by Sadie Carter
Cooper sat forward, a sick feeling developing in the pit of his stomach. He had an idea that he knew exactly who their sister was. Intimately.
“Your sister has been alone out there all this time? Why in the hell didn’t you go with her? You should know how hard it is for a wolf to live outside the pack, let alone a female. And for over a year. You’ll be lucky if she’s still alive!” Self-recrimination fed his anger. Was it possible that his little werewolf was Reed’s sister? That she’d been on her own for more than a year?
Reed’s face hardened at the criticism. “It wasn’t feasible for us to go with her. The best way to ensure her safety was to get her out of here alone.”
Cooper narrowed his eyes. “Why wasn’t she safe here?” he whispered dangerously. If possible, Reed’s face hardened further, a look of pure hatred darkening his eyes.
“Zachary hated her. He bullied her, neglected her. Had she stayed, I believe he would have killed her.”
“Living among the humans may have already done that. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Cooper asked ominously.
Regret flashed through Reed’s eyes as he lowered his gaze. “Because I didn’t want to call her back into another bad situation, I had to make sure it was safe for her here. I had to make sure that you were safe for her.”
Cooper nodded. “And now that you’re sure, you want permission to call her back home?”
Reed frowned. “That’s the thing. I’ve already tried to contact her, and I can’t get hold of her.”
“So, you want permission to retrieve her?”
Reed shook his head. “I can’t even do that. I have no idea where she is. All I have is a phone number for her, but she’s not answering. I want permission to go looking for her. Marcus and Jay will stay here, but I need to find my sister, even if it’s so that I can bring her body home.” A tic developed in his cheek, and it was then that Cooper realized that Reed thought his sister dead.
“Why did Zachary hate your sister?”
Reed shook his head, his eyes flashing furiously.
“Who knows? With that fucker, it could have been anything. Because she was smaller than he was? Because she was delicate, pretty, breakable? I don’t know. All I know is that he was psychotic and he could have seriously harmed her. I couldn’t let that happen.”
Cooper looked at him suspiciously. If he hadn’t been Reed’s Alpha, he would never have sensed the lie. Reed knew something about why Zachary hated his little sister. The question was—why was he lying about it?
Cooper decided to let it go for the moment, his mind churning with the growing certainty that he knew exactly where Reed’s sister was. “Your sister, does she look like you?”
Reed frowned in confusion. “No, she’s a tiny little thing, only five feet, and blonde, why?”
“And her name’s Laney?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Why? Because I think I know where she is.”
* * * * *
Cooper stared at the phone on his desk for the umpteenth time that night. Patience was not his strongest quality, and having to stay behind while he sent Reed to collect Laney was surely trying what little he had. All day his gut had been telling him that he should have been the one to go, that it was his duty to find her, bring her home, to protect her. Which was why he didn’t go—because he wanted to so much. Contrary? Idiotic? Maybe.
There was also the fact that her retrieval would probably go easier without him. If Reed could convince her to come back before she found out who he was, he had a better chance of keeping her here. And he was determined that here was where she would stay.
Still, a burn of worry flared in his stomach. The feeling that something was wrong just would not disappear. He tapped his fingers on the desk. Reed should have arrived by now. It was a ten hours’ round trip, but he’d left around nine that morning. Why hadn’t he called? And why did Cooper care so much?
Every member of Shadowpeak was important, but they totaled over five hundred, and he couldn’t afford to obsess this much about one little female. He’d been this way since he’d left her that night. Nearly every day he would find himself thinking of her, remembering her sweet smell, her gentle touch, the way her coffee-with-cream eyes darkened when she was mad. Or scared. He now understood some of that fear, the wariness.
Cooper told himself he would feel this way about any female werewolf he’d left alone and unprotected. That it was just guilt, and as soon as he knew she was safe, he’d stop thinking about her. He only wished he knew that she was safe.
The ringing of his phone was a welcome interruption. “Brady here.”
“It’s Reed. I need help.”
Cooper tensed at the desperation in his enforcer’s voice. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Laney. She’s sick. I mean really, really sick. I can’t get her to respond to me. She’s freezing and in some sort of deep sleep. I’ve tried to warm her up, to rouse her and her wolf, but nothing is working. I don’t know what to do, but I daren’t move her.”
“I’m on my way,” Cooper said tersely, already on the move. “I’ll grab your brothers, and we’ll take the chopper. Just keep her alive until we get there.”
“God, I hope I can.”
* * * * *
Cooper felt queasy as they landed the chopper on the school field in Addison, Nebraska. He hated flying, but he knew that wasn’t the reason he felt ill. It was fear.
He hadn’t told Reed the whole truth about how he’d met Laney, merely explaining that he’d stopped here in Addison on his way to Shadowpeak and remembered a blonde werewolf called Laney working as a waitress.
