Free Chosen Mate (Catamount Lion Shifters #2) by J.H. Croix Page A

to think. “Are you sure? I can’t believe Shana and Phoebe would take off like that.”
    Dane yanked his phone out of his pocket and tossed it to Jake. “Text is right there.”
    Jake snagged the phone and glanced at the screen. Sure enough, there was a text from Shana. I’m with Phoebe. We’re on our way to Montana. Don’t freak out. We’ll be fine. Visited Hank at the station. He had nothing to do with this. Someone has to check out Montana and it can’t be you and Jake, so we’re going. Call you when we land.
    “What the hell are they thinking?” Jake went to snatch his jacket. “Let’s go. We’ll follow them.”
    He quickly listened to the two messages from Phoebe—both explaining that Shana was taking off, and Phoebe thought someone needed to be with her. He swore and threw the phone. It bounced against the wall, and Dane caught it. Jake began pulling his jacket on only to find Dane standing there, arms crossed. “We’re talking to Hank first. I already checked their schedule. They won’t land for hours yet. Next flight out of Portland to Bozeman isn’t until tomorrow. Get on your computer and let’s pull up as much data as we can before we sort out who’s going after them.”
    Jake shook his head. “Let’s drive to Boston and leave from there. We’re not waiting.” Fury and fear thrummed through him, fuzzing his thoughts. Thoughts of Phoebe pounded with every beat of his heart. He’d finally let his heart experience what she meant to him, and it ran so deep, he couldn’t bear the thought that she might be following Shana into danger. He needed her like the air he breathed.
    Dane took a step back and blocked the door. Jake swore savagely and stood toe to toe with Dane, locking eyes with him. He didn’t want to shift, didn’t want to battle Dane, but he would if he had to.
    “What the hell is wrong with you?” Dane asked, placing his palm on Jake’s chest and pushing back. “Calm the fuck down. You know we have to think this through. I’m just as worried as you, but…” Dane paused and eyed him carefully. “What is with you?”
    Jake forced himself to breathe, reining in the urge to shift. He could barely contain it, his cat lay so close to the surface. He shook his head sharply. “Nothing’s with me. I’m scared for Phoebe and Shana. I’m surprised you’re not. These guys always seem to be one step ahead of us. We have no idea who Paul is, or why he was here. After what happened to Chloe, I can’t believe you’re asking me what’s wrong with me.”
    Dane’s eyes sharpened. “Of course I’m worried about Shana and Phoebe! And you of all people should know why I’m saying we should take a little time to think this through before we do anything. That’s exactly what you said the day Chloe went missing—that we had to take it one step at a time. That’s all I’m saying.”
    Jake heard Dane’s words, but barely. He couldn’t shake free the thought that something might happen to Phoebe. He’d finally, finally given in to what his heart and body had wanted for so many years and now he had to face the reality that she could be walking into a trap. When they’d discussed the fact that someone should probably get out to Montana to follow up on the leads they had, he’d never considered it would involve Phoebe. He wanted to talk to her now .
    Dane cleared his throat.
    Jake whipped his head back up to meet Dane’s eyes. “What?”
    “It’s Phoebe. You finally stopped running from how you feel about her.”
    Jake started to shake his head and then stopped abruptly. Dane was his closest male friend, a brother to him in spirit, as a human and a mountain lion. They’d been together every step of their lives. While they rarely spoke of emotions, he knew Dane felt things deeply. And he knew there was no sense in hiding his feelings from Dane. He took a breath, still wrestling to keep himself from shifting. The only thing stopping him was Dane’s calm presence, and the