Shifting Snows Read online

  Shifting Snows

  A Phases Story

  By Brynn Paulin

  Resplendence Publishing, LLC

  http://www.resplendencepublishing.com

  Resplendence Publishing, LLC

  2665 N Atlantic Avenue, #349

  Daytona Beach, FL 32118

  Shifting Snows

  Copyright © 2011 Brynn Paulin

  Edited by Christine Allen-Riley and Jason Huffman

  Cover art by Les Byerley, www.les3photo8.com

  Electronic format ISBN: 978-1-60735-451-2

  Warning: All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Electronic Release: December 2011

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and occurrences are a product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, places or occurrences, is purely coincidental.

  For A, C and D

  ~~

  Thank you for being so patient while B has been “missing”

  Chapter One

  Macy Lawson’s eyes went wide as she stared at the big cat in front of her—and it stared back. Snow blew around them and an icy wind lifted the beast’s whitish-gray coat, accenting the dark rosettes that peppered the gorgeous pelt. The animal’s massive feet didn’t sink into the deep snow though the weight of its large body should have pushed it into the drifts.

  It remained perfectly still, its light green eyes studying her.

  She swallowed, frozen as it watched her. A snow leopard! Not only was this it larger than normal, but it shouldn’t be here! Not on Mount Elbert in Colorado.

  Her heart thudded in her throat as she shook. Semantics didn’t matter in the face of this carnivore.

  She was dead.

  That very thought propelled her into action. She’d never see her friends and family again. They’d never know what happened to her. But she had to run; she couldn’t just stand there like some virginal sacrifice to a dragon.

  Her breath clutched in her chest, her heart beating explosively in her throat as desperation drove her. Could she find some crevice to shelter her—a space too small for the huge animal—or a branch to wield as a weapon?

  She’d need the supplies to get her off the mountain, but she shucked off her backpack as she ran. It had to come off if she hoped to squeeze into a tiny space. The snow hampered her, though. The deep drifts hindered her movements, slowing her gait and wearing her out even as adrenaline pushed her.

  But it wasn’t enough. She heard the predator. Horrified, she glanced over her shoulder to see the snow leopard. The cat that shouldn’t even be on this continent, bounding gracefully over the snow-covered ground that separated them. Macy turned, fear adding speed to her feet as she ran. Suddenly, time froze on a soft burst of air as the sound of chase ceased. An impact drove her to the ground, her last recollection that of powerful, furry limbs wrapping her body and mighty jaws grasping her neck.

  * * * *

  “Shh…you’re okay.”

  Macy’s eyes blinked open at the deep voice, and she looked up into light green eyes rimmed with coal-black lashes. A fur-trimmed hood covered the man’s head, but equally black hair drooped over his forehead. His face was too close to hers. Disoriented, it took her a moment to figure out why then she realized he was carrying her. His muscular arms were slung beneath her legs and behind her back as he held her close to his chest.

  “You saved me,” she murmured.

  He shook his head. “Not really. You weren’t in danger.”

  “But…a…that snow leopard. It attacked me.” Fear trembled through her at the memory. It had leapt on her, grabbed her neck, knocked her to the ground—

  “He wouldn’t have hurt you,” the man assured her, his words faintly accented. “What were you doing out here alone?”

  Her eyes narrowed. Always the same questions. Because she was female, no doubt. That’s why everyone else asked.

  “I’m a wildlife photographer. I’m up here all the time.”

  “With no protection?” he demanded.

  “I don’t need a man—”

  “A man? How about a gun, pepper spray, or the like? Lady, there are coyote and black bear wandering this wilderness.”

  Infuriated, she struggled out of his arms and landed rear-first in the thick snow. She scrambled to her feet. “And snow leopard apparently,” she said drily. She glanced in the direction they’d come, searching for her red backpack in the pristine white snow. “I’ve been up here a lot and never had any trouble. It was stupid, I know, but those things are in my bag—crap. How far did we walk? I have to go back for my camera.”

  He turned slightly to show her the strap slung over his shoulder. “Got it.” He took her arm. “Come on. Storm’s coming. We need to get out of here before it hits.” He sniffed and looked west. “It’s gonna dump a couple feet.”

  Her brow furrowed. “And you know this how? The forecaster said there might be flurries.”

  “He was wrong.” He didn’t pause as he pulled her along with him to God knew where.

  Just great… She’d been rescued from a feral snow leopard only to be kidnapped by a…by a…damn it…really hunky crazy guy.

  She tugged her arm away, panic clawing up her chest. “Look, I’m thankful you saved me, but I’m not going with you. Just give me my bag so I can go.”

  “Right…” He eyed her, his bland expression vaguely amused. “Then I can risk my life saving your ass when you get trapped halfway down the mountain. No deal.”

  “I doubt I’ll get trapped. And what does it matter to you, anyway?” Her gaze skittered between the man and the clouds that grew closer and darker by the second. Rampant nerves danced in her belly. The hike to where she’d left her car at the Lakeview trailhead would take five and a half hours in these conditions—not that she’d tell him that. The thought of navigating the mountain in near-dark unsettled her.

  His jaw tensed. “It matters.”

