The Snow Leopard's Love Read online

  Rift chuckled before his expression cleared as he met Belle’s gaze. She hated the effect he had on her. It was as if a part of her was no longer under her control. She held his gaze for a moment longer and then followed her mom into the house.

  “The kitchen is this way.” She led them past the living room where half-filled boxes held her uncle’s stuff. Most of it was earmarked for the local thrift store, a couple of boxes were filled with items Katrina wanted to keep, the rest was heading for the trash.

  As her eyes rested on the boxes, she couldn’t help the wave of pity that swept over her. The contents of the boxes were the total sum of her uncle’s life. A wasted life, one filled with a disregard for other people. Katrina often said her brother lived to hurt others.

  Now, it seemed, Belle’s father was also responsible for a great deal of hurt.

  “Here. Sit down.” Katrina swept the pile of newspapers that they’d been using to wrap anything breakable off the kitchen table and brushed her hand across the surface.

  “Please, don’t go to any trouble.” Rift hovered close to Belle, she could sense him even when her back was turned.

  “It’s no trouble.” Katrina was already gathering cups from the cupboards. She checked them to see if they were clean and then ran hot water into the sink and added dish soap. The whole house needed a thorough cleaning, but that wasn’t their problem. Reggie had only lived here for a few short months after he’d left prison, while the dirt ingrained in the floors and the thick dust on the sideboard in the hallway had taken years to accumulate.

  They were only here to collect Reggie’s stuff. She glanced over her shoulder at their visitors then at her mom. On the drive here, Katrina had been anxious to get in, get Reggie’s stuff, and leave as soon as possible. She’d seemed unusually nervous but with the arrival of the shifters and the fae, Katrina had forgotten her haste.

  Katrina glanced up at her daughter and a soft smile slipped onto her lips before she went back to washing the cups. What did her mom know about shifters? Katrina had never said a word about them before. She’d certainly never given any indication that Nathan had been one.

  A wolf shifter. Belle had often wondered if Katrina and Nathan’s relationship had been more than a platonic friendship. He’d been a part of their lives for a couple years when Belle was younger. As close to a father figure as she’d ever gotten. Which didn’t say much at all since Nathan treated Belle as an inconvenience more than anything else.

  “I’ll pour the coffee.” Belle dried each cup as her mom washed them and set them down on the counter before filling them with coffee and passing them around to the group of people huddled in the kitchen.

  After she’d finished washing the cups, Katrina dried her hands and then fetched a Tupperware container filled with homemade cookies she’d baked yesterday. “Help yourself.”

  “Thanks.” Elise dipped her hand in the container and took a cookie. “Oh, these are so good.”

  “I like to bake,” Katrina admitted. “I find it relaxing.”

  “They are good,” Aiden agreed and eyed the remaining cookies.

  “Where are the children?” Belle’s heart hammered as she headed out of the kitchen and along the hallway.

  “They’re upstairs. I can sense them. They’re running water into the sink,” Rift told her.

  “You can hear all that?” Belle asked. “From there.” She pointed to Rift who was still in the kitchen.

  “I can.” He followed her to the foot of the stairs. “There’s no one else around.” His brows knitted together. “Who are you afraid of, Belle?”

  Her breath came out in a long huff. “Who said I’m afraid of anyone?”

  “I can tell by the tension in your body and the way you keep switching your attention to the front door.” He stared at her, waiting for an answer.

  “I don’t know who I’m scared of,” she said quietly, looking toward the kitchen where her mom was talking to Aiden.

  “But there is someone?”

  “My uncle wasn’t a good man. Now he’s dead...” She glanced at the boxes in the living room. “I just want to get out of here and leave the past behind. This place gives me the creeps.”

  “You didn’t answer my question.” Rift was certainly persistent.

