Chapter Four

Cassie felt better. She’d made potato salad, dips for chips and coleslaw for dinner, then she’d stepped into a quick, hot shower. Max hadn’t even tried to join her and she was a little disappointed. She kept telling herself that they’d have time together, but she was struggling with patience. She wanted the man.

While she’d cleaned up, Max had linked all the new cameras from her place, the main house and Jacob’s residence to his laptop. He’d taught her how to work the programs and she appreciated that he was including her, showing her how he was keeping her safe.

He had the laptop on the deck table as they waited for everyone to arrive. Alex had started the grill before pulling beers out of the cooler and passing them around.

There was a nice cool breeze that Cassie welcomed as she sat next to Max, admiring him. With his head bent over the computer screen, she was able to watch him without him noticing. He was so damn attractive with his black hair and tan muscular body. She could still feel his hands on her from earlier in the kitchen and arousal shot through her.

Max lifted his head and looked over at her. Catching her staring at him, he winked. “Later,” he murmured.

She ducked her chin, lifting her gaze to Alex, and flushed when she realized her brother had been watching her while her attention had been on Max. Alex was grinning at her, but luckily she heard footsteps. She turned to see Alpha Shawn and Chase arriving.

Max pushed the laptop away and stood. He greeted his brother with a quick hug then shook hands with their Alpha. She liked the way his hazel eyes brightened around the other men. He stood next to Chase and Cassie could easily see how close the two brothers were. That was important to her. It had just been her and her siblings for so long. Both Alex and Jacob made it a point to take care of her while she did her best to return the favor. She didn’t like to leave the ranch, so they did her shopping and visited a lot. While there was no getting out of gallery shows, one of them stayed with her the entire time.

Alex had even been the one who had hired James for her. He’d wanted the young artist to get more attention and had asked Cassie to help him. Since she and James had hit it off right away, she was happy to assist in his training.

James didn’t have a lot of money, so the income that came from helping Cassie provided him with some cash, while, at the same time, the experience of working with another artist had really brought James’ art to the front.

There would be half a dozen of James’ works in the next showing, which was one reason why she didn’t want it to be postponed. This was really James’ true first shot.

Since he was human, he wouldn’t be at the barbecue, but she had spoken to him earlier about what was happening. She had assured James that the show would still proceed as planned. His art would be seen.

James had been relieved. Since he didn’t know about the shifter aspect of the break-in, he had been more upset that someone was trying to hurt the gallery, stop the showing from being held.

She wished she could be honest with him. Since her Pack wasn’t in the open, she had to continue to be careful. Even if she trusted James, Cassie couldn’t make the decision to share the secret that belonged to everyone in the Pack.

Just one more thing she had to keep from her assistant.

“What are you thinking about so hard?” Max asked as he slid to her side.

“The show. I told James it would still go on. It’s his first art exhibition and I want to make sure that he has enough support. He doesn’t know about shifters so this entire situation is really upsetting to him.”

“How long has he worked for you?”

“About six months I believe, Alex would know for sure. He applied for the job over the internet and moved up here. He doesn’t have any family so he became part of ours. Plus, he’s a big help. I don’t have to worry about ordering supplies or anything else other than painting.”

“He seems kind of young.”

“Yeah, but he is talented. A few more years and he’ll probably have a show of his own.” She nudged his hip. “You’re looking into him?”

“I am,” Max admitted. “He has access to the ranch and knows all of you.”

“There’s no way he’s involved.” Cassie knew deep down that James was a harmless human and nothing more.

“Then he has nothing to worry about. Let me do my job, Cassie. He won’t even know I’m looking if he doesn’t have anything to do with this.”

She had to trust Max, though she disagreed. If they were going to be able to explore the attraction between the two of them, she’d have to take Max at his word. There was a reason that she responded so strongly to him. “Just be careful. He’s been through a lot.”

“I will.” He squeezed her shoulder before moving over to the grill.

“I take it everything is working out between you and Max?” Alpha Shawn asked as he took Max’s place at her side.