  Macy’s eyes widened as his deep tone stroked over her pussy like sensually callused fingers. A tremble, having nothing to do with cold, shook her and she took a step backward.

  He stepped forward, and her womb fluttered.

  “I need to go,” she insisted, taking another step away, but his strides were longer and they were suddenly chest to chest.

  “You leave me no choice…” he muttered as he grasped her shoulders.

  “No choice—” Her words cut off on a gasp as his lips covered hers. He’d had no choice but to kiss her? Before she could twist away, his huge hand cupped the back of her head. His tongue slipped between her lips that had parted in shock.

  A garbled protest mumbled between them, despite the way his presence and commanding liquefied her pussy. But it wasn’t right. He shouldn’t be kissing her, even though his lips felt so firm and so perfect against hers. Grasping at her fleeting restraint, she shoved against his shoulders.

  He growled in response, his lips forcing hers wider as his tongue rubbed over hers.

  Macy’s vision blurred, and she would have stumbled had he not been holding her so tightly. She clung to him as she grew dizzy and warm. A muzzy feeling wrapped around her and she wanted nothing more than to rub herself against him.

  In the far recesses of her mind, a faint whisper hissed that this was wrong…too fast…too much… It was drowned by the buzzing in her head, a weird non-verbal urging to just get closer to him, to climb inside him if she could. One leg lifted and wrapped around his legs as she tried to get nearer.

  He sighed and pulled back, his green eyes da
rk with regret. His hands smoothed over her arms. She wished she could feel his skin without her coat and his gloves between them.

  “Come with me,” he rasped, reaching for her fingers.

  She readily linked them through his. “Uh-huh,” she replied, dazed by the kiss. He wanted her to come with him? Fine. He said it was going to storm anyway. She lifted her face and wet snowflakes pelted her cheeks. They swirled around them as thick as a wall. She had to believe this man—this wasn’t flurries.

  Macy hurried along beside him as he pulled her toward wherever he was going. She didn’t know of any houses up here, but he must have some sort of shelter.

  “Who are you?” she finally asked, a little embarrassed that she’d kissed him and rubbed against him like a cat in heat, yet didn’t know who he was.

  “Sorin Tavian. My people have a settlement near here.”

  She shook her head, wondering if she’d gotten lost in her wanderings today. Leadville was the closest town as far as she knew. And there were no access roads. The nearest one was a couple hours from here and only open from June to August. “I’ve been up here dozens of times in the past few years,” she mused. “I’ve never seen a thing.”

  “It’s well protected.”

  “Hidden, then?”

  “In a way, I suppose.”

  That seemed ominous. Macy’s feet dragged a bit as she contemplated walking right into a trap—a trap from which she wouldn’t escape. Sorin paused and looked back at her. His brows drew together as he contemplated her through the distance of their outstretched arms and the snowflakes whirling around them.

  “Miss…” He shook his head as if reading her worries.

  “Macy,” she supplied automatically, then mentally kicked herself for giving him the information.

  “Macy…” he repeated, her name rolling off his tongue like a heated caress down her spine. “I’m taking you to my home as protection from the storm. You won’t be harmed, and if you want to leave when it clears, I’ll take you.”

  Anyone could say that…

  “Why should I believe you?”

  He released her hand, and Macy had to fight the instincts telling her to step across the invisible chasm between them. He crossed his arms over his imposing chest. “You’re from a big city.”

  “Why would you say that?”

  “Do you always answer questions with a question?”

  “Do you?” she asked.

  “No.” He turned and continued along his way. After a few steps, he stopped. “It will get colder out here as the snow comes. Do you know how to dig a shelter?”

  “Of course. I do have some survival skills.”

  “Hmph,” he replied, and she suspected he didn’t believe her. Instead of commenting further, he continued in the other direction. Stubbornly, Macy watched him go, the red on his back fading through the deluge of flakes.

  Red…

  Oh for fuck’s sake!

  “Hey,” she yelled, dashing after him. “You have my backpack.”

  Sorin didn’t hear her—or at the very least, he didn’t acknowledge her. She watched him disappear into a stand of trees. Her brow furrowed as she rushed after him. The pines grew against a sheer rock face. There was nothing there. Did he live in a cave?

  Creepy…

  But she needed her backpack. Her camera and supplies were in it. Even if she retrieved nothing else, she needed her car keys from the back pocket.

  Entering the group of trees, she followed the patch of red as Sorin skirted the rock face. Then suddenly, he disappeared. No! She moved faster, needing to catch him before he crawled into his lair to hibernate or something. With her freaking backpack. Jerk. He’d been all concerned about her protecting herself then he’d taken her protection!

  She was seething as she stormed after him. In the dim light, she followed his footprints until they suddenly disappeared. Looking to the right, she saw he hadn’t entered a cave, but a strange crevasse where two slabs of rock seemed to meet. The gap was about three feet wide, with tall walls reaching up to the dark sky. Sorin’s prints had tamped down the snow, as had many others before him.

  Macy took a deep breath. To follow or not to follow? That was the question. She rested her hand on the wall and stared down the empty passage. An opening beckoned on the other side. Hot prickles sprouted across her back while her stomach twisted with nerves. It could be a trap.

