“That sounds boring, but okay! If that is the rule, I will mind the rule. Probably.”
He swallowed his chuckle because the headstrong woman didn’t need any encouragement. He made his way around the side-by-side and sat in the passenger’s seat.
Gwen was already buckled and poking every button on his rig.
He gave her a quick lesson. After she’d turned it on and put it into gear, he shoved one of the blankets over her lap so she didn’t keel over from hypothermia or something, and off they went.
He guided her through the trees because he had this trail memorized, buried in snow or not. For the next hour, she got to see his property and the territory line of the bear, but she didn’t know that last part. Nor would she ever meet the bear.
She blabbed on about her life and he clung to every word like sap on a pine tree. He would remember every story she told him about her life until the day he died. Which would probably be very soon because above them, the crows were still circling.
He wasn’t the only one who knew about their warnings.
Every shifter around these parts knew about their warnings.
His options were to keep Gwen locked away inside and hope the crows went away—which they wouldn’t—or enjoy the day with her and ignore the assholes flying above them.
Either way, hell was coming for him.
Chapter Five
Today had been the best day ever. Sure, her hands were blistered from raking hay out of the pens earlier, and her arms and legs would be sore for a week, and her face felt like someone had spiked a volleyball into it, but she’d spent the last two hours riding all over the mountains in a real-life side-by-side with Aux.
And now, he’d said yes to lighting the burn pile tonight!
The sun was setting as she dragged a pair of rocking chairs all the way from the barn to sit beside the bonfire he was building. Currently, he was pouring lighter fluid onto it, and she was cracking a pair of beers open. In ten minutes, they’d gotten the chairs set up and the beers stuck in the snow to keep them frosty. Music was playing on a Bluetooth speaker and a cooler was filled with snacks, not including Cheez-Its because she’d checked and he really didn’t have any. Mostly he had different flavors of beef jerky and smoked salmon, but whatever. He was a bachelor and could enjoy whatever diet of straight meat he wanted to. At least he had Coors in stock, and that was her third favorite beer.
“Ready?” Aux asked, tossing the empty lighter fluid can to the side.
Gwen grinned at him, holding both of their beers from where she sat well away from the fire in her rocking chair. “Ready!”
Aux struck a match, tossed it onto the pile, and lit up the evening sky.
He stood there, striking such a handsome profile, staring into the flames with this faraway look on his face. At least he’d stopped wearing the mask. His beard was down to his chest. Now, she’d never been a fan of beards before, but he sure did wear it well. He was out here in the freezing weather and snow in a long-sleeved gray shirt with three buttons undone at the neck. The shirt hugged his physique, allowing her to see his abs and the curve of his strong shoulders. His neck was thick and his legs powerful. He was the most masculine creature she’d ever laid eyes on.
“I can feel you watching me, stalker,” he said in that gritty voice.
“You’re different than most people, aren’t you?”
“Maybe I’m not a person at all.” He slid a silver-eyed look to her and her heart thumped oddly in her chest. In the firelight his features looked sharp, and his eyes otherworldly. He looked more animal than man.
Something really was different about him.
Aux strode for her and sank deep into the rocking chair she’d dragged out here for him. He stretched one knee out and took the beer she offered him, checking the sky as he took a long swig.
Gwen followed his line of sight, but the sun had almost set and it was still snowing. All she could see was a glimpse of some birds flying above them. “Are they vultures?” she asked.
“People in town call them crows.”
“Oh. I know what those are.”
“Not these. No one understands what these are. They’ve been circling this place since yesterday, and for what? Don’t they get hungry? Don’t they get tired? They’re little shit-starters is what they are. Do you know how I found you yesterday?”
“How?”
He pointed up. “The crows told me where you were. They’re circling you for some reason. They think you’re important.”
“Is that good or bad?”
Aux shook his head slowly and scanned the darkening woods. “Only time will tell, but I think bad for me.”
Why did that admission sting her so much? Why did it make her chest feel too tight to draw a deep breath? “What do you mean, I’m bad for you?”
He smiled but it didn’t reach his churning silver eyes. “Did you have fun today?”
Oh, she knew what he’d just done. He wasn’t even that smooth at a subject-change, but okay. “I had a blast. It was the perfect day to forget about the mess of my life. I actually felt normal. It’s been a while.”
“Want to hear something crazy?” he asked.
“Yep!”
“You made me feel normal today, too.”
The ache in her chest lessened. “Been a while?”
“It’s maybe the first day I’ve ever felt normal.” And there it was—the smile that reached his eyes and transformed his face into something awe-striking. “It just took a blow-dryer-obsessed stubborn woman who wouldn’t fuckin’ quit talking to give it to me.”
She giggled and took a sip of her beer. “I’m pretty magical like that. Aux Franklin Buttermilk, I am a diamond in a sea of pebbles. The crows gave you luck when they pointed to me.”
“Auxor Cyrus Bane,” he corrected her.
“Oh my gosh, how are you this hot and have the coolest name in the whole world?”
He snorted. “I guess I’m a diamond in a sea of pebbles, too.” His voice sounded very sarcastic right now, like he didn’t really realize how different he was. Aux stared into the fire for a minute before he spoke again. “My brothers have unique names too. Moore Dunnan Bane, and Bricken Gunn Bane.”
“Your parents must be very cool.”
“My parents are dead, and before you give me that sympathetic look and tell me you’re sorry for my loss, don’t be. The world is better off without them.”
Eesh. “How old are your brothers?” she asked in an attempt to change the subject like he’d done, and to take some of the fire from his eyes that had appeared at the mention of his parents.
“Same age as me. Thirty-five.”
Gwen nearly choked on the beer she was sipping. “You’re a triplet?”
“Twins and triplets run in my family. There hasn’t been a single cub born in thirty generations.”
Cub? “Sooo, you’ll probably have twins or triplets?”
Aux shook his head slowly. “The Bane line will end with me and my brothers. We took an oath. We’re breaking the curse.”
“What curse? Why would you take an oath never to have kids?”
He slid her another empty smile. “Because the world would be better off.”