She grinned over at him. “Did you have any doubt?” Her Alpha might be the strong, silent type, but he knew what he was doing. Putting Max with her had to be more than just protecting her. She didn’t know Shawn’s angle, but he’d have one.

Shawn chuckled. “Nope.” He swung his arm over her shoulder and led her away from the others. “I knew Max would be a big help here. And I was sure that you would be a good influence on him as well.”

Cassie checked over her shoulder to make sure no one else was within hearing range. “Tell me you’re not playing matchmaker.” Not that she truly minded, but having her Alpha involved in her love life was weird.

“No, actually, I’m not,” he assured her. “But Max needs to do something that will make him feel good about himself again, make him feel needed. I’d only trust him with a few select people. Your family is one of the best I’ve ever known. He needs time to heal and less time to think.”

She tipped her head back to get a good look at him. “You’re worried about him?” That was interesting. Even though she knew Max was hiding pain, she could see he wanted to fight through it.

“Yes,” Shawn admitted. “I have plans for Max, but he needs to settle things in his mind before I can proceed.”

“What kind of plans?”

“The kind I’m sure he’ll fight me on. I want to name him as my successor if anything happens to me.”

She couldn’t hold in her gasp. “That’s awesome! Why wouldn’t he jump at the chance?”

Shawn looked over to where the other three men were laughing next to the grill. “Since he’s a non-shifter, Max has never felt truly part of the Pack. Even though everyone respects him, Max doesn’t see himself able to lead the others. I want to show him he’s wrong.”

“What can I do?” She hoped to be able to show Max see that he could be a great leader. “I want to help.”

“You already are. He seems comfortable here. Once we find out what is going on, I think Max will see on his own that he has even more to offer.”

She didn’t have time to respond. A loud commotion announced the arrival of her nephews, younger brother and her sister-in-law.

Her two nephews, Kyle and Korrie, raced up the wooden steps to where she and Shawn were standing.

“Alpha! Alpha!” Kyle, the youngest at four, cried out.

Shawn crouched down to catch the small boy. “Hey there, little man!”

“Me, too!” Korrie called, jumping up and down.

Shawn easily picked him up in his other arm. It was a sight to see the two children in the embrace of their powerful leader.

Cassie leaned over and kissed both boys on their cheeks. “Well, hello to you, too.”

Kyle laughed. “Hi, Aunt Cassie.”

“Hi, honey,” she said, hugging her sister-in-law. Peyton had been her best friend since grade school. When Peyton and Jacob had gotten married, Cassie had been so happy. Peyton had always been like a sister to her and now she truly was.

Cassie accepted a quick hug from her brother. He pulled away to join the other men.

“Come on, you monkeys,” Peyton said to her children. “Let Alpha Shawn breathe.”

Their Alpha set the kids down, patting them one last time, then hugged Peyton and strolled toward the grill.

“Well, check out Max Lawson,” Peyton murmured. “He sure is looking good.”

Cassie grinned. “Uh-huh.”

“Jacob tells me he’s staying at your place?”

“Yes.”

Peyton faced her. “And?”

Cassie laughed. She ran her gaze over the boys then back to Peyton.

“Oh, an adult conversation? Nice!” Peyton commented. “How would you boys like to play with the Legos?”

Kyle and Korrie hooted then raced over to where Alex had a small play area in the corner of the porch. The entire family enjoyed hanging out together, so Alex had made sure the boys had plenty with which to entertain themselves.

Peyton put her arm through Cassie’s and pulled them even farther away from the crowd. “So?”

Cassie shook her head. “I don’t really know what to say. You’ve seen him. He’s sexy as all get out, and he seems to be a great guy as well. We kissed last night and ever since then I can’t seem to get him out of my mind. Or get enough of his lips. There is just something there, you know?”

“I do, but are you ready for that? You’ve been fighting finding a mate for a long time.”

