by Alicia White
Novikov Clan 2
Katie’s Mates
Katie Kaltman had been taking care of her older sister Chloe since her husband's sudden death. For over a month, she went to her sister's house to cook and clean. When her sister gets a letter with her late husband's last wish, Chloe immediately packs up and heads off to Alaska.
After a week goes by with no word, Katie decides to take things in her own hands. She goes to Alaska searching for her. When she finally reaches Alaska, she meets a charming man who promises to take her to her sister.
Ryan Novikov knows the woman looking for his Alpha's mate is his mate. He takes her home to his brothers instead of taking her to her sister. Nathan, Ethan, and Lucas know that she is their mate as well. Now they just need to charm her and convince her that she belongs to them before she can run away.
Note: There is no sexual relationship or touching for titillation between or among siblings.
Genre: Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Shape-shifter
Length: 47,074 words
KATIE’S MATES
Novikov Clan 2
Alicia White
MENAGE EVERLASTING
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
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A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK
IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting
KATIE’S MATES
Copyright © 2012 by Alicia White
E-book ISBN: 978-1-61926-758-9
First E-book Publication: June 2012
Cover design by Les Byerley
All cover art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
PUBLISHER
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Letter to Readers
Dear Readers,
If you have purchased this copy of Katie’s Mates by Alicia White from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.
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This is Alicia White’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. White’s right to earn a living from her work.
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DEDICATION
For all the fans who loved Chloe’s New Beginning. I promise that this book won’t make you cry, like that one did (cross my heart). This book was fun to write, one spunky woman with four Alpha men. I hope you love Katie just as much. Happy reading!
KATIE’S MATES
Novikov Clan 2
ALICIA WHITE
Copyright © 2012
Chapter 1
Katie unlocked the door to her sister’s house in downtown Portland. She’d been trying to contact her, calling and texting with no response. She was starting to get worried. She had sent her sister off to Alaska to visit her deceased husband’s family and hadn’t heard a thing for a week already. She walked into the house, and the smell of stale cigarette smoke still lingered in the air. The whole house was littered with alcohol bottles. It was depressing, and she felt her sister’s sadness all around her.
Katie wasn’t at the house to clean, though. She’d already done that too many times to count. Her only thought was to try to find her sister. She needed to know where Conner had sent her. She looked through the house, hoping that her sister didn’t take the letter that Conner had left her. She needed a clue, somewhere to start. She started in the kitchen, searching the counters, moving the trash out of her way.
“Damn it, Chloe.” She grabbed her cell phone and dialed her number once more. She got her voice mail after only one ring. “Chloe…it’s me. If I don’t hear from you I’m flying to Alaska. This is your last chance. Where are you?” She hung up the phone and ran upstairs to check the bedroom. She needed to get to the airport. She kept seeing her sister crying and begging for her. When Chloe left, she’d been so fragile, so depressed and emotional. It wasn’t normal for Katie to not hear from her sister. They had always been close, but since Conner had died, their relationship had been strained.
Katie looked around the bedroom, seeing clothes thrown around the room and their wedding pictures everywhere. It was sad. The whole house was a tribute to Conner. Everywhere she turned, there were signs of their life together, and it looked like her sister was purposely hurting herself. Katie walked to the bed and sat down, looking around the room, feeling her sister’s sadness like a heavy blanket around her.
She looked down on the bed and found the letter she had been looking for. It wasn’t hidden, just lying on the bed in plain sight. She read it over, Conner’s words ringing in her ears, especially at the word secrets. It seemed that he had some. What had Chloe walked into? What could her late husband have been hiding from her? What if he was already married or had a child with another woman that he had kept hidden in Alaska? Was Chloe safe, or was she in danger? Questions ran through her mind, making bile rise in her throat.
She took a deep breath to get her mind under control, took the letter, and headed out to her car. It was time to go to Alaska. She needed to get her sister and bring her home. If she got there and she needed help, she could call the police. Right now, she just wanted to get to the north entrance of the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and find where her sister was.
Someone had to know what happened to her. Someone had to have seen her. Chloe wasn’t the adventurous type. She wouldn’t do anything to put her own safety in jeopardy. At least she wouldn’t have before Conner’s death. Now she wasn’t so sure. Her attitude had been so full of despair lately, she’d shut down completely, and now Katie wasn’t sure what was happening with her sister. She had tried to reach her, even went to her house to
cook and clean, but the loss had been such a shocking blow that she’d never seen her sister break down like that before.
