I nod. “I’ll go with you either way. But I need to know that he’s okay. Give me a minute to examine him, then we’ll go.”
They nod, and I walk forward. As long as Rafe is alive and fully healthy, he’ll be okay. Even if I went with them, I know that he wouldn’t allow harm to come to me. He’ll be thinking clearly again soon, but twice as angry.
He’s in human form. No wonder they took him down. I look around the field. Maybe he comes out here to think when he needs to be alone.
The thought makes my heart ache as I brush sweat dampened hair off his forehead and move my fingers down to his neck to feel for his pulse. Strong and getting stronger. I pull my hand back.
“Okay, Missy.” The older one puts his grimy hand on my shoulder and I grimace. “You’ve had enough time. Now let’s go. We wouldn’t want to hafta hurt you. The guy that hired us prefers you come whole.”
“Yes, he would prefer that, wouldn’t he?” I ask. “But what if I fight you? I can become my wolf right now. You won’t catch me off-guard like you caught Rafe.”
“Some alpha,” the younger one mutters.
I give him a snarl in response. Even alphas can make stupid moves when they’re heartbroken.
“Look, I don’t think Fang or his pack mean to treat you unkindly,” he says. “But they mean to have you.”
I shrug. “I know. But how do I get assurance that my alpha will be fine?” I know damn well he won’t be fine if he wakes up and I’ve been kidnapped.
“We could take him with us.” The older one checks his watch. “He’s not due to wake up for a good hour. We can drop you both off at the pack. See what they want to do with you.”
“Fine,” I say, watching warily as the younger comes toward Rafe with rope. He binds Rafe’s hands, and it makes me incredibly angry, but there’s nothing I can do for it now. At least Rafe and I will be staying together.
They bind my hands and shove me toward the car, but I refuse to get in until Rafe is seated. The younger one gets in the passenger seat and draws a knife, which he waves at me, making it gleam in the light.
“Don’t get any ideas,” he says, “Or I’ll have to be using this on your friend.”
“I won’t,” I say. I wait for them to lock the doors, and the older one gets in and starts the car. As we drive away, I press one hand to Rafe’s back and another to the window, looking out toward the mansion. Maybe I should have called for Lindon and Hawthorne, but the minute we don’t come back, hopefully they’ll know exactly where to look.
Fang’s pack.
I lean against Rafe. No matter where they take us, I know I’m safe with him. We’re safe together. And once we’re out of this, I’m going to make it all better by telling him I’m his. Then his hot body is all mine.
But first, I gotta figure out my next move.
* * *
To be continued in Alpha games 4. Turn page for the final book.
Alpha Games 4
Copyright © 2015 by Terry Bolryder
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover Design by Melody Simmons of eBookindiecovers
Chapter 1
As we move down the highway, I consider our predicament. It’s been only five or ten minutes since we got into the van and started driving, but each minute feels like hours. All I know is that they are taking us to Fang, after that I don’t know what they’ll do with Rafe and I.
I’ve lost Rafe once, losing him a second time is not an option.
“So what will you do with your share of the money?” the older one says to his parter.
“Get a new truck. Maybe some new guns,” the younger one replies.
These humans disgust me, but I’m disgusted even more by Fang. That he would stoop so low as to hire humans to do his dirty work. I can see his whimpering face now, unable to face Rafe as a real wolf would.
Rafe still isn’t awake, and I worry about him as we move farther away from home and deeper into a part of town I don’t know. The houses become more sparse as we move away from civilization. Small housing tracts turn to sparse shacks and farmhouses as we continue to drive.
“Almost there, missy. Remember, don’t get any funny ideas, or your mate is going to see the sharp end of this here beauty,” he says, brandishing his knife and pointing it towards me.
Think Aspen. What would Rafe do?
Clearly Rafe wouldn’t be in this situation if not for me. I eye him warily. He’s so hot that half the time I can’t see straight. Even lying here in the van, tied up, his beautiful jaw and tousled hair make me wish we were back home in the bedroom again. His hands all over me, his mouth…
We’d be there now if I hadn’t sent him running from the house and into a trap.
“Okay, here we are,” the driver exclaims while pulling off the road. The car approaches a fence with a padlock on it and a sign that simply says “No trespassing” and another saying “Beware of Dogs”. Ha ha. Very funny.
The younger one gets out to unlock the gate, while the other turns around, holding his knife once again to Rafe.
“When we get inside, we’ll let Fang decide what to do with him.”
“What makes you so sure you’ll survive long enough to hear about it?” I chide, trying to muster as much courage as possible when I say it.
The driver only laughs in my face, his breath smelling of chewing tobacco and rotting teeth. Meanwhile, the other has jumped back into the car and we drive past the gate into what looks like a fairly dense forest populated with pine and aspen trees.
I’m not sure what to expect as we drive deeper into the forest. I see an occasional shack on either side, but aside from that nothing to give me an idea of where we are. Fang rarely spoke of his pack, and when he did it was with disdain. He spoke with envy of other packs and the living conditions they boasted, where his had few modern comforts. It was one of the reasons he ran away, and why I pitied him enough to go with him.