  “I don’t know if there is anyone we should be afraid of. But I’m certain my mom thinks there is.” Belle met his gaze. His eyes were deep pools of emotion and she wanted to dive right in and be consumed by him. Yet to let her guard down was dangerous. They had only just met and for all Belle knew, these were the people she should have been afraid of.

  She tensed. If they weren’t shifters, would Katrina have been more suspicious of them showing up at Reggie’s house today of all days? They’d only planned on being here for three or four hours at most. What were the chances that Rift and his friends would arrive at the same time?

  Rift, who admitted to having strong senses, senses that could tell him if someone was close by. What if he and the others had been waiting for Belle and Katrina to arrive? They might have been lurking around the house waiting for them to arrive. The landlord knew they were coming to clear the house. Perhaps he’d told them.

  Now Katrina had invited them into the house. Anything could happen. There would be no eyewitnesses.

  “What can I do to help?” Rift’s offer surprised her. But what if there was something in the house that they were looking for? Perhaps Reggie had something of value that they wanted. Or evidence left over from his years of crime that they needed.

  “Nothing,” Belle replied. “Except drink your coffee, ask any questions you might have, and then leave and let us get on with our lives.”

  His eyes darkened. “If that’s what you really want. But I’d rather stay by your side and protect you and your family.”

  “I’ve been doing just fine on my own. I can handle whatever comes my way,” she replied with more courage than she felt. She could not let him know she was scared. And she could not let him know she suspected him and his friends of being the ones she needed to run from.

  “I believe you.” He pressed his lips into a thin line and fell silent for a moment before he said, “But if you had no idea about shifters, you have no idea of what other danger there might be out there.”

  Color flooded her cheeks. “Is that a threat?”

  His shoulders sagged forward. “No. I can never hurt you.”

  She let out a short, humorless laugh. “Everyone is capable of hurting someone.”

  “I’m not capable of hurting you,” he replied solemnly. “At least not intentionally.”

  “Why?” She rounded on him, her hands on her hips as she tilted her chin in challenge.

  “Because we are mates.” He pointed to her and then back at himself as she opened her mouth to reply but no words came out. She wanted to tell him to back off, that he was crazy, but as she looked into his eyes, as she studied his expression, she didn’t have the heart. He believed it. Whether it was true or not didn’t matter.

  Rift believed they were mates.

  “And what exactly does that mean?” she asked. “To a shifter.”

  “Everything,” he replied.

  “Everything.” She believed him. Hadn’t she felt the connection between them? Didn’t she know it to be true deep down in her soul? “Words. These are all just words and I’ve heard them all before.”

  Her temper flared, she was allowing herself to get sucked in by this man. This shifter. Well, she’d been sucked in before by a man who talked about love and loyalty and soulmates.

  And he’d let her down, just as her father and Nathan had let down her mom.

  “I realize I don’t mean anything to you. Yet.” His eyes locked with hers and he reached out to touch her arm, but then let his hand drop to his side. “But give me a chance and I will prove myself to you.”

  “Rift... You seem like a nice guy...” But looks could be deceptive.

  “Before you say but, can I ask you to just give me a
chance and keep an open mind?” He took in a shaky breath. “I’m not expecting anything from you. I’m just asking you not to push me away.”

  “I don’t need a man in my life,” she told him harshly, then pointed upstairs. “After their dad left, I promised myself I wouldn’t be sucked in by a man again. My focus is on my children. You’re wasting your time.”

  “Being there for you will never be a waste of time,” he replied.

  “You’re determined not to do as I ask even though you said you would never hurt me.” She shook her head. “I’m going upstairs to check on the children. When I come back down, my mom and I will answer your questions as best we can but then I want you to leave.”

  He reeled back as if she’d hit him, she’d pushed him away and it hurt her like a physical wound. Yet she wasn’t going to take it back.

  Even if he looked as if she’d stabbed him in the heart.

  Chapter Four – Rift

  She means it.

  I know, Rift answered his snow leopard.

  What do we do? His snow leopard paced up and down in Rift’s mind before raising his head and mewling mournfully.

