A mate should have been a gift. He had looked at her as another responsibility. Was he strong enough to handle her and his job? That is what had made his father start drinking. He had heard the story enough.
His father had been an Enforcer of the Pack. Long hours and huge responsibility made him feel the need to blow off steam. When he was injured in a fight and had nothing to do but heal, he had turned to blowing off steam all the time. Soon, he had been drinking on the job, and when one of the females had been hurt because he had been drinking on the job instead of guarding for Rogues, he had been fired. Then he met his mother at the liquor store he frequented. Oh, how he wished he had never met her.
Of course, his father blamed everyone but himself. It did not take long for his mother to begin drinking because of the shame of being mated to a wolf who had been removed from duty. They never should have mated and had him. He wanted to tell them that many times over the years. He never got the chance or the closure that he needed. Oh well, suck it up you weenie, he thought and continued pacing.
Where the hell were they? Just when he was going to ask Darry for the tenth time what time it was, he heard the rumble of motorcycles coming down the street. Thank the God"s his Alphas had arranged for the streets to be blocked off. Quin used the construction as an excuse, but the Beta"s used the opportunity to increase security and set up cameras on the street without the local government knowing.
Levi counted more than thirty motorcycles pulling up out front. Crap, they looked like a big and bad biker gang. Which could work in their advantage, he thought. In the warehouse district, they would not look out of place. Levi found that out over the last few months while he searched for his mates. No one looked twice when his was on his bike, but when one of the other Enforcers was with him, and then drove one of the expensive Pack cars, they drew unwanted attention.
The large man who swung his leg over the first bike drew his attention. He was not a wolf that he knew. He looked closely at the man. He was enormous. He probably stood at least six feet seven inches tall and was broad-shouldered and had thighs the size of tree trunks. His arms were adorned with tattoos, and his long black hair hid his face and gave him a very mysterious quality.
The Council Beta, Devon, swung his leg over a large bike and stood next to the giant.
Levi watched as each of the bikers got off their bikes, he was even more surprised when he saw that one of them was a female. Damn, she was hot. Levi assumed she was Cloe, the Beta from the old Milliken Pack and one of the Chosen. When his boss, Darien stepped up to the woman and put his arm around her and the man standing next to her, he knew he was correct.
Quickly thanking the Alphas in his mind for sending some of the strongest wolves he knew and heard about to save his mates, Levi walked to the door to greet the wolves.
“Devon.” He said and bent his head and turned it showing his throat in an indication of respect for his superior. He needed as many kudos points as he could get.
“Levi, this is Blaine, Cloe, and Teagan. I won"t go into long speeches right now, since time is of the essence. Your mates need to be rescued now. According to sources, they will be moving them again, and if we don"t get them now we may lose the chance.” Devon grumbled and stalked toward the elevator. “We will brief in fifteen minutes and be ready to leave soon.”
Levi nodded and followed him in the elevator. There was something that they were not telling him, but he did not care at that point. They were going to get his mates, finally.
And he was not going to do or say anything to get him taken off the recovery team.
He looked at the people that were in the elevator with him and grinned for the first time in a long time. They were a force to be reckoned with; he could feel the power coming off all of them. The last time he felt this much power was when the Old and New Council met, but even then, the energy was not this electric.
Chapter 5
“Who the fuck are you?” Reggie yelled and pushed her back into the bathroom.
The man chuckled and said softly, “That really should not be the question you are asking, now should it?”
“Really, and what should I be asking?” Reggie snarled.
“I would think that you would want to know if the Master is going to allow you and your little mate here to stay together. Your mother is out there right now spouting off some shit about your uncharacteristic temper when you are around your little honey. She seems to think that if we separate you, that you will return to the sweet little subservient boy she knows and loves.” The stranger chuckled. “They sent me in to tell you to hurry it up.”
Reggie nodded and felt his anger begin to grow again. His mother was out of control.
How had he missed it all of these years? She was getting worse by the minute. Now she thought she was going to separate him from his mate. She had another thing coming.
Grabbing clothes from the dresser for him and Ruby, he ignored the two men who snickered at him. They were huge compared to him, and he felt a little worried about the fact that he needed to protect himself and his mate against these men. This could get interesting.
Opening and closing the door quickly, he looked for his mate. Ruby was standing behind the door with a large pipe raised above her head.
“Shit.” He whispered. “Where did you get that?”
“From the shower.” Ruby shrugged and lowered the pipe. “My father taught me a lot about repairing plumbing. Our kitchen restaurant had a tricky sink.”
“Okay then, I hope if we get kidnapped again, we are held in a kitchen or bathroom.” Reggie chuckled and handed her the clothes that he chose for her. He realized there was more to his delicate little flower than he first realized.
“Smart ass. What is going on?” She asked softly, stripped off her towel, and laid it on the counter.
“Get dressed; apparently, my mother has an audience. Whoever this fuck is, he is waiting for us to come out.” He growled and pulled on his pants and shirt quickly. He did not want his mother to have any more time than was necessary with whoever was out there.