“That’s getting a little ahead of us. I don’t know that I want a mate right now anyway. I’ve never felt any sort of connection to the men Alex likes as a mate for me. Max is different, though. I don’t know what will happen between the two of us, but I do know that I have to find out. I want him, but I’m worried about scaring him off too. He might not be ready.”

“Huh.” Peyton frowned. “All I can say is that if you are truly interested in him, then don’t give up. Let him set the pace. You’ll still need to let him know you’re interested.”

“I guess.” Cassie turned so she could watch Max.

He was standing between his brother and Alpha Shawn, talking and gesturing. His tight T-shirt stretched against his chest muscles and damn if that sight didn’t make her mouth water.

Max glanced over at her and the heat in his eyes called to her. She licked her lips, watching as he followed the motion with his gaze.

Peyton bumped her arm. “Well, let’s go join them.”

As they made their way over, Alex declared the burgers were ready. The next several minutes consisted of everyone filling plates and grabbing new beers. The group settled at the wooden picnic table.

Cassie was filled with love. This was what family was all about. These people had come together to figure out how to protect one another and the entire Pack. She was so lucky.

She sat between Max and Alex and felt one hundred percent safe. Of course, having a successful show would really prove that she had gotten her life back after the break-in. Let whoever was responsible know that they hadn’t won.

She’d felt compelled to bring Max’s wolf to life for him. There was no way that she’d let that piece of art go into the show, though. The canvas of Max’s wolf would be for Max alone.

Even if he wasn’t able to shift into his animal, sometimes she could sense how close his wolf was to the surface. Even at a young age, she’d known that Max was different. It wasn’t until the night before that she’d really started to understand, though. She’d always taken the ability to shift for granted.

Now she was seeing things differently.

There was so much more to Max than what she had first considered.

“So, I spoke with the Council and they’re sending out two guards to aid us in the investigation. The leader of the Church for Humanity was arrested in Nevada, but the Council has been keeping an eye on the other locations. They’ve pulled out all the shifters they had undercover in the Church, though,” Alpha Shawn told them. “Now they have to watch from the outside.”

“What about the Coalition?” Max asked.

Shawn shook his head. “They said we can wait. The Council has dealt with the Church before and the two guys they’re sending have already brought one location down. Since we want to remain in secret, we won’t bring in the Coalition until we have no other choice.”

This was great. At least it wouldn’t lead her Pack to having to reveal themselves. There were a few humans who lived around the canyon or in town, but not many. Luckily their community was mostly made up of Pack.

“With the security measures we’ve taken here and in town, I’m confident about what we’ll be coming up against,” Alpha Shawn assured everyone.

Max’s hand landed on her back and she leaned into his touch. She hoped they caught whoever was causing the trouble quickly.

The others spoke more about who could be involved and why, but Cassie just listened. She finished her burger. She accepted her bottle after Alex stood and grabbed another round of beers.

They were connecting the Church with the break-in to her studio, but Cassie couldn’t really see the link. Okay, so the Church didn’t like art that featured animals since they were fighting against shifters, but there was no actual proof that her art had any association with shifters at all. The Church was risking a lot to go after her. Cassie kept her head down and didn’t get involved in Politics. The entire thing didn’t sit right with her.

No, the culprit had to be closer to home.

She didn’t realize that she’d spoken out loud until everyone turned to her. She flushed while ducking her head. “Sorry.”

“No,” Max said. “We want to hear your ideas too.”

She glanced over at their Alpha and he nodded.

“I just don’t see how the Church could know enough about me to break in.”

“They would have had to be watching.”

“How?” She motioned, indicating the property. “Our land isn’t easy to get to. And if strangers were wandering around, someone would have scented them.”

Alex and Max shared a look and she stiffened. “You don’t think it’s a stranger, either.”

No one said anything. She glared at her older brother.

Alex sighed. “No, we don’t. We do think that whoever is involved with the break-in has a connection to the Church.”

“Who?”

“Your assistant,” Max informed her.

“James? There’s no way! I already told you that!”

