Craving Tori: White Timber Pack

by J. J. Marstead

  Ever since we mated, we can’t seem to keep our hands to ourselves. Every time Ryan makes love to me, it gets better and better. At this rate, I’ll end up pregnant in no time.

  Am I ready for something like that? To get pregnant? My palms start sweating just thinking about it. Will I be a good mother? I shake my head roughly. It’s not time to think about this right now.

  Today, I’ll be weeding the garden outside while everyone is gone, something about a surprise. They won’t tell me what it is, so I can imagine it has something to do with me. Mary will be thrilled about me cleaning the weeds out. They’re so bad here, every two days, at least, they need to be done, and it’s hard work.

  When I asked Ryan about the surprise, he told me I’d have to wait and see. I’m not every good with surprises. I hate waiting for them, especially if I know about them.

  I’d be a little nervous about working outside alone, with the idea of Steve being out there. I know I’m not crazy. Deep down, I know he’s around, but I feel safe here. Ryan’s parents’ have a huge wooden gate that is always locked in the front yard. There’s a little fence in back, too.

  I’m digging the weeds out. It’s a warm day. Good thing I took a bottle of water outside with me. I don’t want to get heat stroke or something. There’s no shade where I am. I’m sweating up a storm. I wipe my forehead with the back of my arm.

  I continue pulling out weeds. I want this done before Mary gets home. I’m snapped out of my thoughts when I hear a twig snap. My head whips quickly towards the sound, and I see a wolf stepping out from the tree line, snarling lightly as it takes each step.

  Oh shit! My nerves are in full swing. I have never seen this wolf before. I slowly get up off the ground and back away as the wolf approaches. If I make a run for the back door, I might make it before it gets to me, but if I end up tripping, I’m as good as dead. I take another step back and the wolf growls, warning me to go no further.

  Tears begin to fill my eyes, causing my vision to be blurry. Flashes of Ryan’s face come to my mind. I’m never going to see him again. I’m going to die, I just know it. The wolf is so close now that it takes one more step and shifts right in front of me. My eyes widen as I take in who is standing before me.

  “Did you miss me, Tori? I’ve missed you,” his voice causes me to tense up.

  I gasp and my hand goes right to my chest.

  My heart beating wildly under my hand.

  “Steve…” I whisper in horror.

  My head is pounding against my skull. My eyes are covered by something. I hear movement getting closer. I feel a hand on my breast, then I hear Steve groan. I’m trying hard to fight the bile rising in my throat.

  “Why are you doing this?” I cry out.

  Steve takes off the blindfold and stares at me with a wicked grin on his face. “You're mine!” he spits.

  I’m so confused right now. He’s a shifter, wouldn’t Elizabeth have known that? “How can you be a shifter?” I manage to croak out, my throat dry.

  He smirks evilly at me. “I had a witch make me a cologne to mess with other shifters’ senses, your precious little friend didn’t know the difference,” he says, clicking his tongue.

  My mind flashes to Ryan. He must be going out of his mind worrying about me. I bite my lip to hold the whimper in my throat for my poor mate. He doesn’t know where I am or who has me. I drop my head feeling utterly defeated.

  Steve moves closer, ripping my shirt open some. He moans when he sees my lace bra. I feel like I’m going to be sick. I can’t fight back, he’s tied my hands behind my back. The tears are just soaking my face as he fondles my breasts with his hands. I pray, by some small chance, that he doesn’t try to do what I think he wants to do to me. Something that I didn’t let him have a chance to do before. How would Ryan look at me then? Knowing another male has touched me, degraded me in such a way.

  Steve is about to move in to kiss me, but his phone starts to ring. He curses and moves away from me. He grabs his phone and walks out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him. I can hear him yelling at whoever is on the other line. I panic and look around the room to see if there is anything that can be used to cut the rope that is holding my hands prisoner. I don’t see a damn thing I can use. I bite my lip and try to stop the tears from falling down my cheeks.

  I drop my head and close my eyes.

