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He heard Alani stir and sit up as he awkwardly hopped into his jeans, off-balance and in a hurry.
“Where are you going?” she asked, a hint of hurt hiding behind her words. Ivo was back by her side in a second, kissing away her worries and stroking her cheek.
“I have to go check on my clan,” he told her, and for once, he didn’t need to lie or mince words or tell a pathetic half-truth. It felt good to just be without hiding who he truly was. “The rams are interested in our home, and I can’t let it go undefended.”
Her face screwed in thought, and Ivo gave her one last kiss before going to find his shirt.
“Your… home?”
“The mountain at the end of the range,” he said, a little absent-sounding. “We have a sacred cave there that’s kind of like a… uh…” How do you phrase a cave with magical properties where a bunch of bears hangs out? “A community center, I guess. It’s off-limits. Strictly for the clan and their families.”
“And you’re going to defend it?” She’d crawled to the end of the bed when Ivo glanced back, the sheet wrapped around her gorgeous figure. He licked his lips, wanting to tug it away but knowing there was no time for another round.
“I have to make sure everyone is okay,” Ivo insisted, looking away so he wouldn’t get sucked into the distraction. “I managed to fight the rams off before, but there’s no telling when they’ll come back. Whether they like it or not, the clan needs me.”
“I’ll come with you,” she said just a little too brightly, clambering out of bed and letting the sheet fall away. “I can help—”
“No, absolutely not.” Her enthusiasm faltered at the harsh tone, his voice more of a growl than anything, and Ivo shook his head as he tried to rein in the beast. “It’s too dangerous, Alani. I can’t stand the thought of you getting hurt.”
“But—”
“I’ll have my phone on me when I get there,” he told her, stalking back and wrapping her in his arms one last time. She responded in kind, throwing her arms around his neck. “I’ll call you when I know what’s happening.”
The moment her plump lips parted in protest, Ivo kissed her, savoring the feel of her body against his, her scent mingling with his until all he smelled was the combination of the pair. Something new and wonderful.
Damn it. He really had to go. Ivo all but dragged himself away and shot her a smirk and a wink.
“Stay put, sweetheart,” he said, as much as it pained him to walk away. “I’ll be back before you know it…”
***
Alani threw herself in her rental car, which she rarely ever used because it felt silly to drive anywhere in a town as small as Angel Fire, and fumbled with the seatbelt in her haste. She had done as Ivo said. She had stayed put—all night, in fact, barely sleeping and constantly worrying. After all, he had shown up on her doorstep a bloodied, broken shell of his usual self, and now he was headed back out there to deal with these ram shifters. How could she not worry?
And worry she had. All night. Up until now, at the crack of dawn, when she just couldn’t take it anymore. No word usually meant no problems in her mind, but she couldn’t shake the mental picture of Ivo dead on the mountain somewhere because some curly-horned jerks got the jump on him. No. She had to go out and find him. For her own sanity, she couldn’t sit in her apartment for a second longer.
So, she dressed in a thick pair of jeans and a sweater over her yellow tee, knowing the spring morning chill would be high—and worse in the mountains—and shoved her feet into recently purchased but not used hiking boots. Alani had tried reaching Ivo’s phone as she raced down the stairwell of her building, but hung up in a panic when it went straight to voicemail.
All she needed to know was if he was okay. Then she’d come home and crash. Until then, Alani was determined to find him.
“He said his home is in the mountains,” she muttered to herself as she floored it out of the parking garage and up to the main street level. Even from the heart of Angel Fire, the mountain range towered overhead. “The far end of the range…”
A mountain loomed behind the ski resort on the outskirts of town, but she assumed it was the mountain at the very opposite side of the range that housed this sacred cave. So off she went, foot on the gas and a determined glint in her eye. It would take her a while to drive all the way out there, then she might actually have to climb the damn thing, but Ivo was worth it.
She loved him—that much was clear now—and Alani would do anything for the people she loved.
Anything.