“Think about it, Cass,” Alex responded. “He has access to the house and studio. He knows if you’re out. No one would think it was strange for him to be around, and since his scent is already familiar to us, we wouldn’t notice it.”

She shook her head as she stood. It wasn’t possible that the sweet kid she had spent so much time with would do something as horrible as destroy her work. No way.

“You’re wrong. I’ll prove that you’re wrong,” she told them and stalked away.

Someone was following her, but she didn’t look back to see who it was. Her heart ached. Cassie wasn’t exactly sure why. It didn’t seem right that her family, who knew James, would accuse him. James merely wanted to fit in. That was why he worked so hard as her assistant. A betrayal like that would destroy her. She’d given James everything she could as a friend. She felt guilty for not sharing her biggest secret with him.

Had these last months been nothing but a lie?

Could Cassie have let in the person who wished to take out her and an entire Pack of shifters?

She fought against letting tears fall as she was swamped with a sick feeling.

It was too much. Too much information coming at her.

All she wanted was to paint and spend time with her family. Cassie had never hurt anyone in her life. She didn’t deserve this, yet here she was running away from her family because they were fighting to protect her. Cassie wanted nothing more than to shift into her wolf and let the animal take over. Too bad that even if she transformed, she couldn’t get away from her own thoughts.

“Cassie! Wait up!”

She turned, allowing Max to catch up with her. He jogged forward, but she glanced away before she could get caught up in watching his impressive pecs and fine body.

“I’m sorry if we upset you.” Max stopped by her side. “I don’t want to blindside you if in fact James is the one responsible.”

Cassie shook her head. “I won’t believe it until I see proof.”

“That’s reasonable,” he agreed.

She did look at him at those words. “Yeah?”

“Sure.” He shrugged. “He’s your friend and you know him better than any of us. I hope I’m wrong, but if I’m not, I won’t allow him to hurt you again.”

Cassie nodded. That was probably the best she could ask for. She brushed her bangs from her face. “I won’t get in the way of your investigation. Just tell me when you clear him, please.”

Max placed his hand over his heart. “I promise.”

“Thanks.” She turned back to her house. “I’m going to my studio for a while.”

“I’ll come get you when the Council members arrive. I want you to meet with them since they’ll be staying in the main house.”

She waved her hand to show she’d heard Max as she walked away. It would feel good to get lost in her art like she used to. Before this entire mess started.

Max didn’t try to stop her and a part of her was disappointed.

There was another way that she could get out of her head. Getting naked and sweaty with Max would take care of her worries, but he didn’t offer and Cassie didn’t push.

Maybe it was better this way.

It was torture to have Cassie behind the door of her studio where he couldn’t watch over her. Max knew she had a lot of destroyed work to make up for but he felt helpless.

He’d spent the early evening going through every inch of security for Cassie’s house and the entire Wilson property. He’d almost gone down to the stables but hadn’t wanted to leave her on her own. The house should have been safe enough, but Max wasn’t taking any chances.

So, he sat on a stool at the kitchen bar, watching over the territory through the lens of his cameras.

Max had seen Jacob take his family home, Alex stalk around the grounds, and not much else. Only necessary people were around so that left Max without a lot to do but think. At least his thoughts were on the Wilson family and not going to dark places.

The chime of a text message had him reaching for his phone. A twinge in his back told him he’d been sitting for too long in the same position. It was hell getting older and Max had abused his body for too long.

They’re here. They want to talk right away. Bring Cassie?

Max read the message from Alex then stood. Cassie had been working for several hours, so hopefully she was ready for a break.

Instead of strolling into her studio, he knocked loudly. She had the music on, but not loud enough to keep her from hearing.

“Yes?” she yelled.

“Are you ready to go up to the main house?” he asked. “Alex just texted.”

There was a moment of silence before she answered. “Okay, just let me clean up.”

He leaned against the wall, unable to force himself to give her more space. It was killing him not to be able to see her.