But that pity is long gone as I turn to Rafe, lying on his side in the van. As I look more closely at him, I can see a pulse on the side of his forehead. But instead of a slow, steady throb that I would expect someone sedated to have, I can see his pulse going with a steady bump bump bump that tells me his heart is racing. His breathing is more noticeable now as well. Instead of deep, sleeping breaths, they’re shallow and fast, almost making him appear as if he’s trying to stay motionless.
Maybe he’s awake. Maybe he’s planning something. I put on hand on him gently and hope that he isn’t angry with me for going along with the men. I couldn’t let them hurt him. Not when I could save him.
But I haven’t saved us yet.
“There are the men Fang told us to watch for,” the young one says, pointing to several men waiting in a small clearing along the path of the road.
“I guess this is your stop,” the driver says with a grin, “and where we part ways, missy.”
One of the men comes up to the passenger window. He’s dressed in an old white shirt and dusty jeans and a pair of aviator glasses. He could pass for a human who hasn’t had a bath in several days, but I can smell the werewolf on him long before he reaches the car.
“You can’t go past this point. We’ll take it from here,” he tells the men in an authoritative voice.
“Understood. We’ll just take our payment and get out of here.” The driver shifts smugly in his seat.
The other two men begin to walk towards the van’s side door, one of them carrying a suitcase, presumably with the bounty money.
“Oh, and let Fang know we brought something special for him,” his partner chimes in, like he’s hoping to sound important too.
The man at the window peers in for a second, shakes his head, pulls his glasses off and leans farther in this time, getting a good look at the h
uge man lying on the floor.
Staring aghast and wide-eyed, the man exclaims, “Is that the Rafe?”
The driver just grins widely, showing several holes where there should be teeth, and chuckles. “Yeah, was a piece of cake to get him too.”
Within an instant, Rafe leaps from his position on the floor, ripping apart the cords holding him like they are made of paper, and grabbing the two hunters. He holds each by the head, his huge hands palming their craniums like basketballs, and throws them forward with one deft, strong motion through the front windshield.
With a loud crash the men go flying forward and roll into the dirt. Without a pause, he transforms into his wolf and leaps forward at the two men scrambling to get away from the van door. They quickly transform as well, but all too late. Rafe swipes his humongous paw at one, hitting him harshly across the face, and then lunges at the other, sinking his teeth into his neck and shaking him for a second before dropping him.
That’s my man.
He frowns at his prey, which both run limping into the trees, tails between their legs, he turns to the last man, the one by the window, now in wolf form as well. They glare at each other for a split second, teeth bared, growling deeply. But the size difference is almost laughable. Rafe’s wolf, beautiful and black and glistening in the early evening sun, is almost twice as large as his foe. With a powerful leap, Rafe closes the distance between himself and the other wolf, knocking him down. The brown wolf is forced to his back, and begins to whimper instantly, begging for mercy and baring his neck in a sign of submission.
Asserting his dominance, Rafe towers over him, teeth fully bared, ears forward, eyes enraged.
“Tell Fang that Rafe is here for him,” he growls deeply. But the sound is loud enough that it reverberates off the trees surrounding the clearing.
The other wolf gets the hint, and scurries away quickly, obviously deciding it’s better to live to fight another day.
I catch my breath, realizing I haven’t breathed since he started. The whole thing must have taken place in a matter of seconds. I don’t know how he strategizes that fast. Takes on so many so easily. I guess that’s part of being the alpha male.
Rafe comes over to where I am seated in the van, his breathing slowing and the anger fading from his eyes.
“Are you alright? They didn’t hurt you, did they?” he asks, worry showing clearly in his bright blue wolf eyes.
“I’m fine. I was worried most about you,” I say. “I’m just happy you’re alright.”
“Ha! Of course I’m fine. It would take more than what those hunters had to keep me out for long.” He smiles. “Especially when my female is in trouble.” He looks guilty for a moment, as if he’s expecting me to tell him off for calling me his, but I don’t, and he relaxes somewhat.
“How long have you been awake?” I ask.
“Several minutes now. I came to while we were still on the highway. I scented you and my wolf knew I needed to be conscious. Pulled me through. I could have done something earlier, but I decided to have the humans bring us to Fang. I just needed the right moment so I could make sure you’d be safe. I was worried about you.”
“So what do we do now? I have no clue where we are.” I look around the dense forest surrounding us.
“We end this,” Rafe says seriously.
“End it? What do you mean?”
“Fang needs to know he can’t mess with my pack, ever again. So I intend to make the message loud and clear.”
Inside, my heart twinges a little at the exclamation. There with the whole pack thing again. But the urgency of the moment pulls me away from pitying myself for too long. Rafe did just fight for me, after all. And didn’t I already decide to forgive him for not being able to say the right words?
Rafe continues. “If we follow the tracks of the wolves, they should take us right to Fang.”
“What if he’s ready for us?”
“I’m fully expecting it,” Rafe exclaims. “But this is where it has to stop.”
“The whole pack? That won’t possibly be a fair fight…”
“Of course it won’t be fair,” he replies, then pauses. “Fair for them,” he says with a grin, revenge and excitement plain in his eyes.
