Wild Instinct by Sarah McCarty Page A

him. Especially if Daire was able to discern the full extent of his “talents.” However, his safety was secondary to her safety and he couldn’t stay with her if he didn’t do this. He held out his hand. Daire took it. There was that slightest whisper of power and then . . . nothing, except the collective tension of everyone in the room.
    Daire released his hand and grunted.
    “What the hell does that mean?” Kelon snapped, his long black hair sliding over his shoulder.
    “It means the McGowan instincts are sound.”
    Without another word, he turned and headed back to Teri.
    Kelon frowned after him. “The man delights in talking in riddles.”
    “I get the impression that he feels he said all he needed to say,” Donovan countered.
    Garrett wiggled his fingers. Not the slightest remnant of power lingered. Had his shields held or had Daire read his mind? The wolf knelt beside Teri, touching her cheek with the same tenderness as before.
    “Well, I need more.” Kelon lifted his lip in a snarl. “Can we trust him or not, Daire?”
    “For now.”
    Kelon rolled his eyes. “What the hell does that mean?”
    Garrett didn’t care. He grabbed Sarah and pulled her into his side. He felt better immediately. When Megan fussed, he took her into his arms. Her weight was as nothing against the unfamiliar weight of responsibility. For a moment, he wondered what the hell he was doing; then her little arms came around his neck and her breath blew across his skin. When Sarah Anne’s hand slipped into his, he knew. He was accepting his destiny. His family. His place.
    “It doesn’t matter what he meant.”
    Both Donovan and Kelon stared at him with that impassive way they had. And then they nodded. The way they would when any pack member gave his word.
    It was all shit, but somehow good.

Twelve
    “I’M not leaving without my son.”
    Sarah planted her feet at the cave mouth and tugged on her arm. Garrett paid her no mind, merely switched his grip to her waist and hefted her up. “Cur’s bringing him.”
    He said that as if it settled everything. “I don’t know Cur.”
    “You will.”
    “What does that mean?”
    “We pretty much share everything.”
    She’d lived among humans, seen rogues at their worst. “Like hell.” They weren’t sharing her.
    His green eyes cut to hers and that strange tingle went down her spine, as if he’d touched her deep inside. “You’ll do as you’re told.”
    “Not hardly.”
    “You lived too long among the humans.”
    And that was supposed to cow her? She’d left behind the pack behavior that said she had to submit to a male’s will when she’d married John. “Well, maybe I’ll go back.”
    He didn’t even look at her as he stepped over the large rock at the edge of the cave. “No, you won’t.”
    The morning air was damp with dew, redolent with scent. No matter how deeply she breathed, there was no scent of Josiah or Rachel. Her stomach clenched on an agony of anxiety. Was he all right?
    “Rachel might not go with your friend Cur.”
    All that got her, as he set her down, was a cock of an eyebrow and a curt, “One way or another, she’ll go.”
    She dug in her heels. “He’ll force her?”
    A small smile flirted with his lips. “Never yet known Cur to have to resort to force.”
    She assumed he referred to how handsome Cur was. “There’s a first time for everything.”
    With a tug of his hand he pulled her along. From her perch against his other shoulder, Megan giggled. “True enough,” Garrett responded.
    “But you’re not concerned?”
    “No.”
    “I’m not leaving Josiah.”
    At that he turned. With her hands still captured in his, he brought both to her cheek. “I’m bringing him to you, baby.”
    “I’m not a baby.”
    His eyes did a rapid but thorough perusal of her figure, starting at her head, lingering on her breasts, before traveling to her feet and then back up. She braced herself for the obvious retort. Instead he asked, “You walking, or