A Jaguar's Kiss (5 page)

each other. He wanted to gather her in his arms, tel her

how sorry he was and make it up to her. But words were so

empty. He could say he was sorry until his throat was raw,

but it would stil just be words. He needed to show her. His

stupidity had cost them both and now he felt like they’d

been given a second chance. Or maybe that was just

wishful thinking.

She licked her bottom lip, something she’d always done

when she was nervous. It drew his attention from her eyes

to her mouth. Her bottom lip was ful er than the top, giving

her a pouty look that was at complete odds with her

personality.

Owen took a step closer, as if he was being pul ed by an

invisible magnet. He wasn’t sure what he planned to do.

Kiss her? He wanted to, but his inner wolf just ached to be

closer. It was a driving force inside that had the power to

completely distract him.

When he was barely a few inches in front of her, his body

aligned with hers, she drew her eyebrows together and

slightly tilted her head to the side. He started to ask what

was wrong when he heard it, too. Would have heard it

sooner if he hadn’t been so wrapped up in her sweet

honeydew scent.

The angry voices of his pack mates were headed their

way. Stepping back, he had to take a deep breath before

yanking open the front door. His brother and two of his pack

mates who regularly patrol ed their hunting grounds were in

human form and they al looked grim. Daniel, a young

shifter of about eighteen, was the only one in wolf form, but

he shifted as Owen stepped outside. Blood oozed out from

the claw marks on his chest and Owen could scent the

jaguar on the wolf.

“What happened? Did you discover who’s been

attacking the humans?” Despite Daniel’s bloody wounds,

Owen knew he’d heal quickly. He didn’t feel guilty at the

sharp burst of hope he experienced that they might final y

have a lead.

The young wolf shook his head, breathing hard. He

flicked a glance over Owen’s shoulder at Gabriela but

quickly focused on Owen. “Was in town. Saw one of the

jaguars—Israel, the oldest brother—lifting Skyler into his

truck. She looked like she was in pain and I smel ed her

blood. I tried…” His voice broke for a fraction of a second.

“I tried to stop him but the other one, Axel, stopped me. He

let his claws out in the middle of town. I didn’t want to shift

and draw attention but as soon as I was on the edge of

town I shifted and ran home. I didn’t have my phone or I

would have cal ed.”

Owen’s heart pounded faster at the thought of his

younger sister hurt, but if she was with Israel Segura, Owen

couldn’t imagine the quiet jaguar hurting her. Hel , he

couldn’t imagine any of Gabriela’s family hurting Skyler.

Another reason these attacks had been driving him mad. It

didn’t make sense. They’d been living in peace together for

so long.

Ethan stepped up angrily, his face mottled red. “We

should hunt them down—”

“Shut up,” Owen snapped, keeping his focus on Daniel.

“Did you see where they were headed?” he asked the

young wolf.

“East, out of town.”

Owen glanced over his shoulder to find Gabriela

hovering, looking as if she might bolt. “Your truck keys are

on the foyer table. Grab them.”

She hesitated for a fraction of a moment then subtly

nodded before hurrying inside.

While she retrieved them, he turned back to his brother.

“I’m going to bring Skyler home and get to the bottom of

this.” Owen looked at Leta, one of his most trusted wolves.

Of average height she was lean and lethal with a blade

when necessary. In her wolf form she was even more of a

threat. Her dark hair was pul ed back into a tight braid as

she stood there at attention. “Cal me if there’s an

emergency, but otherwise I’m trusting you to keep everyone

calm.”

Wordlessly, Leta nodded. The reserved she-wolf had a

calming effect on almost everyone and while Owen loved

his younger brother, Ethan was too young and arrogant to

keep the pack united and more important, calm. In a few

years he’d have the maturity to be a leader but now he

didn’t seem to realize that his actions could affect the entire

pack.

Owen felt more than heard Gabriela move. As she fel in

line next to him, he plucked the keys from her hand and

nodded for her to fol ow him. Once they reached her truck

he slid into the driver’s seat.

As they tore down the dirt path toward the main highway

that ran through town, he risked a look at Gabriela.

Her expression was shuttered as she watched him. “My

brothers would never hurt Skyler.
No one
in my family would

ever hurt her. And if Israel was taking her somewhere, it

was to help her.” The note of conviction in Gabriela’s voice

mirrored the feelings in his heart.

His sister was just too sweet for anyone to want to do her

harm. While his inner wolf was angry and ready to draw

blood, he couldn’t jump to a conclusion yet. Not until he

found his sister. “Cal your brothers,” he said, though

Gabriela was already digging in the center console and

pul ing out her cel phone.

Seconds seemed to drag on as she hit one of her speed

dials. When she hung up, dread fil ed his gut, but she

punched in another number. “Axel,” she breathed out,

sounding relieved. “Where are you?”

Thanks to his extrasensory abilities, Owen could hear

where Axel was and his entire body tensed at the address

Gabriela’s younger brother gave. They talked for a few

more moments and when it was obvious Axel wouldn’t

answer any questions about Skyler over the phone,

Gabriela snapped her phone shut.

“Go to—”

“Cindy Shahi’s place. I heard.” Cindy Shahi was the local

doctor in Bear Mountain. She’d replaced Doc Johnson

about three years ago and everyone in town loved her. She

was also a jaguar shifter, though not part of the Segura

pack. She wasn’t part of any pack, but a loner, and she’d

set up a private office behind her house for shifters. Since

humans didn’t know about their existence, it wasn’t always

conducive to shifters’ survival to visit the female doctor in

her public office. If Owen’s sister was at Dr. Shahi’s private

office, it couldn’t be good.