I don’t know what Rafe is planning, but I trust him with my life. After seeing what he just pulled off, how could I not? As we walk from the car I shift into my wolf form as well, wanting to be ready and to be as close to my wolf side as possible. Maybe I can help somehow with my enhanced sense of smell and hearing. As we follow the tracks, Rafe stays close to me, and I can feel his comforting warmth next to me as we move deeper into the forest.
Chapter 2
It’s been a long time since we were together like this in our wolf forms, moving quietly through a forest. We’re following the trails of the wolves he chased off minutes ago, but every second brings a sense of exhilaration. Being on the hunt.
It conjures memories of when Rafe and I were together in the forest. Back when Rafe was younger but every bit as sexy back then as he is now. He always carried the responsibility of being future alpha seriously, but now there’s a wisdom and caution in his demeanor that wasn’t there when I left.
“Stay close to me, Aspen,” Rafe says, sniffing the air and changing course slightly. The air smells of old forest. Unlike the fresh trees and grass of the fields behind the mansion, this forest feels like it’s hiding something. No wonder Fang wanted us brought here. The coward.
“So what do we do when we find Fang?” I ask. I’m not sure what the next logical choice would be. I would have thought returning home would be the smart thing, but Rafe clearly has other ideas.
“The hiding and the trickery has to stop. I would have thought Fang honorable enough to at least honor the will of the tribunal and the rite of the Alpha challenge, but knowing that he would go to such lengths as this, I can’t rest until something is done with him. I can’t risk him coming for you again.”
“What are you going to do?” I ask, not sure I want to hear the answer.
“Whatever it takes,” Rafe replies, a seriousness in his words somehow exceeding even his typically stoic demeanor.
As we move deeper into the forest, the undergrowth becomes thicker, and the distance between trees become smaller and smaller, pushing us closer together until we have to walk side by side. Thankfully, the scent of the wolves before is strong, so tracking them is fairly easy, even if we aren’t that close to them yet.
While I follow alongside Rafe, my mind wanders to a time before when we were in the forest together. I’m not sure why it’s coming at a time like this, but I let myself sink into the memory.
It feels like ages ago, but it could have been only yesterday for how quickly the days have gone by…
“Hurry up, Aspen,” Rafe growls, charging ahead. “You don’t want dinner to get away, do you?”
“Dinner, ha. You do know we have food in the refrigerator back home?” I exclaim, only half out of breath. Rafe’s endurance seem inexhaustible at times.
“It’s important for us to be in tune with our wolf side. To be one with our surroundings, to follow our instincts. You don’t enjoy the thrill of the hunt?” he asks, both amused and slightly puzzled.
“I see your point,” I say, panting slightly. “But why does it have to involve running for hours through the forest?” I don’t dislike my wolf form. In fact it’s exhilarating. Feeling the soft earth beneath your feet, the sights and scents of the forest. And the sight of the sexy future alpha in front of me. Even in his wolf form, he’s powerful and sexy.
“Game has become increasingly scarce in these parts of the woods. But that doesn’t excuse us from keeping our skills sharp.”
Always the pragmatic one, Rafe takes everything seriously. Especially taking care of the pack. With Rowan aging, Rafe has begun taking more responsibility with each day. From the family finances, to caring for the younger siblings, to negotiating territory disputes with other packs, Rafe has become a man all too quic
kly. Including his human body.
Perhaps it’s because I’m not tied to his family by blood, but I can’t help but notice his towering, muscled physique, when he’s human. Nothing is boyish about him now. He’s 6 feet, 5 inches of pure sexy. Sometimes Lindon and Hawthorne catch me watching him. The other day he was chopping wood for a family bonfire. I think I almost drooled watching his bulging muscles move in tandem with the ax, bringing it down over and over.
“Do you smell that?” Rafe asks, caution in his voice.
I smell the air, but pick up something only faintly. I can’t quite place it.
“Wait here, I’m going to go check it out,” Rafe says as he darts into the bushes.
As the minutes go by, I take in the forest around me, scenting deeply the trees, the nearby river, the different smells carried on the wind. Rafe was right, there is something funny in the air…
In that same instant, two wolves burst through the bushes to my left. They’re not familiar to me, and their demeanor is threatening.
“Ah, so this is the females scent you said you caught an hour ago,” one of them says. This one is a dusty brown with white patches.
“Not just any female, an unmated female,” the other exclaims, a strange hunger in the sound of his voice. Presumably from the same pack, the other is larger, his coat an earth-colored brown with a a white face.
“It was smart of you to follow them downwind so they couldn’t smell us,” the first wolf says. Something tells me he’s a subordinate, as his shameless kowtowing to the other is obvious to me.
“I know” the second says, standing taller and enjoying the compliment. “So what do we have here? What’s your name beautiful?” he asks, turning his attention to me.
“None of your business, outsider. This is our territory,” I exclaim, baring my teeth and digging my paws in.
However, my tone seems to have no effect on them, as they begin to move closer, circling. Though just out of reach, I’m not oblivious to the fact that I’m surrounded and outnumbered. Even though I’ve wrestled with Lindon and Hawthorne from time to time, I’ve never been in a fight with another werewolf, let alone two.
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