Free Cherishing Destiny (A Dangerous Destiny) by Noelle Blakely Page B

voice.
    Ryan bristled a little. “She’s my little sister, and I need
to make sure she is okay.”
    Alex, feeling insulted, shot back with, “I can assure you,
she is fine.  And where have you been for the last couple of years, Ryan?”
    Ryan looked at the ground and muttered something that
sounded like, “hunting in the mountains.” 
    He gave up all pretense of acting tough and said, “Please,
Mr. Lake, will you tell me where she is? I need to see her.”
    Alex rolled his eyes and sighed. “Fine, we’re at the first
farm you come to about two miles East of here.”
    “Thank you, Mr. Lake.  I will get there as fast as I can. 
Please, tell her that I’m on my way, and I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner. 
It’s so crazy out there.  I couldn’t call, and I was so afraid something might happen
to her.”  Ryan seemed to be spilling out all of his anxiety and gratitude.
    “Alright, Alright.  Sara is fine.  You will see for
yourself. Just be calm.” Alex tried to assure him.
    “Right.  I’m okay. Thanks again.”  Ryan relaxed a little.
    Wow, Weres are such slaves to their emotions
and their hormones.
    Ryan walked over to the gravesite. He said goodbye to old
Nate and crossed himself.
    Alex raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. “You’re Catholic?”
he asked.
    “Naw, just seemed like the right thing to do at a nice old
guy’s funeral” Ryan grinned sheepishly.
    “Oh,wow. That’s rich,” Alex exclaimed, completely
amused by the young Were.
      “Come on with me.” He held out
his hand to Ryan, and when he took it, Alex pulled him up onto the horse behind
him.
    They were trotting down the path, and Alex asked, “Did you
say you were hunting in the mountains?”
    “Yeah” was all Ryan said.
    “That gives me an idea,” Alex said half to himself. 
    They rode in silence until they were almost to the barn,
and Ryan spoke again.
    “Hey, can I ask you something, Mr. Lake?  Are you wearing
my coveralls?”

 
    Fourteen
    Alex crouched in front of the crude map he drew with a
stick on the dirt floor of the barn.  Ryan mirrored his posture from the
opposite side of the map.  He didn’t mind that his view was upside-down because
he knew the areas that Alex was describing intimately and he was having no
trouble picturing the route.  
    To see both men together this way, was a portrait of opposites,
but it couldn’t be denied that there were many similarities between them, as
well.   Alex was classically handsome, almost beautiful, with his golden
features and pale skin, and Ryan was sexuality in a bottle.  He was dark where
Alex was fair with skin tanned to a luscious bronze.  His hair was short and naturally
a little spiky, no products needed.  The black shadow of stubble on his face
made him appear just a little wild and dangerous.
    Both men were tall, within about an inch of each other, at
around 6’4” and 6’5” and they had similar builds.  Alex and Ryan, each
displayed fit, muscled, physiques with broad, hard chests, wide shoulders, and
narrow hips.  They boasted well shaped legs and rippled abs and their corded
arms look as if they could crush rock.
    They also seemed a lot alike in the way they carried themselves,
totally confident and comfortable with their bodies.  It was obvious, though,
that Alex was the more serious and brooding of the two, his brow furrowed with worry
so often.  Ryan was much more likely than Alex to flash his sparkling teeth in
an easy smile. 
    That smile was in evidence the moment Alex and Ryan walked
through the door, and he spotted his sister, Sara.  She ran at him and jumped
straight into his arms.  He caught her easily and held her tight with his eyes
closed and a wide grin that didn’t leave his face for at least fifteen
minutes.  It was still there when Sara introduced him to Aurora, who had never
met him even though he had lived on the Lake estate for almost a year at one
point. 
    Back then, Alex had told Aurora about his brief