Vynn (War Cats Book 4) Page 5

  Ashley hesitated, brow twitching as she looked over at him. It looked like she might relent, but she shook her head stubbornly. “Look, my dad was an asshole. I know that. But he was family, and the fact is, he left to talk to them and never came home. That points to him telling the truth about them. They surely had something to do with his disappearance.”

  “This is the same man who beat on you, Ash. Who taught you that being a shifter is something to be ashamed of, that your animal is bad. You said yourself he’s an asshole. How can you believe anything he told you about your brothers?”

  Her lips tightened as she looked away. “Let’s just agree to disagree on this. I’m not gonna change my mind.”

  He’d see about that. He wasn’t going to let her do something she’d regret, something that might hurt her in the long run. Maybe he could talk to her brothers, see if they knew what happened to her dad. Try to be a mediator and get them all past this.

  “Fine, but who are they? Maybe they’re ones I’ve talked to before.”

  She turned, her eyes going to her pack on the couch. “Will you point me to the bathroom and a bedroom? I’d like to get a shower and then crash. Fighting the fox for my body takes a lot out of me.”

  “Fine. Answer the question and I’ll show you. The discussion will be over.”

  For now.

  Exhaling, she rolled her eyes at him. “Their names are Sam and Garret Adams.”

  Chapter Six

  Ashley turned over in the bed for about the thirtieth time before exhaling with exasperation. Throwing the covers off, she got off the bed, padding to the window and watching the snow fall. It had slowed some, but was still coming down steadily, blanketing the outdoors with the gleaming white powder.

  It was beautiful, but far too early for this kind of accumulation. She should have started her journey earlier, or not lingered for so long in this place. She wasn’t sure why she had. It was by far the longest she’d stopped in one place since she started her journey. But something inside her hadn’t wanted to leave.

  And now she was stuck here for a while, and she thought she should be upset over that, but she couldn’t bring herself to be. As much as she didn’t like people, she had to admit, she enjoyed hanging out with Vynn.

  When he wasn’t asking probing questions, that was.

  She didn’t know why it was important to him that she admit her dad could have been lying about her brothers, but it was clear that it was. And now she had a flicker of doubt inside her. It wasn’t enough for her to change her course, but it was enough to make her slow down and wonder.

  And all that talk about her fox—he couldn’t be right, could he? Was her animal so insane, and tried so hard to keep her body, because Ashley kept her suppressed so much?

  Vynn certainly seemed confident about it, and her newfound skill of hearing lies said he was telling the truth. And he definitely believed what he said about them not being disgusting, like her dad taught her. But she’d already wondered whether that was the truth or not, because Vynn certainly didn’t disgust her in the slightest.

  The opposite of that, actually.

  But it made her wonder—if her dad lied about that, what else had he lied about? Maybe he lied about her brothers, too.

  She didn’t know, but she still felt like he’d been telling the truth about them. Otherwise, why did he disappear?

  Her belly rumbled again, and she put her hand over it. Her thoughts were part of why she couldn’t sleep, but hunger was a big part of it, too. She hadn’t eaten since the can of peaches this morning. She should have asked Vynn for food when she finally wrestled her body back from the fox, but she’d been too intent on escaping his questions and the things he was saying.

  It was nice to know more about her shifter side. They were all things she really should have known much sooner. But his relentless questioning, and his replies to her answers—those she hadn’t wanted to hear.

  But she wished she’d paused in her escape long enough to ask him if she could have some food. Still, she could go look for some now. He was probably asleep, so she could sneak to the kitchen and eat while avoiding him.

  Turning, she smoothed her hands down the shirt she was wearing. She’d had some clean pajama bottoms in her bag, but all her shirts had been dirty. So Vynn loaned her one of his and said she could do laundry whenever she wanted. The shirt was huge, hanging off her like a tent, but it was soft, comfortable, and—it smelled like him.