  “I love you, Ryan.” I whisper softly. Hoping he can feel the love I have for him through our bond.

  I don’t know how much time went by since Steve left the room. I look around the room dazed. Thinking of Ryan, Elizabeth, and my parents. Will I ever see them again? Probably not. I hear heavy footsteps coming towards the door. I suck in a breath, it’s Steve. He’s coming to finish what he started before he left. Steve opens the door and pops his head in with a grin that makes my skin crawl.

  Steve walks over to me and touches Ryan’s mark. It feels like it’s burning, having his fingers move over it. He chuckles when he sees me wince.

  “Seeing as you're mated, and it seems he’s your true mate, you’ll feel that burning sensation the whole time I touch you,” he grins evilly at me.

  My body quivers in fear, wondering what he’s going to do to me. The look in his eyes right now haunts me. I know I’m in for a world of hurt, Steve will try to break me. I’m going to try my hardest to stay strong for as long as I can. Hopefully, Ryan finds me in time, but I feel hopeless that I can’t communicate with him through our bond.

  Chapter Seven

  We’re shopping for furniture for our house. Tori’s and mine. That’s the surprise. She must be going insane not knowing. I lightly chuckle.

  “What are you chuckling about?” Caleb asks.

  I grin and shake my head. “Tori is probably wracking her brain trying to figure out what this surprise is,” I snicker.

  My brother shakes his head at me. “She’ll love it. I’m sure of it,” he mentions.

  Just then, there’s a strong sense of fear that runs through me. My wolf whines heavily. Tori! My brother puts his hand on my shoulder, looking at me with concern.

  “Everything okay? What’s wrong?”

  “Something’s wrong. I can feel Tori’s fear. Something’s happening. We need to get to her now,” I growl, my wolf right there. I’m close to shifting. My brother’s eyes widen as he hears the voice of my wolf.

  He grabs me by the arm and pulls me out of the store and around to the back. “You need to try and calm your wolf before you end up shifting in front of everyone.”

  I take a few calming breaths. My eyes wide with fear as I look up at my older brother. “We need to get home. I have to check on her.” My voice trembles with worry. My brother nods, and he runs towards the car, I follow on his heels. I need to get my mate, she needs me.

  On the way to the house, my brother calls our parents.

  “Meet at the house, now. Something is happening to Tori,” he spits out quickly before hanging up.

  Caleb pulls up to the house, opening the door and jumping out before he even stops the car fully. I’m in the house calling for Tori. Her scent still lingering in the house. Maybe she’s out back? I run through the house to the back door. Once I’m outside, I sniff the air. I smell Tori, but there’s something else, too. Another wolf. A wolf I’ve never scented before. I growl deep as I move over to the flower bed where she must've been.

  My wolf is howling at me to shift and find our mate. My brother runs up to me and snarls. “Rogue,” he bites out.

  Rogue? Why would a rogue go after Tori? My mind is spinning. Could her ex be involved with a rogue? How would her ex know about shifters?

  My parents come around the corner of the house. My father and mother run over to us. My father growls while my mother snarls. My eyes flash and the shift takes over my body. My brother and parents follow, shifting. I take off towards the woods, following Tori’s scent a good mile before it disappears. I look from left to right, trying to figure out which way they went. I raise my head and howl. I w
himper knowing my mate is out there being held against her will.

  I’m furious, I need to run. I need to clear my head before I go insane and attack anything and everything I see. I take off, away from my parents and brother. I hear my mother whine for me, but I push through it and take off towards the wildflower field where Tori and I had a picnic a couple of months ago.

  I run and stop as I make it to the field. I shift and drop to my knees, naked and dirty. Tori loves this place. The reality of my mate being gone hits me in full force, and the wind feels like it has been knocked out of me. What was that?

  My brother trots up beside me and shifts. He’s breathing roughly from the run to keep up with me.

  “Ryan, we’ll find Tori,” he assures me. I pray he’s right because I can’t live without her. “When we find her, we’ll tear the bastard that took her apart,” he growls.