“Okay, baby doll. This is what we are going to do. My mother is out there spewing all this shit about separating us. Obviously, I have a bad attitude with you around. Do not leave my side or let go of my hand at all. No matter what happens, okay?” He said taking her hand and pulling her close to him. “I will get us out of here.” Ruby nodded and looked at her mate. She had all the confidence in the world in him.
He may not be muscular bad ass that Levi was, but she had no doubt that he could defend her. She grasped his hand in hers and then held on with her other hand also and followed him as he exited the bathroom with his head held high. He walked by the two larger wolves and opened the bedroom door like he owned the place.
There was no one in the living room when they entered, except for one man. He was wearing a black suit and tie, his hair cut close to his head. He looked a little more like a business man than a Rogue wolf who had made everyone"s life hell over the last few months. Reggie narrowed his eyes and glared at the man, he looked a little like a weasel.
He had his legs crossed and looked very relaxed, like he owned the place. Most people would have stood to introduce themselves to strangers that entered a room. This man sat waiting for Reggie and Ruby to come to him. Reggie snorted, like that was going to happen.
Reg held onto Ruby"s hand and pulled her along with him. Never taking his eyes off the man sitting in the chair, he walked to the door and opened it again. Not surprised to see at least ten large wolves guarding the room, Reggie slammed the door again and turned to finally address the man.
“So, let"s get to it. Who the fuck are you and what do you want?" Reggie growled.
The man chuckled and pushed himself up. He was tall, but not as muscular as the men he had guarding them. His eyes were black and beady; Reggie knew he would never trust a word that came out of this man"s mouth. He had a long nose and small lips; overall, he looked like a type of slick lawyer.
> “Please sit.” He said softly. What should have come out like a nice request came out like an order. Reggie had the feeling that if he did not do exactly what the man said, the two men who followed them into the room would make sure that they did. Well, this sucked.
Reggie pushed Ruby to the small love seat that was farthest away from where the man had been sitting. When everyone had settled in the man spoke again.
“Reggie, I have been waiting so long to meet you. Your mother has done nothing but sing your praises for so long, I feel like I know you.”
“Well, I can assure you that you don"t. So let"s get down to it. What do you want from me?” Reggie said quietly, pulled Ruby"s hand onto his lap, and held it firmly. He wanted to send the man a message. He did not care what his mother said. If they tried to separate Reggie and Ruby, they would have a fight on their hands.
“Oh, you wound me. I thought your mother told you who I was. Never mind. My name is Roarke.” The man said smoothly.
“Roarke? I thought that everyone called you Master.” Reggie snarled.
The man chuckled, “No, I am not the Master. I guess you could say that I am the Beta of this Pack. The Master Alpha is much too busy to come and deal with something this trivial. Let"s just get down to it shall we. You are one of the Chosen.” Reggie narrowed his eyes and leaned back. He was going to let the guy go through his little spiel before telling him to go fuck himself. Reggie planned on getting out of here soon, and he wanted to have enough information to give the others, so they could take this asshole down.
“Your mother assured us that you would understand what is needed. You will be on the Master"s Council. I believe your gift has something to do with money. Therefore, you will help the Pack find the money that Quin and his little minions are hiding and transfer all the funds to us. The Master wants the funds as soon as possible, he can"t move on to the next phase of his plan until he does. You know as well as I do a good attack takes a lot of money.” He-man said and smiled evilly.
Ruby shivered next to him, and still Reggie waited.
“Once we have the money, and you pledge your loyalty to the Master, you will take your rightful place on the Dark Council. But first, we need some information. And you and your little mate are going to provide it.” Roarke said and nodded slightly to the man who was standing behind the love seat. “Your mother thinks your little mate is a distraction. I think she will give you the incentive needed to get the job done, don"t you?
Dominic here will take her into the apartment next door and see what information she knows, while you and I sit and discuss your future.”
“That"s not going to happen.” Reggie said snapping at the man, then standing, and pulling Ruby up. He pushed her behind him and stood between her and the men who were advancing on him. “You want my help. You leave her here. You take her, and I will not only remain silent but I will make sure that your Master knows that you are the reason he will not receive my help. In the future, I suggest you do not listen to my mother when it comes to me. She knows nothing about me.” Roarke looked at him with interest. He knew that he was trying to figure out if Reggie was telling the truth, or just trying to act tough. Reggie may not be a large man, but he could be a stubborn one. If they tried to take Ruby, he was going to shift and show them the kind of fit his wolf could throw.
“Let's settle down and see where this leads us before we make any hasty decisions, shall we?” Roarke said and motioned for the men to back off. Reggie let out the deep breath he had been holding. He knew his limitations; if push came to shove, he would not have been able to stop them from taking her.
Reggie and Ruby slowly moved back to the loveseat and sat down. Reggie was trying to think how much he was going to tell this asshole to get him off his back when the man spoke again.
“Now, what can you tell me? I specifically would like to know what the plans are of the New Council.” Roarke said and put his hands up to his face, tenting under his chin, like he was thinking of something.
“Well let me think, you have had us in some type of coma for a few months. So, my information may be a little dated.” Reggie said sarcastically. “The last thing I remember was that I was in a car heading to the Denver Pack headquarters when your brain trusts attacked me and wounded me.”