  It was comforting, and she didn’t think she should like it so much, but she did. Opening the door, she peeked into the hallway. It was dark, only lit by a single nightlight and the moon. She looked around her as she walked to the stairs, taking it all in. She’d been in too much of a hurry to really see it before, too intent on getting to her room.

  It was a beautiful home, but she wasn’t very comfortable in it. She was more used to the old shack she shared with her father growing up. It had two bedrooms, one bathroom, and it was old, drafty, tiny. And no matter how much or how thoroughly she cleaned, it still looked dingy, and smelled faintly of mold.

  This place was basically a palace compared to her house. She wasn’t sure what the outside looked like—she rarely remembered the things her fox saw when Ashley was buried deep inside her. But the inside was all sweeping architecture, large rooms, and hardwood floors decorated with soft, plush rugs here and there. And she thought it had to have four or five bedrooms, at least, and multiple bathrooms. The room she was staying in wasn’t even the master, and it had its own bathroom.

  It was beyond nice, and looked really expensive. Even the furniture and decorations looked pricey. She’d been half scared to lay on the gorgeous bed, and incredibly grateful she took a shower first and dressed in clean clothes.

  Reaching the first floor, she looked around for a moment before moving deeper into the house. She assumed the kitchen would be in the back, but when she opened the door, she was unprepared for the sheer size of the room. Who needed a kitchen this big? Vynn was the only one who lived here, and she knew this was his family home, that he grew up here. But going by the picture over the mantel, it’d only been him and his parents growing up.

  Why the need for a home this big and grand? This kitchen could fit a family of ten with ease and still have room for more.

  She didn’t think it would ever make sense to her, but she supposed it didn’t have to. Who was she to judge how others wanted to live?

  Exploring a bit, she found the makings for turkey sandwiches and got everything out, then began slicing a tomato. Her mouth was already watering. It’d been ages since she had anything other than squirrel or rabbit meat, and random edible plants she happened to come across. This was going to be so good.

  She was tearing lettuce for the sandwich when a noise hit her ears. Turning her head, her body froze and her breath caught as she saw Vynn standing in the doorway. He was only wearing a pair of low slung pajama bottoms, and as she watched, he lifted an arm, his biceps bulging, as he rubbed a hand over his hair, yawning.

  Squirming, she struggled to take in another breath, trying to look away. But she couldn’t, swallowing painfully as she drank him in. His chest was sculpted with muscle, his pecs hard, a tattoo decorating his left one. The hills and valleys of his abs were well defined, and he had a V over his hips, pointing to an area that made her blood heat.

  His soft looking pajamas were riding low, and the material was clinging to the bulge between his legs. She probably shouldn’t be staring at it, but she couldn’t help herself. Desire was rushing through her, and she was pretty sure she’d never felt it this strongly.

  No, she knew she hadn’t. And she suddenly wondered if maybe they could have some fun while she was here. Lord only knew when she’d get the opportunity again with someone else, or if she’d ever instantly want a man like she found herself wanting him.

  She’d only had sex once before, and it’d been nothing to write home about it. Uncomfortable, messy, and not very pleasant, and she hadn’t felt any d
esire to try it again. But she somehow knew that it would be so much different with Vynn.

  Mine.

  She frowned as her fox’s voice floated up inside her. She still didn’t know exactly what her animal meant by that, but it wasn’t what had her attention. It was the fact that for the first time in as long as she could remember, her fox wasn’t fighting her for her body. Ashley had dropped her guards a bit while she ogled Vynn, and that was usually more than enough for her fox to grapple for control. But she wasn’t even trying.

  What the hell did that mean?

  “I thought I heard you moving around. Shit, Ash, I’m sorry. I should have made sure you ate something earlier.”

  His voice drew her out of her thoughts, and she shrugged as she finally pried her eyes away from him, looking back at the ingredients she was readying. “I didn’t give you much of a chance. I just wanted to escape to my room and get away from you.”

  From the corner of her eye, she saw his eyebrows shoot up as he came closer. “You wanted to get away from me?”

