Her tongue darts out to lick a speck of salsa from her lips and my dick gets hard. "I love babies. I can't wait to be a grandma, although I'm not going to let them call me that, of course."
"Them?" I chuckle. "You have this all planned, don't you?"
She shrugs.
"Why did you only have one kid, if you love babies so much? Couldn't fit any more into that RV of yours?"
Like a light bulb on a dimmer switch, I see the light around her face diminish.
Damn. I'm such an asshole.
"I tried." The two words drop and sink between us like blocks of concrete into a lake. She shrugs, her gaze taking on a remote look, like she needs the distance to speak them. "Five miscarriages. Foxfire is the only baby I brought to term."
A chill runs across my skin.
"Shit." I can't imagine. I remember the anticipation of Tank's birth. If the pregnancy had ended in tragedy, I don't know how I would've gone on. "I'm sorry. That sucks."
"Yeah, well, I got Foxfire." Her voice is falsely cheerful. She's a terrible actress.
"Were they all… with the same guy? With Foxfire's dad?"
Half-breeds are weaker species, maybe that was why. Or maybe Foxfire was the only one who took because she is half shifter.
A shutter slams down over her features. "No. Didn't you have work to do today? Private business or something?"
Wow. Okay. Touchy subject.
And she's right. I have shit to do.
I shouldn't feel offended at being shut out by an overly-emotional woman I didn't want to get involved with, anyway.
I can't stop the sympathy swimming through me, though. Sunny comes off as chirpy cheerful, but that doesn't mean she hasn't suffered, just like the rest of us.
"I do need to head out. You're going to stay here and heal. Right?"
"Yeah, okay."
"Do not leave this place. If you need something, text me. Understand?"
"Yeah, yeah. Got it." She waves me away.
I don't like the way it feels. My wolf wants her to accept my protection. To receive what I'm offering.
But that's stupid.
I can't offer her anything.
I pick up the empty cartons from breakfast and stand. "Need anything before I go?" I'm disturbed that I have the urge to lean down and kiss her goodbye.
Not my mate. Not. My. Mate.
"No, thank you, Titus. I'll be fine."
I nod and leave, both relieved and disappointed to leave her.
Titus
I HEAD INTO TOWN, not even sure how I'm going to go about finding Buzz. Taos is a small town, but I know instinctively that asking around will yield nothing. Buzz is the kind of guy who wouldn't want people asking or talking about him. Anyone who's friends with him would know that and; therefore, wouldn't give out information.
I'm better off just sniffing around. Letting my instincts guide me. I had a good feeling out at the gorge, maybe I should start there.
That was because of her, my wolf says.
Shut up.
Yeah, I'm talking to myself now.
I get on my bike and head out for the high bridge, but keep riding until I reach the Carson area. My skin prickles with warning.
I drive out to a convergence of towns, an area called Three Points, and there, at a corner, I see the goddamn vehicle that ran into Sunny last night.
"Hey!" I shout.
The guy looks at me through the windshield, and then he guns it, taking off at top speed.
Rage rushes through me hot and fierce.
This guy hurt Sunny. I am going to pound him into a pulp. I zip after him, the bike roaring beneath me. We hit seventy miles an hour. Eighty. Ninety.
If this asshole thinks he can outrun my Harley, he's out of his mind.
He skids around a turn and I gain on him, but he's approaching some kind of settlement.
There's not a better word. We're out in the middle of nowhere, but several acres of land are pocked with shacks, RVs, buses and other temporary housing units. Cars are parked everywhere in traveling circus meets Deliverance.
The car skids to a stop and mangy men emerge from everywhere. The hair stands up on the back of my neck as my instincts scream danger. Two dozen or more of them, all coming out to see what the commotion is.
I pull up and park the bike, getting off and going to them before they come to me.
I'm aware that I'm grossly outnumbered.
The scent of shifter hits me hard, and I realize now the extent of danger I'm in. With my strength and resiliency, I could've handled a big group of humans. Not true of shifters. They will know how to take me down.
I lift my nose to the air, trying to identify their species. They're too mangy for wolves.
As they advance, it hits me: coyotes.
Fucking coyotes.
"Can I help you?" the asshole driving the car that hit Sunny asks.
Ignoring the danger, I go alpha on him. I stalk around the car and plow my fist into his face. Bone crunches under my fist and his body flies back and dents his car door.
The rest of the pack surge forward, making a tight circle around me, but no one touches me.
Yet.
Pack laws must be similar. Direct challenges are generally honored among shifters. Settling things physically has always been our way. And if they haven't caught my scent yet, they'll know by the way I handled this asshole that I'm not human.
The guy must pick up that I have a personal beef because he swipes at the blood coming from his nose. "What's your problem?"
I point at the smashed in front of his car. "Hit and fucking run is my problem. You nearly killed a human I care about." I swing again and he ducks and swings back. His fist hits my ribs but doesn't make much of an impact.