1
Cougar Falls,Montana
Cullen Whitefeather swore as the snow descended. He loved a white Christmas as much as the next guy, but he wasn’t too keen on traveling through the white crap. And considering it was mid-March, he figured he’d had enough snow to last him through another winter wonderland.
Nights of no sleep compounded with his dislike of the slick ice forming on the ground even now. His stomach grumbled and, blinded by the glaring sun, he almost missed an open spot. Parking, he quickly left his truck, darted into a very crowded diner, and stomped his boots free of the snow.
He glanced around the Fox’s Henhouse, looking for a place to sit. The Chastells sat in one corner.Damn cats always took the best defensive positions.He wasn’t surprised to see members of the bear clan in another corner. And there, in the middle, sat several of his new clan, now that the eagle clan had disbanded. The raptors. At a nod from Mike Shaw, he joined the group, wishing he’d arrived earlier.
He didn’t particularly like Mike and his friends. Though the new clan included all the diurnal birds of prey, he missed the eagles, being a golden eagle himself. By and large, raptors tended to hang out in groups, and Cullen lived a solitary existence. The damn clan could get cloying at times, barely giving a body breathing room. There was always some drama or another stirring the need to shed blood and compete to mate. As if Cullen could ever preen for a female’s attentions. He could barely string two sentences together whenevershewas around.
Distracted by the aroma of cinnamon and vanilla drawing close, Cullen inhaled and focused on getting a piece of that heaven. To his right, a lucky pair of foxes dug into their breakfast, and he could only stare with envy. Mac made the best waffles in Montana, and Cullen lived for Sarah’s coffee.
Sarah Duncan.He spent way too much time thinking about the captivating woman, and he couldn’t explain why. They were both Ac-taw, but then most of the folks in Cougar Falls were shapeshifters. Those who weren’t had shapeshifter blood somewhere in their family tree.
“Cullen.” Sarah stood next to him with a pot of coffee in hand. She wore her dark brown hair in a ponytail, exposing the creamy expanse of her neck and the soft planes of her face. When the light hit her just right, thin strands of gold and red shimmered in that sable hair. All in all, a mouthwatering package topped with a generous smile. “What can I get you?”
As usual, his tongue tied in knots, and he had to force himself to take a moment, playing it cool. Otherwise, he’d fawn like a fool.
“More like whatcan’the get from you,” Mike Shaw said with a snicker.
“Excuse me?” Sarah paused with the pot just over Cullen’s cup.
So close, and yet so far from breakfast.Cullen nudged the carafe with his mug. To his relief, she poured him a full cup of steaming-hot brew. She brushed against his arm, and his body tingled from the contact.
“Waffles, please,” he said in a rumble.
Sarah nodded and turned, but not before Mike added in a loud voice, “Jenny’s not too happy with you right now. Best you steer clear of clan central for a while.”
She turned back around. “What the hell are you talking about?” There was no love lost between Sarah and Mike, not since she’d rejected him at the last festival dance in front of everyone. Though Cullen didn’t participate in social events, even he’d heard about Mike’s crash and burn.
“Please.” Mike scoffed. “Everyone knows about you hitting on Dennis. ’Course, from what I remember, you favor married men, isn’t that right?”
Cullen couldn’t tear his gaze from Sarah’s face. He wanted to pound Mike into the floor, but the shame that darkened Sarah’s cheeks stopped him. What the hell was Mike talking about?
“Yessiree,” Rob Jenkins added from the other side of the table and turned to Mike. “Wasn’t it your brother who was taken advantage of by that same pretty face not so long ago?”
Sarah opened her mouth to speak then seemed to notice how quiet the diner had become. “Will was a mistake. You know better than anyone about mistakes,” she said to Mike in a low voice. “But I don’t know what you’re talking about with Dennis. I haven’t even seen him in weeks.”
“Not what he says,” Rob answered.
“No matter how many times he tries to say no, you just won’t let him go, will you? Hard for a man to reject those pretty thighs,” Mike murmured and nodded to her slim legs encased in jeans. “Especially what’s in between them.”
Cullen’s heart beat too fast. Rage settled over him like a smothering blanket, and he had to work to control himself. Sarah and Dennis Larsen? Larsen was not only one of the raptor clan leaders, but a married man to boot. Raptors considered marriage a sacred bond. They didn’t tolerate adulterers well at all.
Sarah leaned closer to Mike, a predatory gleam in her eyes. “You’ve been waiting for this, haven’t you? You push and you push because you think I won’t break. Well, guess what, Mike? You want to hash it out? I’ll be happy to explain to everyone just what the hell’s been going on.”
“You don’t want to say anything you might regret,” Mike hastily interrupted. “Admitting you were foolin’ around might get you banned from the clan.”
Banishment from the clan meant banishment from the town. Cullen wanted to shout at Sarah not to say anything, but his lips were frozen shut.
“You’re just pissed because you weren’t as clever as your brother. The only reason Will got lucky is because he lied. I had no idea he was married when he charmed me into bed with promises of happily-ever-after. Funny that happened three years ago, yet you keep bringing it up, don’t you? And Dennis?” She laughed, a grating sound both ugly and pained. “He’sthe one who won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Clan leader? More like clan loser. He’s hard up for sex since Jenny won’t give him any, not since she found him screwing around on her thelasttime. I wouldn’t touch him if my life depended on it.
“So you go ahead, Mike. You air out the clan’s dirty laundry. And while you’re at it, you can stop telling everyone I’m the town whore. I never earned that title. But your brother and Dennis sure the hell did.” Looking around her at the stunned patrons staring in shock, she put the coffeepot on their table, took the receipt book out of her back pocket, and threw it at Mike. “Go fuck yourself, ’cause no one else in Cougar Falls will.”
Sarah stormed away, disappearing behind the counter into the back.
No one spoke for a few moments.