  “Well, not away from you, exactly. More like away from the questions.”

  His lips quirked. “Okay, duly noted. No questions for the rest of the night.”

  “Like that means a lot,” she said with a snort. “It’s pretty late already. I hope it’s okay that I came down and rummaged around in here. Do you want a sandwich?”

  “Make yourself at home while you’re here, Ash.” He leaned against the counter next to her. “Sure, I’d like one. You look like you know how to do them up right.”

  She glanced at him before looking at the counter where all her supplies were laid out. Turkey, white American cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions. She couldn’t wait to eat a sandwich with all of this on it. Even before she started her journey, she hadn’t had the money to buy extras like those. She didn’t reply, just shrugged as she quickly cut the onions.

  Pushing off the counter, he glanced at the array of sandwich fixings before going to the fridge. “I’ll get the mayonnaise. Want a Coke with it?”

  Mouth instantly watering, she nodded enthusiastically. “Yes! I’ve only had a Coke once before, and it was so good. And I’ve never had mayonnaise, but if you say it’ll be good on the sandwiches, I’ll trust you.”

  Pausing in the act of filling glasses with ice, he looked at her, eyebrows high. “How is it that you’ve never had mayo, and only had Coke once?”

  Shrugging, she stacked ingredients onto thick slices of bakery bread. “Money was always really tight growing up. If it wasn’t a necessity, we didn’t have it.”

  He shook his head as he finished pouring their drinks, carrying them to the table before grabbing a knife and slathering the mayonnaise on the bread. “It’s hard to imagine not growing up with Coke and mayo, though. They seem like necessities to me.”

  She finished making the sandwiches and quickly put away the leftover toppings. Carrying them to the table where he was setting their glasses down, she studied him, wondering if he was judging the way she grew up. So many had, from teachers and other kids growing up, to people at the warehouse when she was old enough to work.

  She’d never cared, and it wasn’t that she necessarily cared now. She did, just not in the sense that it would hurt her feelings. She would just hate the idea of him being a man who was capable of doing it.

  But while he looked curious, there was no hint of him looking down on her. Relief washed over her, and she frowned, not understanding why she cared so much about his reaction.

  Shaking the thoughts out of her head, she sat down and immediately picked up her sandwich, taking a huge bite. Her eyes closed as flavor exploded on her tongue, and she let out a moan as she savored it. It was even better than she thought it would be.

  Opening her eyes, Ashley looked across the table to find Vynn sitting frozen, his sandwich halfway to his mouth, eyes glued on her lips. When he glanced up, her breath caught at the heat in his brown eyes. They were lightened with the whiskey shade of his tiger, and pressure built in her middle as they gazed at each other.

  She wanted to say something to break the tension—or, better yet, add to it. But she forced her gaze back to her food and took another bite. “Mayo is pretty good. Good call on that.”

  Nodding, he looked away and tucked into his own sandwich. They ate in silence for a few minutes, and she looked regretfully at her food as she took a sip of her drink. There was still a quarter of it left, but she’d stacked it high with ingredients, and she hadn’t eaten all day. She was stuffed, and even though she wanted to polish it off, she didn’t think she could.

  “So tell me what it was like for you growing up.”

  “What happened to not asking me questions tonight?”

  He shrugged. “I guess I changed my mind.”

  Frowning, she shook her head as she looked at him. “Why do you keep asking me all these questions?”

  “Because your words have me curious about you and what your life’s been like.”

  She arched an eyebrow in challenge. “You keep asking me all kinds of questions, but you haven’t told me anything about yourself. What was your life like growing up?”

  Vynn considered Ashley as she stared at him, a challenge in her grayish green eyes. Fuck, she was gorgeous. He honestly never noticed women who weren’t like him, with Indian heritage. He was raised to believe everyone else was inferior, and even though there were times he secretly thought that was straight bullshit, he’d still never been attracted to women of different nationalities.