Roarke nodded and then smiled slyly. “Yes, I seem to remember something about that.
So much has happened since then, it is hard to keep track.” Reggie felt like the man was toying with him a little. It is not like any of this was a surprise. He had no clue what Casey and the others were planning. The last thing they talked about was getting the Denver Pack funds in order and ready to receive the Old Council money. It was not like they had a lot of time to talk about anything else. Hell, at this point he figured the New Council had moved on and written them off. They were still in Denver, why had they not been rescued yet?
“Cut the shit, asshole. I am sick of this. My mother is delusional. I will not help you and your freaky ass Master. It would be best if you would just let us go, and we can all forget about this. I am sure that my sister and my Alpha are very worried about us.
Besides you have not seen anything yet, if you think I am going to sit here, and just give you the information that you want.” Reggie snarled and pulled Ruby up holding her close to him.
Roarke laughed and slapped his hand on this thigh and then motioned for the large man to come forward. “I think our prisoner does not seem to understand the gravity of his situation. Perhaps Hugo here can show you what is at stake.” And he nodded to the large man and his men.
Reggie screamed when he felt pain shooting through his arm. They grabbed Ruby so fast he did not have time to react. She was trying to hold on to him while the big wolves pulled her into the room they just exited. Hugo grabbed his arm and held him while he struggled to get to his mate. When he heard the first sound of Ruby screaming his wolf went nuts. Soon, he had shifted and was biting at the big man who was holding the squirming animal.
Roarke sat in his chair calmly and laughed as he watched the scene unfold around him.
“So the wolf wants to play?”
Reggie was past caring about the situation they were in. His mate was being hurt just a few feet away from him and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He had caused them to take this step, him, and his big mouth.
It seemed like hours before Roarke called for Hugo"s goons to some back into the room.
They exited the room and left the door open, but he could see his mate laying on the floor bleeding and hurt. What the fuck had they done to her?
“Shift, you pissant.” Roarke growled, and Reggie stopped struggling and closed his eyes.
Since his first shift, it had not been painful to go from his wolf form to his human form, but this time it did. His wolf fought him from leaving. He wanted revenge for his mate and was going to get it, one-way, or another. Finally, after what seemed like hours instead of minutes he shifted back to his human form and began to scream with pent-up rage.
“You mother fuckers have no clue who you are dealing with! I will rip your fucking head off and piss down your throat! Seriously, if you think this will make me cooperate, then you are really as stupid as you look!” Reggie yelled and continued to fight against the man who was holding him.
“Unless you would like for my men to continue where they left off, I suggest you settle down.” Roarke smirked.
Reggie stopped when one of the men took a step as if he was going to go back into the room. Whatever he did, he had to make sure that his mate was not going to be hurt anymore. He had caused her enough injuries with his mouth. Damn it, how the fuck was he going to get out of this mess?
“What do you want?” Reggie gritted out as he looked for any sign of movement from Ruby. She was lying so still, and he could see the blood and bruises already formed on her face. Her clothes were torn, but not ripped off. They roughed her up good.
“I need for you to get me the account numbers for the Council"s money.
I am sure you are intelligent enough to do that. Your mother seems to think so, if fact she assured us if we just give you a computer and a few hours that you would be able to find what we need. Once you have finished that, we will talk.” Roarke said and stood up. “I think as an added incentive, Hugo and his friend will remain here to keep you and your mate safe.”
Roarke snapped his fingers, and Hugo opened the door and accepted a laptop computer from whoever was in the hall. They set it up on the desk in the corner, and Roarke walked out of the room without a backward glance.
“Wait, I need to check on Ruby.” He cried and looked at his mate.
“Fine, five minutes, and then you work.” Roarke said without turning around.
Reggie wished he had taken that self-defense class now. Damn it, he could fight. Casey had taught him how, but not three wolves each double his size. He needed a plan, but first he needed to make sure Ruby was okay. He went to her side, knelt down, and winced. Looking at her poor battered face he almost cried. At least, her wolf was starting the healing.
She moaned a little and then cried out pushing against him fighting to get away from him. “NO!”
“Ruby, baby, wake up. It"s Reggie, open your eyes.” He pleaded and waited for her let the words sink in while he held her tight. “Please, baby.”
“Reggie?” Ruby said after stopping struggling. “Those mother fuckers are going to die.” She growled lowly.
Reggie cried while he let her rage quietly. His sweet little mate had a mouth on her. It was good to see that she was at least not blaming him. Now to pull off a miracle, he thought and eased her onto the floor. He propped her against the bed, so she would be in his eyesight while he worked on the computer.
“Trust me?” He whispered in her ear.
“With my life.” She said back looking into his eyes and willing him to believe what she was saying.
Reggie nodded and stood up. “Touch her again, and Master or no, I will make sure you never see the light of day.”
The large men in the room laughed and hit each other on the shoulder like they were sharing a joke. Reggie had the beginnings of a plan. He hoped that he would be able to finish what he thought he was going to start.
Reggie: Changing a Wolf's Heart Page 5