Katie drove toward the airport. She knew buying a ticket and heading for Alaska was extreme, but her only thoughts were of Chloe. She had packed light, only taking her backpack with a couple outfits. This wasn’t a vacation. She just needed to make sure her sister was safe and find out why she had avoided all her calls and text messages.
* * * *
Katie was able to get to Alaska with no issues. The flight was relatively short, although her stomach churned the whole way. She walked down the aisle, holding her backpack and purse, trying to get off the airplane as quickly as she could. She moved between all the people, speed walking, needing to get to the rental-car place. She knew her sister rented a car and hoped that maybe she could get some information. She got in line at the counter and stood there feeling impatient. When the next representative was available, Katie walked to the counter, ready to start getting some answers.
“Hi. My name is Katie Kaltman. My sister was here renting a car a couple weeks ago. Her name is Chloe Novikov. Did she return the car?” Katie smiled, hoping that the woman would tell her something helpful.
“I’m sorry. I can’t give you that information.” The woman smiled at her. “Is there anything else I can help you with?” She typed on her keyboard, and Katie knew that she had more information.
“Look, my sister came here to visit her late husband’s family. I haven’t talked to her since. I’m worried. I just want to know if she rented a car here, if it was returned, if you remember her.” She knew her voice was pleading, and she wasn’t far from begging. The woman made a face and looked around, obviously looking for something or someone.
“Okay. I’m only doing this because I have sister and I remember yours. She had an urn, and she looked so sad. Spell her last name for me.”
“N-o-v-i-k-o-v.” She bit her lip, waiting. She now knew her sister had rented a car and this woman had been the one to help her.
“It looks like she did rent an SUV a couple weeks ago. It was returned. I’m not sure who returned it, though. I wasn’t here when the vehicle was checked in. I wish I could give you more information.”
“Do you have the SUV here?” At her nod, Katie asked, “Can I rent it?” She went through the process, renting the vehicle. Her only goal was to get out of the airport. She knew her sister wasn’t dead, but she didn’t believe that she was completely safe either. She wasn’t going to rest until she saw her, yelled at her.
“Thanks for your help.” Katie grabbed the keys off the counter and headed outside. The freezing air greeted her and she ducked her head down, trying to protect her face from the force of the wind. She ran across the street and into the parking garage, searching for the SUV. She found the car quickly, jumped in, and threw her backpack on the front passenger seat. She started the car and let the engine warm up. Her body was shaking, and she rubbed her hands together quickly, trying to warm herself.
Katie pulled out of the parking garage and headed toward the interstate. She felt anxious, wondering how her sister was, her stomach in knots, her body numb. Her only thought was to get to the north gate, and she pushed harder on the gas pedal. She grabbed her cell phone and dialed her sister’s number again, hoping to hear her voice, hoping that the panic she felt was nothing.
“Hi. This is Chloe. Leave a message and I’ll call you back. Thanks.” Her sister’s sweet voice sang through the speakerphone, and Katie rubbed her forehead, feeling completely exhausted and stressed out.
“Dang it, Chloe.” She let out a deep sigh. “I’m here in Alaska. I’ll see you soon.” She hung up the phone and turned on the radio, wanting to take her mind off the situation. She moved the tuner around trying to find something pleasant to listen to. When she landed on an eighties station she smiled and started singing to a great Pat Benatar song.
Time seemed to move a bit faster after she stopped looking at the clock. Driving for four hours hadn’t been something she wanted to do, and she hoped that she would make good time as she drove down the main highway. There weren’t a lot of cars on the road, and she was glad she wouldn’t be stuck in any traffic.
* * * *
When she finally pulled up to the north gate, she felt exhausted. The drive really hadn’t been that bad, though. She rubbed her eyes as she pulled closer to the gate, and a man dressed all in black stepped out of the small security building. He was extremely tall and well built, wearing a long-sleeve shirt, pants, and a beanie over his head. He wasn’t wearing a huge jacket or anything, and she was surprised that he wasn’t shivering. He smiled and waved her forward, and she took her foot off the brake pedal and coasted closer to him.
Katie lowered the window down a crack, not wanting to lose the warm air from the car. Deep blue eyes greeted her, and she stared at him, taking a minute to gather her thoughts.
