,” Layna grunted. “In your dreams.”

  “Wait, how did you know about my dreams?” Thwack. “Ow! Ryan, ya ass. How’d you find me in the dark with your regular ‘ol human eyes?”

  “Magic,” Ryan deadpanned.

  “Huh?” Magic answered, distracted.

  “No, I meant… I found him by way of magic…” Ryan sighed. “Never mind.”

  Owyn shook his head. The room was a black box of chaos as people tried to find their bearings. His eyes hadn’t adjusted yet, but that didn’t stop him from trying to get to Doc.

  Following her scent, he found her near the kitchen door. She gasped sweetly as he pulled her into his arms and put a finger to her lips to warn her to stay quiet.

  Mouth to her ear, he whispered, “You look beautiful tonight, Doc.”

  Her hands curled around his neck, holding him close as her breath rushed past his shoulder.

  “Thought about you all damn day, woman.”

  “You did?” she breathed.

  “Yes.”

  His heart skipped a beat when she said, “I loved the flowers you left me.”

  Diving for her mouth, he kissed her hard, needing to feel the softness of her lips giving to him. And she responded perfectly, nails digging into his nape, little tongue licking at him for a taste.

  The darkness cocooned them in the midst of the clan, a secret. But this time, not one they’d continue to keep. What better place to break this agreement they’d made than in the dark, where it began.

  There couldn’t be a more perfect moment to tell her.

  “Christina,” he whispered reverently. She might be Doc to everyone else, but she was more to him. “I love you. I don’t remember a time I didn’t love you. I can’t fucking breathe without you. Be mine, Doc. Be mine without the secrets this time. And forever. Be mine always, and I’ll be yours.”
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  He felt the tremor that ran through her body as she clung to him. Smelled the tears that leaked from her eyes. He held his breath for her answer. This was his heart on a platter for her, but was it acceptable? Was it enough?

  “You really mean it?” she gasped, hardly able to keep her voice low. But he didn’t mind.

  “Baby, yes. What do you say?”

  She buried her face in his neck, her hot tears burning his skin. “Yes.” He barely heard her muffled whisper. “Yes, yes, yes. I say yes, Owyn. Because I love you too.”

  Emotion flooded him as his panther roared in triumph, eager now to get Doc alone and put his mark on her. She was finally going to be his, and the world was going to know it. No more loving behind closed doors. No more hoping she loved him too, because she did. He could feel it traveling through their mating bond.

  And it. Was. Everything.

  But the victory was short lived because in the next breath, Gash’s voice bellowed through the room in warning.

  “They’re here! The bastards are here. We’re under attack!”

  “Shit,” Magic spat, while the room went utterly still.

  “I caught them on the camera at the bottom of the hill just before the electric cut out. Tow trucks. At least two. Lights flashing and shit, it’s their fucking war chant.”

  “Tow trucks? The fuck?” Ryan asked, and Owyn could hear Gash checking the rounds in a Glock before handing it to the human. Tables were moving, doors closing, windows being locked tight.

  “The pack I told you about, that runs with my old clan. They run a wrecking business. Call themselves the Junkyard Dogs. They do Felix’s bidding if it benefits them in some way.”

  “Renner,” Bethany’s trembling voice stopped all the action in the room. “H-He went to check the lines. He’s out there alone. He doesn’t know this is an attack.”

  Owyn froze in terror. Renner. Fuck. Fuck.

  Rhys’s muffled whimper was the thing that spurred him into motion. “I’m on it,” he called, giving Doc’s cheek a quick kiss before bolting from the dining room.

  He wouldn’t let Renner meet these assholes alone. He’d find him before they did, and bring him back.