  But Ashley… when he looked at her, she took his breath away. Creamy white skin, bright red hair, gray-green eyes. So different from the women in his tribe, with their caramel skin, black hair, and brown eyes. And yet, there was no one more beautiful than Ashley.

  His mate. That still blew his mind. The fact that he was entertaining accepting her as his mate was even more unbelievable, but he knew he’d regret it forever if he didn’t.

  He already longed to make her life better. She’d been living in the woods, and from her words about necessities, he didn’t think her life before that was much better. He knew she was planning on getting a bus ticket in Denver, but she was going to walk there from here—and how far had she already walked to get this close?

  Yeah, he wanted to make her life better. Wanted to give her everything she’d been denied so far in life and more. Wanted to make sure she never wanted for anything, and that she was happy.

  For someone who’d only ever thought of himself, those urges were the weirdest thing he’d ever felt. And he felt them more strongly than he’d ever felt anything before. It was the most important thing to him—more important than his revenge, even.

  Oh, he still planned on taking Ian and Luke down. But it wasn’t first on his to-do list anymore. She was.

  I actually thought for a moment that you were truly changing, but you’re still set on revenge. At least you know she comes first. It’s something, his tiger said, sounding disgruntled.

  I’ll never give up on getting my revenge. You need to accept that.

  Clearing his throat, he focused on Ashley again. “What do you want to ask me?”

  Her eyes went wide, like she hadn’t been expecting him to go along with it. Biting down on her lower lip, she hesitated. “How old are you?”

  His brow furrowed as he cocked his head. “That’s it? I basically gave you permission to ask me anything, and that’s what you want to know?”

  She shrugged, causing the neckline of the shirt she was wearing to slip down her shoulder. The neckline of his shirt. Fuck, what seeing her in it did to him. He wanted to rip it off of her and tell her to never take it off, all at the same time.

  “I don’t talk to people much. Ever, really. It was the first thing that popped in my head.”

  Lips quirking, he shook his head. “I’m twenty-eight. You?”

  “Twenty-four,” she replied, eyes narrowing. “Okay, fine, since you want a better question. If you want me to tell you about my life growing
up, then tell me about yours first.”

  He froze. For some reason, he hadn’t expected her to ask him about his life growing up. And it wasn’t something he talked about. Hell, it wasn’t even something he thought about.

  But if he wanted her to open up, it was only reasonable to do the same for her.

  Inhaling deeply, he nodded, wondering where to start. “Okay. I grew up here in Durga Valley. Up until recently, it was strictly a tiger shifter community. The gates were closed, and only a select few were able to come and go as they pleased. It was founded a couple of hundred years ago by immigrants from India, so we’re predominantly of Indian heritage. We have some of Russian descent, and a few other nationalities, but those with Indian heritage are at the top of the food chain.

  “We have warriors here—some of the best in the world, and I’m one of them. We’re virtually indestructible. Everyone was ranked, and the best of the warriors, along with those with pure Indian blood, were automatically ranked higher and given the best of things. Best career choices, best homes, best everything. Women’s roles hadn’t advanced much since Durga was founded, and there were other… unsavory aspects of the tribe. We have noble families and royalty, and when Kabir, our old alpha, died, his son Kian took his place, and he changed virtually everything.”

  He paused as Ashley shook her head. “I asked about your history, not the town’s. I’m not sure why you’re telling me all this.”

  “Because the history of the town plays into how I grew up. My family is of noble blood, and my father was a strict supporter of the old ways. And that’s how he raised me. He was harsh and strict, and he liked to beat his lessons into me. To make sure they stuck, I suppose. My mother died when I was young, and while she never beat me herself, she didn’t stop my father. He beat on her, too. I suspect that’s how she died. An internal injury inflicted by my father.

  “He was a bastard, no doubt, but it was an effective way to learn. Everything he taught me, I believed. That I was superior to almost everyone in the tribe, and those who weren’t of our tribe had no value or worth. That the only acceptable way to think was to only think about myself.”