  We give her space and try to convince her that we’re here for her. Rift closed his eyes briefly and reached for the handrail as Belle ran upstairs to her children.

  That sounds like a contradiction, his snow leopard said.

  It is. We have to figure out how to show her she needs us without pressuring her. Belle’s fiercely independent, and we have to respect that. Rift dragged his hand through his hair and went back to the kitchen.

  Five pairs of eyes turned to look at him as he leaned against the counter, his arms folded across his body. Katrina passed him a cup of coffee. “You look as if you need something stronger.”

  “I feel as if I need something stronger,” he admitted.

  “She’ll come around,” Katrina promised. “My daughter doesn’t have much trust in men, unfortunately. So you won’t have it easy, but she will come around.”

  “What do you know about shifters?” Rift asked, his attention fixed on his mate as she went to her children.

  “I know they exist, I know about the mating bond, at least I’ve had it explained to me.” She smiled sadly, her eyes misted with tears. “Unfortunately, the person who told me about the mating bond was Nathan. He wasn’t exactly trustworthy. But when I saw the way you looked at Belle, it triggered the memory I have of his explanation. I’d forgotten it, it was such a long time ago.”

  “Katrina has your cell phone number,” Caleb spoke quietly. “If ever Belle needs you, she’ll call.”

  “And if she doesn’t need me?” Rift asked miserably.

  Katrina approached him and slipped her arm around his shoulders. “I’ll figure something out. Belle deserves a man who will love and cherish her. Jack and Rosie deserve a father who will love and care for them. Not the jerk who has conveniently forgotten he brought two children into this world.”

  “Belle’s coming,” Rift said quietly, and Katrina squeezed him tightly before she let him go. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” She looked toward the window. “I just hope we don’t bring you trouble.”

  Before she could elaborate, Belle came downstairs followed by Jack and Rosie. “Grab a cookie and some soda and go eat them in the living room,” Belle instructed. “Just don’t mix up any of the stuff we’ve already packed into boxes.”

  “We won’t,” Rosie promised and took two cookies, handing one to Jack after he got two sodas from the fridge.

  Belle watched the children go into the living room and then said, “Right, we still have a lot to do today so let’s get the questions out of the way so you can leave.”

  Flora glanced at Rift, her mouth curled into a sympathetic smile. Rift nodded, his mouth twitching up at the corners. Belle might not want him here now, but with Katrina’s help, there was hope.

  “What can you tell us about Reggie and Murray?” Aiden asked.

  “They were no good,” Katrina answered.

  “Can you elaborate?” Caleb asked. “Our father worked undercover and was partly responsible for Reggie’s arrest and as far as we know, Reggie had our parents killed because of it. Then Murray took Caleb and me from our foster home. We can...” He cleared his throat. “We can understand why Reggie had our parents killed but we have no idea why we were kidnapped.”

  “Reggie was a vengeful man,” Katrina began. “When he was arrested, he tried to wriggle off the hook but there was too much evidence stacked against him. Evidence, I expect, that came from your father.”

  “And you didn’t know if he was involved in the death of our parents?” Aiden asked.

  “No!” Katrina shook her head. “My brother never told me his business before I moved away. And after we left, we hardly ever spoke. It’s like he thought I’d betrayed him by leaving and that suited me just fine.”

  “Mom wasn’t involved in that world,” Belle said. “She split with my father when I was very young. My dad and Reggie were friends from high school. They were very tight, isn’t that right, Mom?”

  Katrina nodded. “Yes.” She looked down at the dirty linoleum. “I was young and stupid. Murray was a good talker. I suppose I was in awe of him and didn’t see the bad in him. Not until it was too late.”

  “Mom had me when she was barely a teenager,” Belle added.