“Hi. I know this is probably a silly question, but I’m hoping you can help me. I’m looking for my sister. She drove this exact car here about a week or so ago. Do you remember seeing her? Or…maybe one of the other guards saw her. Her name is Chloe Novikov. She’s kind of petite, has long, curly, blondish brown hair, hazel eyes. I can’t remember what she was wearing. Crud. Um…I’m sorry I’m babbling. Have you seen her?” Katie bit her lip and took a deep breath. She couldn’t seem to take her eyes off him. His features were way too perfect, and she wondered how he lucked out. Women probably threw themselves at his feet. She was tempted to do the same, and that thought caught her off guard.
His smile grew, and she wondered if he read her mind, or maybe it was the look on her face. She schooled her features, trying to look blank, not wanting to give too much away. He walked closer to the car and Katie leaned back, needing more space. “Yeah. I know who you’re talking about. She’s staying with Adam and Brandon just down the road a bit. I could take you to her.” He leaned closer to the window and took a deep breath and she felt paranoid, wondering if maybe she hadn’t applied enough deodorant. Did she stink? When he leaned back his eyes looked darker, the blue more vivid, and her heart kicked up a notch, pounding rapidly against her chest.
“I know you’re probably very busy. I don’t want you to have to take me.” When he arched a brow, she knew he wanted to drive her, and she really wanted to remain in his presence a bit longer. “Okay. Thanks. I really appreciate you driving me.” Instead of getting out of the car and walking around, she shoved the car in park and climbed over the center console. She adjusted the seat and buckled up. He opened the door and pushed the seat all the way back in order to accommodate his long legs.
“I’m Ryan. Ryan Novikov.” He didn’t bother buckling up, just put the car in gear and pulled away from the gate.
“What? Wow… So you’re related to Adam and Brandon? Are you their brother?” Katie relaxed further, realizing that she would be safe and arrive at her destination. She felt calm, knowing that she would soon see Chloe, and since Ryan’s reaction hadn’t been surprise, she knew that she was okay.
“Cousin. We all grew up together. This is a tight-knit community. Not a lot of outsiders come here. You look a lot like Chloe. I knew you were her sister right away.” He sent her a side smile and kept his eyes on the road.
“Thanks for the compliment, Chloe’s beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful.” After that sweet comment, they drove in silence, and Katie couldn’t take her eyes off him. He was amazing. His face was sculpted, with strong lines, and dimples that made him look almost boyish although she knew he was probably older than she was. She hadn’t noticed the gun strapped to this thigh until she started inspecting him. She assumed that here in Alaska there were probably some wild animals and maybe he needed it for protection.
Katie moved in her seat, trying to get comfortable. She rubbed her thighs together and stopped when she realized that she was turned-on. When was the last time she had gotten wet just from looking at a man? Never. She wanted him to pull the car over, wanted to
touch him and make sure his muscles were real. His clothes hugged him, and his muscles moved as he drove. He tightened his hands on the steering wheel, and Katie thought that maybe they were thinking the same thing. She smiled to herself, grateful that she wasn’t the only one excited by their contact.
When they finally reached a long driveway, she perked up, looking around, taking her eyes off Ryan. She couldn’t be sidetracked now. She needed to see her sister first. Maybe after she saw Chloe she could make plans to see Ryan later. Maybe go on a date. When he stopped the car, he reached out an arm, stopping her from opening the door. He got out of the car, and she waited for him to come around and open her door.
She looked at the cabin, tucked between massive trees. The place looked beautiful surrounded by snow. Smoke bellowed out from the chimney, and she felt herself relaxing further. Maybe this place was exactly what Chloe needed. Somewhere she could be that wasn’t a constant reminder of Conner. She smiled as Ryan opened her door. He reached out his hand, and Katie took it. She felt a sizzle, and she gasped, staring into his eyes. He must’ve felt it, too, because he gave her a lopsided grin and very slowly started rubbing his thumb over her hand.
“Let’s go inside. There are people looking forward to meeting you. I don’t want them to wait.” Katie wasn’t sure what he meant. Chloe never answered her calls. Her trip had been rather quick and unexpected. She shook her head and focused on enjoying the moment. She didn’t want to overanalyze what he said. Ryan pulled her close, and she enjoyed feeling his warmth. He smelt like the outdoors, pine, and fresh air. She followed his lead, staying close to his side, avoiding the cold air around them. The snow crunched beneath her feet, and they walked quickly to the front door.