  My eyes begin to mist and my vision gets blurry. I turn to my brother with tears running down my face. “I just found her. I can’t lose her, Caleb.”

  “You won’t lose her, we’ll find her,” he mentions, putting his hand on my shoulder.

  I look up at the sky and scream as loud as my lungs will allow before dropping face first into the flowers. Flashes of Tori’s face play in my mind before I hit the ground.

  I can’t lose you, baby!

  Two days later…

  It’s been three days since Tori has been taken from me. I haven’t eaten or slept. I’m hollow without her. I can feel her pain. I found out the wind getting knocked out of me was due to her, she’s getting hurt often, and it’s driving me to destroy anything that crosses me. I haven’t felt like myself since that day in the field.

  My wolf is mourning for our mate day and night. I’m a shell of a man without her. Caleb, Samuel, and most of the pack have been out there helping me search for her. I know she’s out there somewhere close, but I can’t find her and it’s killing me.

  My father asked the Pinar den to help us in the search. Issac agreed, and now he and his bears will help search for my mate. I’m so wired I’m worried if we don’t find her I’ll end up shifting and going rogue to the point where they’ll have to put me down. I can’t continue to live without Tori, she’s my other half, the one to calm my wolf. Without her, my wolf will become unstable.

  Sitting on the bed I shared with my mate, holding her shirt close to my nose and breathing in her scent calms my wolf from tearing apart the room. Her scent is the only thing keeping me sane at the moment. I have no idea how long I’ve been up here, but a knock sounds on the door and stirs me from my thoughts. The door opens and my father comes walking in with hope in his eyes.

  “Come downstairs, I think Issac has some news,” my father mentions before leaving my room.

  I close my eyes tightly and take in her smell again before placing the shirt on the bed and slowly making my way downstairs.

  She won’t eat a thing I’ve brought her. If she keeps this up, I’ll have to force feed her.

  She’s hurting and I couldn’t be happier about it. Maybe now she’ll see that she shouldn’t have left me. She’s mine and will always be mine, no matter what. She’ll die before I let her go back to that little prick of a mate. I’m surprised her little mate hasn’t found this place yet. It’s been three days and the fucker hasn’t shown up yet.

  Too bad for him. She won’t be his much longer. I’ll mark her and claim her as my own very soon. I’ll burn that mark off her shoulder if I must.

  I have her back and I won’t let her go again. She’s my female now and she won’t be going anywhere. I’ve got this all planned, if he shows up to take her, I’ll end my life with hers. I’ll be the last thing she sees when the light fades from her eyes.

  A grin spreads across my lips as I look down at the knife in my hand.

  Chapter Eight

  I’ve only been here three days, but it feels like forever since he’s taken me away from my home, my mate. He’s been trying to feed me, but I won’t eat what he gives me just in case there’s something in it that will make me lose consciousness.

  My body feels weak from exhaustion and hunger. I haven’t slept longer than a few minutes at a time. I don’t want to give him the chance to do something to me when I’m vulnerable. I’m slowly fading away. I can feel it, with every slap, kick, or punch he delivers to me. I’m trying to stay strong for Ryan, but it’s getting harder. The only thing keeping me going is flashes of his smiling face in my mind. Every touch he’s given me.

  I’m snapped out of my thoughts of Ryan when I hear the door open. Steve comes walking in with an evil look etched on his face. He doesn’t look like the same guy I fell for all those years ago. He’s changed, he’s turned into a psycho. He has a knife in his hand and my eyes widen in fear as he steps closer.

  I’m going to die!

  Steve is so far gone that it’s no use trying to talk to him. He hasn’t been listening to anything I’ve been saying these past three days.

  He’s walking closer and closer with each step, the knife pointed down, but when he’s right in front of me, he holds the knife up and lightly cuts into my cheek.