  “Reggie was five years older than me. He’d gotten into a few scrapes at school but nothing serious. At the time I started dating Murray, I had no idea of the world they belonged to. I had no idea about their criminal activities.” Katrina glanced at Aiden and Caleb. “At least not at first. Then they got in deep with a gang of criminals and things escalated quickly. I saw the change in Murray. I didn’t like it, but he wouldn’t listen to me.”

  “And so Mom ended it with Murray and left.” Belle went to her mom and slid her arm around her. “She took me away from my dad because she was scared.”

  “I moved across the country,” Katrina said. “I put as much distance between me and Murray as I could. But after a few months, he persuaded me that a child needs her father. Reggie was in prison and he said he’d turned over a new leaf. And so I would drive to meet him a couple of times a month. Just so he could see Belle.”

  “The last time Mom was supposed to meet him, he never showed up.” Belle rested her head on Katrina’s shoulder. “My dad was found dead three days later.”

  “That was at the time he kidnapped us,” Caleb said.

  “I had no idea,” Katrina insisted. “I genuinely believed him when he said he was going straight. He talked about getting a job.”

  “You had no reason not to believe him,” Aiden said kindly. “None of this is on you.”

  “Then why do I feel responsible?” Katrina took a shuddering breath. “How could he kidnap children? And why?”

  “Like my mom already told you, she has no information that can help you. She didn’t know about Reggie and your parents, and she didn’t know about Murray and you.”

  “Is there anything you can think of that might help?” Caleb asked.

  “No, but it was such a long time ago.” Katrina put her fingers to her temples and massaged them. “Maybe something will come back to me. But when Murray was killed and with Reggie in jail, we had a shot at a normal life. And I took it.”

  “You didn’t visit Reggie in jail?” Caleb asked. He glanced at Aiden and then at Rift. If any of the brothers had turned out rotten if they had made mistakes and gone to prison, would the others have abandoned them?

  “A couple of times at first. He told me he wanted to change and that he realized what he’d done was wrong.” Katrina shook her head sadly. “But then he asked me to deliver a message to someone and I realized he was just trying to use me. When I said no, he got angry.” She closed her eyes. “I can still see his face, he looked at me as if he hated me, his lips curled in a snarl. I got up and left and never went back.”

  “What message?” Rift asked.

>   “I don’t know. He never told me.” She put her face in her hands. “I went home, packed the apartment up, and moved. I never told him the new address and I never heard from him again.”

  “What about after he left prison?” Caleb asked.

  “Reggie never contacted me. I didn’t even know he’d been released until he died, and the authorities contacted me. I was his next of kin and it took a couple of weeks for them to trace me.” She held out her hands. “That is why we are here. Closure. I can finally move on without fear of him finding us.”

  Belle glanced at her mom. “We should finish packing up Reggie’s stuff. I want to get the kids home before bedtime.”

  “We can help,” Elise offered. “Since we’ve held you up.”

  “No!” Belle put her hand up in protest. “We can manage.”

  “Why don’t you at least let us help with the boxes?” Rift suggested, needing to prolong his time with his mate. He was not ready for her to walk out of his life just yet.

  “We can manage,” Belle insisted.

  “Let them help,” Katrina placed her hand on the small of her back. “It’s okay to accept help from people.”

  “Is it?” Belle shook her head. “How many times have we told the children not to talk to strangers and here we are inviting strangers into the house and allowing them to help us?”

  “This is different,” Katrina insisted.

  “Why?” Belle’s challenge was met by a pained expression from her mom. “You’re going to say because they’re shifters even though Nathan was a shifter and he sure as hell wasn’t trustworthy!”

  “This is different because Rift is your mate.” Katrina half-turned to look at Rift who moved closer. If only there was a way to prove to Belle here and now exactly what he was to her.

  “Rift already told me he is my mate,” Belle replied.

  “And did you explain to Belle exactly what that means?” Katrina continued before Rift had a chance to answer. She turned to face her daughter. “Did he tell you that you and he are meant to be together, forever? That he didn’t just show up here by chance? That it was fate because you and he are soul mates?”