After waiting ten minutes, Max was about to knock on the door, but Cassie opened it and slipped through. Max pushed down his disappointment at not being able to see what she’d been working on, but Cassie’s appearance distracted him.

Sometime in the last few hours, she must have run her fingers through her hair, as there were a couple of flecks of paint. There was also a cute streak across her nose. He reached forward and ran his finger over the spot. Cassie blushed.

“I can get a little messy,” she told him.

“It’s cute,” he responded. “Looks like your muse returned.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “Something must be helping.” Cassie leaned forward and kissed him lightly.

Max got the impression he was that something that’d woken her muse and was extremely pleased. He wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her close when she would have stepped back. That little peck on the lips wasn’t enough.

He whirled them around so her back was to the sheetrock with his body between her legs. Max leaned in hard as he expertly kissed her.

She went weak in the knees, so he used more of his weight to hold her up while plundering her mouth.

The small sounds she released were erotic as fuck and he thrust his jean-covered cock against her. God, all he wanted was to have no clothes between them. He could make her forget everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. Take all thoughts from her head and mark every inch of her flesh.

His phone chimed in his pocket, reminding him that they had somewhere to be.

With great reluctance, he pulled back to rest his forehead against hers. “We have to get up to the main house before Alex comes looking for us.”

She groaned. “I don’t want to.”

“I know.” Another kiss, this time quick and dry. “But we have to.” It was hard to release her but Max did as needed.

“Let’s get this over with so we can cuddle before bed,” she suggested.

“Good idea.” Max entwined their fingers before leading her toward the front of the house.

Cassie waited patiently just inside the front door as Max made certain the place was locked up tight. He grabbed his laptop from the kitchen before joining her.

Once they were on the way to the main house, Max had time to watch her. Cassie appeared much more relaxed than she’d been after dinner. It looked like the time in her studio had helped calm her.

Alex was standing on the back deck with his hands in his pocket as they came around. “There you are,” he said. “I wasn’t sure if I needed to send a search party.”

“I was painting,” Cassie replied softly.

“You were?” Alex perked up. “How’s it going?”

“Good, I think,” Cassie told him. “I don’t think I need to replace everything that was destroyed, but I wouldn’t mind adding a few more pieces. It was a good thing that I’d already had the first batch sent to the gallery.”

“I agree,” Alex said. “We’ve added twenty-four-hour security guards to make sure nothing happens there.”

“Oh.” Cassie seemed surprised.

“What’s wrong?” Max asked her.

“I guess I hadn’t thought about the possibility of something happening to the other paintings. I’m not the only one showing.”

“Everything will be just fine,” Alex assured her.

Cassie nodded, but the worry had returned to her eyes.

“If possible, I’d like to take a look at the gallery tomorrow,” Max said. “With the show coming up, I’d like to see the space for myself and where any trouble might come from.”

“I’d be happy to take you,” Alex offered.

“Would that be all right with you?” Max asked Cassie.

“Sure.” She shrugged. “I can’t expect you to sit around the house while I work all the time.”

He turned toward her. “I don’t mind.”

“Okay,” she responded. “But it’s a good idea. Plus James is stopping by in the morning, so I’ll have company.”

“I’ll see if Peyton is free as well,” Alex said.

Cassie rolled her eyes but nodded. “Fine. Now are we going to meet the Council’s shifters or not?”

“Come on.” Alex waved them forward. “They were just freshening up and are going to meet us in the study.”

As soon as the sliding glass door was opened, Max could scent the two strangers. His senses were strong even if he couldn’t shift and had saved him more than a few times.

There were indeed two men standing in the middle of the room, holding a beer apiece. From their appearance, build and stance Max knew instantly that they had a military background.

He eyed them as Alex rushed ahead to grab him and Cassie drinks.

“Hello,” Cassie greeted.

The dark-haired man stepped forward with a smile. “You must be Cassandra. I’m Kurt Moore and this is my associate Clint Price.”

Max bit back a growl as Cassie shook Kurt’s hand. Neither his human nor his wolf side liked a strange man touching what they considered theirs.