Owen’s grip on the steering wheel tightened until his

claws came out and he’d completely slashed through the

leather-like material. Next to him Gabriela was silent but he

could feel the tension pulsing off her in waves. The bitter

scent she emanated was a mixture of anger, fear and

worry.

Despite his own concern, he stil wanted to comfort and

soothe Gabriela.

He probably broke half a dozen traffic laws but he made

it to the doctor’s in ten minutes. Using the side driveway

that led past Dr. Shahi’s house toward her private office, he

stopped behind a truck he recognized as belonging to

Israel..

Gabriela was out of the vehicle before he’d even

stopped.

Cursing, Owen slammed the door shut as he hurried after

her. As he stepped into the simple waiting room, his eyes

narrowed at the sight of Axel, his shirt covered in a spray of

blood. It was Daniel’s blood-that much Owen could scent.

“Where’s my sister?” he growled, barely containing his

inner wolf.

To his surprise, Gabriela placed a gentling hand on his

forearm, but didn’t look at him. Her focus was on Axel, who

was currently attempting to stare Owen down. “What’s

going on?” she asked.

Axel, who looked so much Gabriela with the same honey-

brown hair and dark eyes, took a defiant step forward,

growling at Owen.

Gabriela’s hand tightened on his arm. Before either of

them could speak, the single white door that led to the

operating/checkup room opened and Dr. Shahi stepped

out. Her dark hair was pul ed up into a bun, her equal y dark

eyes widening as she saw Owen. A thin thread of concern

spiraled off her.

“Where. Is. My. Sister.” It wasn’t a question and he barely

squeezed the words out.

The doctor swal owed hard but before she could answer,

Owen moved past her, ignoring her protests. The coppery

distinctive scent of Skyler’s blood nearly overwhelmed him.

Prepared to seriously hurt someone, Owen reached the

doorway and stopped dead in his tracks. Israel and Skyler

were on the hospital-style bed and the giant male was

cradling Skyler in his arms in a manner that could never be

mistaken for anything other than possessive and protective.

They both looked up at him and he was vaguely aware of

the others filing into the sterile room behind him. Wearing a

pale green dressing gown, his sister was turned on her

side, tucked in Israel’s embrace.

Owen’s eyes tracked to the metal bin fil ed with

discarded bloody rags then back to his sister. “Are you

okay?” he asked softly.

She nodded and wiped a stray tear off her cheek. “I’m…

three months pregnant. There were some complications,

but the baby is fine and so am I.”

“But she’s going to need more bed rest and a very stable

environment. It won’t need to be a permanent thing. She

can stil take short walks and spend a couple hours every

day away from home, but n
o
stress.” Dr. Shahi walked

farther into the room, nearing the bed, her voice very firm.

Pregnant?
Stunned, Owen looked to Gabriela, but she

looked just as surprised as he felt. Maybe even more so.

The silence seemed to stretch on forever.

“Holy crap, I’m going to be an aunt?” Gabriela was the

first to speak, her question slicing through the tension.

Skyler nodded, a real smile stealing across her features,

but Israel was stil watching Owen, his expression guarded.

“You’re the father.” It wasn’t a question and Owen wasn’t

sure why he even said it. He felt more than a little

dumbfounded.

The jaguar shifter nodded. “Yes. And we’re going to be

mated soon. I wanted to mate earlier but…” His expression

softened as he glanced at Skyler, then that mask fel back

into place as he looked at Owen. “We’l be mated before

the baby is born.”

Owen had a hundred questions. He’d known his sister

had been sneaking off their land the past few months, but

he’d assumed she was dating a human or fooling around

with one of their pack mates. She was twenty-two and old

enough to make her own decisions and he hadn’t wanted to

smother her. Despite the questions burning inside him, he

swal owed them back and nodded at Israel.

The jaguar shifter was an attorney and worked for an

established law firm in town. From what Owen knew of him,

he was respected in the community. Stil , he didn’t like the

thought of anyone touching his sister, no matter the

species. It was impossible to wrap his mind around the fact

that his younger sister was pregnant and going to be

mated, but he didn’t flash his canines in a blatant show of

aggression-even though that’s exactly what his inner wolf

wanted.

Crossing the short distance between them, he shook the

other man’s hand—even though a large part of him wanted

to pummel him for daring to touch his sister—and said,

“Welcome to the family.” He stil wasn’t sure what

“complications” meant, but if his sister was going to need

bed rest he wouldn’t do anything to upset her.

Behind him he heard Gabriela suck in a breath, but when

he turned to look at her she was quietly talking to her other

brother. Then everyone started talking at once and he knew

it would be a while before he got his answers.

* * *

as she trekked through the woods. Hours had passed since

the revelation that her brother and Owen’s sister were

having a baby together. Not only that, they were going to be

mated
.

Gabriela’s older brother had always been serious and

quiet so it was a surprise he’d ended up with Skyler, who

had the sunniest disposition of anyone Gabriela knew.

Seeing them together, however, there was no doubt of their

love for each other.

Owen had been oddly quiet at Dr. Shahi’s office and then

afterward when they’d al decided to go back to Israel’s