  “Will Ryan want you now? With your pretty face all cut up?” he says with a grin on his face. Cut me or beat me, I don’t care. But if he rapes me, or kills me… I don’t want my last memory of that being with him. I have a feeling he’s waiting until I have no fight left in me before he rapes me. He takes the knife, lifting it to my other cheek and digging in. The blood starts pouring slightly from the cut.

  I hear a bear roar in the distance. I shiver, hoping it’s coming this way and it’s a shifter to help. I don’t know how much longer I can do this. My body is physically weak and mentally… I’m going insane. Steve seems to be too preoccupied to even hear the roar of the bear. He stripped me of my clothes the second day I was here. I’m left in my bra and undies. He takes the knife and lightly cuts me above my breast. I feel my body slowly drifting away, the blood loss is getting to me.

  He gets on top of me when he thinks I’ve given up. He runs his hand down my body to my underwear and tries to slide his hand into them. My skin is cool to touch, but I don’t feel the cold anymore, what does that mean? Am I already dead and reliving this nightmare? I feel nothing at all. He grabs me through my underwear and something inside of me snaps. I slam my head up into his face, he backs away and shouts before his fist reaches back and delivers a punch to my face. My eye is already a little swollen from the abuse he has given me these last few days. I can barely see him, but my good eye is trained on him and I can see the blood gushing from his nose. But seeing as he’s a shifter, he’ll heal within a matter of minutes. I can’t stop the smile that spreads across my face, knowing I made him bleed.

  “You fucking bitch, you’ll pay for that,” he snarls down at me, his eyes wild.

  I know my fate. He’s going to kill me, I know it and my body knows it. Why go down without a fight?

  His hand raises back and he punches me square in the face. What happens after that is unknown to me because I black out from the force of his attack.

  Chapter Nine

  Hearing my father say Issac has some news has me hopeful. I’m more than willing to find out what he’s found. Getting down the stairs, I run outside and onto the porch. Issac and a few members from his den are there. Kelly, Noah, Caleb, and Elizabeth are there waiting near the pack. Samuel will be around after sunset to help.

  I look at Issac. “What did you find?”

  He lifts his head high, and I can see it in his eyes he’s found her. “I think I found the location that Tori is being held,” his voice booms out.

  I walk down the steps. I’m ready to rescue my mate.

  “Show me where,” each word comes out as a lengthy growl. My wolf wanting to take over.

  Issac bows his head and the bears shift, then the pack shifts. The bears take the lead and the wolves follow, but I’m running right beside Issac. The sun is low enough now that Samuel should be joining us soon.

&n
bsp; I hear a twig and look to see Samuel running beside me, and so is Caleb. The bears start to slow down and I snarl, knowing we’re getting close.

  I walk towards Issac and he tilts his head. I turn my head to see a cabin, a small one but it’s there. How did we miss this?

  My paws are moving before I realize it and I’m standing at the front door. Issac comes barreling towards the door and I jump out of the way while he smashes it down. What I smell guts me, blood.

  My wolf is growling and snarling as we make it towards a closed door. I look back at Samuel and Caleb before ramming into the door, opening it. My body shakes as I take in the sight before me. Tori lying on a dirty mattress, bleeding, and her face swollen. My wolf snarls and I sniff the air, smelling the shifter who took her. He’s looking at me with an evil grin on his face. He moves before I can even do anything, and I notice the knife in his hand at the last minute. He stabs Tori in the side and she doesn’t even groan or scream from it.

  I howl and take off, ramming him into the ground. He laughs evilly before throwing me off. My head turns to check on Tori and I notice Tori is barely breathing. I snarl and I’m on him again, but he shifts fast and we’re both in wolf form. He tries to bite my scruff but I jump back. I get a hold of him. I bite down and he whimpers in pain. I apply more pressure and pin him to the ground.

  I shake his body with my jaw and release him before going for his throat. I bite down and shake my head roughly, ripping his throat open, his lifeless body lying in a pool of blood. The blood gushes from his wound. My wolf breathes hard. We look down, checking to make sure he’s dead. My wolf howls, satisfied that we avenged our mate.