Kurt smiled at him over Cassie’s shoulder. Max had to wonder if the Council shifter didn’t know exactly what he was feeling.

“Nice to meet you,” Clint stated when he reached out to Cassie.

Instead of a look of understanding like Kurt had sent him, there was a twinkle of amusement in Clint’s gaze.

“Thanks for coming. Call me Cassie, and this is Max Lawson,” Cassie introduced.

“Alex gave us a run through of everything you’ve organized. For not being trained as a security expert, you’ve done an amazing job,” Kurt said.

“I appreciate it,” Max responded as he shook Kurt’s hand. “I just want to make sure Cassie stays safe.”

“Hopefully we can help with that.” Kurt motioned toward the furniture.

Max sat on the couch and pulled Cassie down to his side. Kurt and Clint booth chose chairs as Alex finished grabbing the drinks.

“We’ve found that the Church for Humanity had a chapter in Lubbock,” Kurt started. “That’s about, what…two hours from here?”

“Just about,” Max responded.

“Our reports state that the chapter is closed down. We think they’re just getting smarter. By taking down Dan Carter and several of the higher-ups in the Church, we lost a great deal of contact with the smaller factions. That doesn’t mean they’re any less dangerous.”

“Is that what you’ll be doing?” Max questioned.

“Yes,” Kurt replied. “I don’t think the Church is gone. I believe they just went into hiding. They want to stay off the grid until they make their mark. That might be what’s going on here.”

“What do you mean, ‘make their mark’?” Cassie asked.

Kurt glanced at Clint before turning to face Cassie and Max. “It’s a possibility that they will attack the gallery on the night of the show. That they plan to make a statement by targeting a well-known establishment.”

She gasped. Max gripped her hand, hoping to soothe her.

“I hate to say it, but it was smart to call us,” Kurt said. “The break-in to your studio has me both concerned and confused.”

“Why’s that?” Max asked.

“If they’d left you alone, we wouldn’t have any suspicion regarding the show,” Clint stated. “By attacking here, the entire Pack is on guard.”

“It’s like someone wanted to warn you,” Kurt finished.

Max glanced over at Alex and saw him shaking his head. That made a little more sense to Max, as well. James was a close friend to Cassie and, if she was in real danger, he might risk warning her. Max strongly believed that James was responsible for the damage to Cassie’s studio.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Cassie said. “But it’s not James.”

“If James is involved in the Church, he might not feel safe telling you about the threat. But the loss of your work—”

“No!” Cassie rose, cutting Alex off. “I’ve seen how hard James has worked. He has his own art that will be featuring.”

“Then maybe that’s the reason he wants to stop the attack on the gallery,” Max said gently.

“I can’t believe this,” Cassie mumbled. She dropped back down on the couch. “I don’t want to think that my friend would be so…cold.”

God, this was breaking her heart and Max couldn’t do anything about it.

“Tell us about James,” Kurt requested.

Cassie folded her hands in her lap. Alex sighed.

“Please,” Kurt pushed.

“I hired James six months ago to work as Cassie’s assistant,” Alex explained.

As Alex brought the two Council shifters up to speed, Max leaned against Cassie’s shoulder.

“If I can prove that James is innocent, I’ll do it. You’ll be the first to know.”

She nodded. “But what if he’s not?”

That was the right question.

“Then you’ll move forward. You’ll know that you tried to help the young man and nothing that happens is your fault,” Max said.

“I don’t think it’ll be that easy,” she responded.

“I know. But I’ll be by your side the entire time. You’re not alone.”

“I’m not alone,” she repeated. Cassie tucked herself up under his arm and Max tightened his hold. He couldn’t protect her from what had already happened. He couldn’t guard her heart against James’s betrayal, if it came down to it. But he could help her pick up the pieces.

In the meantime, maybe she’d be the one to help him heal his own wounds.

It’d only been a few days since he’d first caught sight of her, but Max felt more like his old self then he’d felt in years.