  She closed her eyes, remembering Sorin’s kiss and how it had made her feel. How he’d made her feel when he’d spoken to her. How he’d saved her…

  Take a step, Macy. Trust.

  Taking another deep breath for fortitude, she started down the path. Just because the news was full of murder and violence didn’t mean she had to paint everyone with that brush. At the end of the ravine, she was surprised to see another stand of trees veiling what appeared to be a huge open space that had been hidden behind the two rock walls. Sorin stood on the outside edge of the pines with his back to her.

  He turned and smiled as she approached, his demeanor telling her he’d known she would pursue him. When he held out his hand, she took it. Immediately, something shifted inside her. Startled, she looked up at him.

  “It’s all right, Macy,” he assured her. “All is well.”

  All was…weird, anyway. Still, she followed him as he walked into the clearing. To her surprise, the space was filled with at least a dozen homes, reminding her of some sort of small medieval village. In fact, the structures brought to mind the ancient models she’d seen when traveling Europe.

  “Wow…” she breathed. “How many people live here?”

  “Close to fifty. I’m their leader.” He shrugged as if that were no big deal, but she suspected it was. Before she could comment, he slid his arm around her waist and drew her into his side. His other arm swept before him to indicate the area. “Macy…welcome to Tavian Leap.”

  Chapter Two

  “Okay then, Mr. Rourke,” she muttered. “Is this Fantasy Island, or did I fall down a rabbit hole?”

  “Fantasy Island? What’s that?” he asked, amused by the woman beside him. Her small, compact body fit perfectly to his side. Just as it should. He glanced down at her pale-skinned face, marveling at the dark lashes circling her eyes despite her auburn hair. Earlier, the sun had glinted off the red highlights and drawn his attention, pulling him toward her when he would have otherwise avoided interaction with a full human.

  “Nothing. You’re better looking than him, anyway,” she murmured, a faint blush tinting her cheeks as she looked away.

  “Thank you, I think,” he laughed.

  She chuckled quietly. “Definitely a compliment. I just shouldn’t be blurting it. I don’t know you.”

  That would change. The animal inside him stirred, reminding him once more that she was theirs. There had been no doubt of it as soon as he’d gotten close and breathed in her scent. He hadn’t been able to stop his animal from leaping on her and showing her his dominance. Then nuzzling her.

  He frowned. She’d passed out by then.

  “How long have you lived here?” she asked, blissfully unaware that he was the one who’d scared her into a dead faint.

  “About three years. We came here to escape the oppression in our homeland. I found the place, and the others followed.” His kind had been hunted tirelessly for their pelts. So many had been killed that Sorin had known they must run or be obliterated. While he’d searched for a new home, several more of his leap had been murdered. It sickened him, making his heart ache with the needless loss—but here, high up on Mount Elbert in the Rocky Mountains, he’d hidden them. There’d been no deaths in this hideaway.

  She tilted back her face, letting the snowflakes brush her skin. “It’s beautiful. Like a hidden fairyland.”

  “A bit.” He looked around. She had no idea just how magical his home was. His gut twisted, and he wondered if she’d like it here, if the enchantment would wear off. Would she be horrified when she learned she was his mate? Or that she wou
ld be shared with the men he considered family though they had no blood in common?

  With her consent, of course. He would never force a woman into his bed, feral instinct or not. While mates were difficult to find, if she refused him, it wouldn’t mean a life-long solitary existence. She wasn’t his only option. She was just the perfect fit to his biological needs, and his animal recognized that. If she refused him, there would be others. If she accepted him, they would be linked for life.

  As he guided her into the village, he wished it were as simple as her accepting him. There was much for her to understand before she said yes. If she said yes.

  In the distance, he saw three men leaving the house he shared with them. Danel, Abel and Calin. His closest friends. With his keen sight, he saw them watching as he and Macy approached. Awareness stiffened their stances as their faces lifted slightly and they sniffed the air. He heard Danel hiss as he recognized her as a mate. He met Sorin’s eyes. Danel and Sorin were already joined and Macy would belong solely to them if she chose them.

  “Who are they?” she asked as she and Sorin drew closer to the men. It was obvious the trio awaited them.

  “My…family,” he replied, stopping just short of calling them his leap. While the whole of his people was called a leap, so was this smaller personal group—Sorin’s Leap, a group belonging to Tavian Leap. “Adopted family,” he clarified. “We’re not blood related.”

  He wanted that in the open before she saw him interact with Danel. Moving away from her, he rushed to his male mate’s side. They embraced one another and quickly nuzzled into each other’s necks. Danel chuffled softly then stepped back.

  “Good hunt,” he murmured, glancing over Sorin’s shoulder.

  Sorin smiled. “Quite.”

  He turned to Macy and held out his hand. She took it like a lifeline and moved quickly to his side. He wondered if the pheromones he’d plied her with earlier were still affecting her. They had an immediate effect of compelling mates to want to be together. Over time, the need would be so deeply ingrained that if they were parted, it would seem as if a limb had been removed—but not yet. Perhaps he was merely a known in a strange situation.