NocC 004 - The Ancients 03 - Bonnie Vanak - Hunted by the Jaguar - Harlequin 2011-12 by Nocturne Page B

from any more foolish stunts like running off again.
    Ariana’s safety came first, before even his men’s needs.
    Perhaps Jarrett didn’t want to hurt her. But if his men did, and if they decided to turn her into jaguar bait… His chest constricted as he thought of the wolves ripping her to pieces.
    Ariana tucked her long legs beneath her. The beast growled again, remembering those silky legs wrapped around his hips. Remembering the sweetness of her heart-shaped ass beneath his questing palms.
    He paced before the stone fireplace and went to the window overlooking the cracked, dried meadow.
    “I broke a rule. A very big one.”
    Daimon thrust his hands into his jeans pockets. He stared out the window, every muscle in his body clenched. He felt like a tightly wound spring. If Ariana touched him, he’d snap. Inside, his beast gave a fierce coughing growl, wanting out.
    Hating this admission as much as the man did.
    She was sweetness and light, waiting quietly. She had infinite patience. Her white light hummed gently, sending soothing tendrils to snake around his body. Some of the tension fled, but he still could not meet her gaze.
    Taking a deep breath, he plunged in.
    “I’m the reason the Lawson pack hates us. It’s not territory.” He stared at his reflection in the polished glass. “You must have figured that out by now. All our food is brought here once a week. There’s plenty, and game in the forest, too.”
    Energy filled the air. In the window, he saw thicker ribbons of white light wrap around Ariana. They wended through the room like delicate wisps of smoke and wrapped around him.
    Soothing peace eased the tension at their touch. She was doing this, his dark angel with her shining goodness. And all he wanted was the darkness inside her.
    Guilt ate at him. He didn’t deserve peace. Daimon paced over to the stone fireplace.
    “Thirty years ago, the Society sent me on a difficult assignment. A rogue werewolf had killed two humans. They wanted the werewolf removed, permanently. It was tricky because the werewolf’s pack refused to surrender the rogue.”
    “The Lawson pack,” she guessed.
    “The situation called for diplomacy.” Daimon sighed. “I was far from a diplomatic person, but perhaps that’s why I was sent, to teach me restraint. Bad idea. It backfired. I was arrogant and proud.”
    “Instead of talking with Jarrett, I went uninvited into the Lawson territory. Found the rogue, and killed her.”
    Screwing up all his courage, he turned to face her. Turned to see the blood draining from Ariana’s lovely face. “Her?”
    Sorrow churned his guts. Sometimes you wished you could turn back time, never make the mistakes that haunted you. Never see the pained disbelief on the face of the woman you…
    He couldn’t love her. He didn’t deserve love. Sweet hellfire, his feelings for her tangled him in knots.
    “Jarrett’s older sister. She had two young. The humans she’d killed, they had shot her mate. That’s why she went rogue. I didn’t realize this until after.”
    “But you only did your duty.”
    Pain lanced his clenched fists as the jaguar’s talons emerged. Daimon glanced down and saw blood splattering the stone hearth. “My duty was to remove her. She could have been sent to a penal colony. Had I talked with Jarrett first, we could have struck a mutual solution that would satisfy the Society and his pack. Instead, I killed her.”
    “What did Jarrett do?”
    “He saw his sister dead and his entire pack chased me through the woods. I refused to kill again. They attacked me.”
    Grief and shame knotted his stomach. He could not look her in the eye, couldn’t tell her his darkest secret. Daimon dragged in a deep breath. “Theo was out hunting with his father and brothers and came to my rescue. They risked their lives for me.”
    Daimon unclenched his fists, saw them stained red. Remembering the blood that flowed that day, the screams of death. “I tried to stop it. Ever try to