by Kate Rudolph
At another time that pain may have stopped Rafe, may have distracted him. But he was a thing of rage now, intent on ending this man who had taken the woman he loved from him.
This time, when Rafe landed on Martin, he didn’t let go. He dug his fangs into Martin’s neck and ripped his throat out, the man’s hot blood spurting out over his muzzle.
Martin collapsed, dead. As soon as it had started, it ended. Rafe threw back his head and howled, the mournful song echoing throughout the walls of Jess’s apartment. When he stopped, he tried to walk, but only made it two small steps before he stumbled, the pain in his stomach too much.
Martin had hit something important. Rafe collapsed, the room going dark before he could shift back or try to call for help.
Chapter Twelve
Something was wrong.
For one thing, Mac looked relieved when he saw her and Jess would have bet a million dollars that she would never see him with that expression on his face when it came to her. For another, no one would tell her where Rafe was. She’d been shuffled off to a guest room and told not to leave.
At first she complied, but after more than an hour without any word at all, she was done waiting.
She stepped into the hallway and chose a direction. There was no guard at her door, but she could faintly hear people talking coming from the right. She chose that way in the hopes that she could find out some information.
No one paid any attention to her. Instead, more and more people showed up, most headed in the same direction. Some even ran. Finally, she began to pay attention to the whispers, and once she caught on, she started running as well. Only two words mattered.
Alpha injured.
Jess ended up in what looked like an infirmary. A guard tried to stop her from entering, but she was cleared through after a minute. It was obvious where Rafe was. A witch tended to him, chanting quietly over his bleeding form.
Mac was the only other person in the room with them.
“When did this happen?” She demanded. “How?”
“There was a fight. The alpha won. Now be quiet or I’ll have you locked up.”
Jess wanted to fight him, she wanted to do something. But all she could do was stand there and hope the healer was good enough. After a moment, she approached Rafe and sat beside his bed, careful to stay out of the healer’s way. He only seemed to have one bad wound, an ugly gash on his abdomen. It seeped dark blood onto the sheets.
“Does he have a mate?” The healer asked her.
Jess shook her head. All she could do was look at Rafe and hope that the healer was good enough to fix him.
“Damn,” said the witch. “His soul is not properly anchored to his flesh. Is there someone he is bonded to? Anyone? Family? If I can latch onto that bond, he will survive. If not, well...” Jess was glad that she didn’t finish the sentence. She looked back to see if Mac had heard and by the look on his face she understood that he couldn’t help Rafe either.
She sat down beside him and grabbed his hands. When he opened his eyes, she nearly jumped off the bed.
“Jess?” Rafe asked, a smile of disbelief on his face. “Didn’t think I was already dead.”
Jess squeezed his hand, “You’re not dead, Wolf. Do you think I’d let anyone kill you?” She smoothed back some of his hair from his brow and leaned down to place a gentle kiss.
“Said he killed you.” It was half cough, half confession.
“I’m not dead.” But even as she spoke she could see consciousness begin to fade from his eyes. “What’s going on?” She asked the witch.
“He’s fading even faster. I can’t tell you why.” She took a deep breath, “If I cannot anchor him in the next few minutes he will die.”
Jess wasn’t going to let that happen. Not after she decided that she was staying for him. “Use me,” she said.
“You have no connection,” the healer tried to explain, but Jess was too busy fixing that problem.
She put her hands on either side of Rafe’s face and leaned forward, kissing him hard. Rafe’s eyes snapped open and she felt one of his hands bury itself in her hair. Despite his injury, he clung to her. Jess pulled back, giving herself just enough room to speak. “Are you listening, you overbearing wolf? I claim you as my mate.”
It was a bit unorthodox, to share such an intimate moment in a dying man’s hospital bed, but Jess wouldn’t lose him. And if she had to run down the main street proclaiming it, so be it.
But her claim was only the first step. If Rafe didn’t want her, if he wouldn’t take her, then this was all for naught.
He proved her fears to be false. “I am claimed,” he rasped. “From the moment we met, I’ve been yours.” Rafe smiled and Jess couldn’t stop herself from kissing him once more. But his own cough interrupted them.
She turned toward the witch, “Bind us. Now.”
“There may be a cost,” the healer warned.
“I don’t care,” Jess would not play around with her mate’s life. Not if there was something she could do to save it. “Now.”
The witch started speaking, her words unintelligible. The wind picked up around Jess and Rafe, ruffling her hair. Streaks of blue and orange light surrounded them, moving too fast for Jess to track.
Then the lights changed course, shooting through her and out once more, then into Rafe. At first there was no pain, just a mild tingling. But as more and more light poured both into and out of her, a chill settled into her bones soon followed by the stabbing sensation of ice freezing beneath her skin.
It bloomed inward, starting at her arms and creeping closer and closer to her chest. Jess let out a gasp as the ice crept into her heart. Her vision went blurry around the edges and she collapsed down beside Rafe.
She could feel something warm on her back and it was the only thing she could focus on other than the pain. That heat warred with the cold and she thought she could hear someone speaking, but none of the words made sense.
Darkness engulfed her and Jess passed out.
Sunlight woke Jess up once more and she was pleased to realize that she wasn’t dead. She was even more pleased to realize that she wasn’t alone. Rafe’s strong arm was draped over her chest and his breath tickled her neck. From the tension in his body, she could tell that he was awake.
“You’re not dead,” it wasn’t the most romantic or civil of greetings, but her relief was too much for her to care about that. “I’m glad.” She turned over to be able to see him face to face.
“I’m not dead,” he agreed. “But that was a huge chance you took, binding us together like that.”
Now Jess worried. In the heat of the moment, she’d felt no hesitation, but with Rafe better, she thought she might have judged the situation incorrectly. “I wasn’t going to let you die.”
“Is that all you wanted?” he asked. His eyes may as well have been ice for the sheen of frost she felt.
“If you want me to go...” she couldn’t even finish the sentence. She’d chosen him, despite the fear of rejection. She didn’t want to offer to bow out, not after he’d accepted her claim. So she wouldn’t offer. “Well, too bad. I hear you fucked my place up pretty well and I’m sure my landlord is going to jack up my rent if they don’t outright evict me.”
The tension eased out of Rafe and he smiled. “Oh? So I get no choice in this?” He asked. “You’re simply going to waltz into my life and take over?” He reached out and twirled her hair around his finger.
“I claimed you as my mate,” she said, and this time she felt exhilaration as she spoke the words instead of panic. “Do you think I’m ever letting you go?”
“And I am claimed, my love.” He pulled her close and kissed her. She soon discovered that the witch had healed all of his wounds, and they didn’t rise from the bed for a very long time.
Thank you for reading this story.
Kate Rudolph never knows when to stop. Whether it’s riding her bike down the busy streets of Austin, Texas, fixing computers, or shooting off answers to
trivia quizzes, she is doing something. She began writing at a young age and now has a stack of projects as tall as her.
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Also by Kate Rudolph
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The Alpha Heist
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In the Alpha’s Bed
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Bear in Mind
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The Mate Bundle
The Mate that Got Away
Mated by Midnight
A Night with Two Mates
Forbidden Mate
Find more by Kate Rudolph at www.katerudolph.net
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