Cooper led the way to her apartment, not caring that her brothers might wonder how he knew the way. Even in human form, they were all fast runners, and they quickly raced to the block of apartments where Cooper had left Laney more than three months ago.
He cursed that decision yet again as they ran up the decrepit stairway to her tiny, run-down apartment. Not bothering to knock, he suddenly found himself pushed aside before he could turn the door handle. Marcus stood in front of him while Jay pulled him back.
Turning, he snarled at Jay, yanking his arm free. He didn’t care that he was supposed to let his enforcers go first. That was his woman dying in there. Now he was certain she was his. No one was going to slow him down. He pushed Marcus away before storming his way inside.
Cooper strode quickly over to where he thought Laney must be lying on the bed. It was difficult to tell considering the mound of blankets strewn over the small mattress.
“I asked her neighbors for blankets,” Reed explained with a pained look on his face. “Told them Laney wasn’t well, but she’s still cold to the touch. What the hell do we do?”
Cooper had no time to spare for Reed’s questions. His attention was totally focused on Laney. Pulling back the covers revealed her shivering, pale form. He would have thought she was sleeping if it wasn’t for the fact that she hadn’t even stirred at the noise they’d made. She was thin, really thin, and there was a blue tinge to her lips. Cooper cursed long and loud.
“I need to bring her wolf.” He reached down and snatched her, blankets and all, into his arms before striding out of the room.
“Will she be okay?” Jay asked, racing to keep pace as they ran toward the chopper.
“Just hurry,” Cooper snarled, putting on a burst of speed. She would be all right. She had to be because he refused to let her be anything else.
* * * * *
Consciousness dragged at her, pulling and prodding, urging her to surface when she would have been happier just swimming along sleepily. But unfortunately, someone was intent on ruining her sleep-in. Sunlight hit her in the face, and she quickly raised an arm to cover her eyes.
“Urgh, cls drphs, plh.”
“Speak in English, sweet. I’ve never been good with different languages, and that one has me completely stumped. What is that? Greek? Latin?”
“It’s grumpy!” Laney burst out before her brain c
aught up with her mouth. There was a man in her room. God, no! It couldn’t be. What in the hell was he doing in her room?
Cautiously, she opened an eye while moving her arm down slightly. Though her vision was blurred, she could easily make out the wide shoulders, the dark hair. She could even see the sardonic grin, although that may have been her imagination. Laney quickly whipped the blankets up over her head, praying it was a dream, praying he’d disappear. She certainly had no intention of coming out from under the sheets until he did.
A dark chuckle hit her ears, and she cringed as a tingle of awareness danced down her spine.
“Now, is that any way to greet your lover?” he crooned before the blankets were ripped from her hands and torn from the bed to be flung across the room. Laney was left panting, shocked and strangely aroused. And shit! She squealed as she realized she was as naked as the day she was born.
One arm covered her breasts as she tried to squirm her way into a seated position. Unfortunately, doing so one-handed when she was weak as a babe wasn’t easy, and she ended up falling back onto the bed in a frustrated heap.
“Here, let me help you, little one.” That quickly she was sitting up. He’d easily lifted her until she was resting back against the cool headboard.
“What are you do— Hey!” she interrupted herself as he pulled her arm away from her breasts.
“That’s better. A bit skinnier than before, sweet. We’ll need to fatten you up.” He stared down at her, his face impassive as though he was inspecting a side of beef, but Laney saw the flash of arousal in his eyes. Embarrassingly, her nipples tightened in reaction, and he definitely noticed, if his “cat ate the canary” grin was anything to go by.
“Where the hell am I? What in the hell are you doing here? And why the hell am I naked?”
He just sat beside her, shaking his head.
“Now, sweet, it’s not very nice to swear at someone who saved your life.”
“S-saved my life?” she sputtered indignantly. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. Are you on drugs?” She peered up at him, crossing her arms back over her breasts. “Are those delusions getting the best of you? Listen, Cooper. The little green aliens are not real.”
“I’m under no delusions. And I’ve seen all of you before, no need to hide. In fact, I insist that you don’t.” He leaned in until their gazes were locked upon each other, their mouths scant inches apart. If she moved just a little, she could kiss him, just a little…
Suddenly he moved back out of her reach, and her head fell forward. Laney blushed, aware that he knew she’d been about to kiss him. She quickly turned her mortification into anger.
“What are you doing here, Cooper?” she snarled. “It was a one-night stand. Don’t you get the concept? As in a once-only, non-repeatable, no-do-overs night of sex. Are you seriously so desperate for sex that you had to kidnap me?”
His eyes narrowed dangerously, hazel bleeding into a deep gold that sparkled and snapped. She lowered her gaze.
“Why do you keep turning your gaze from me?” he rumbled.
“Because you’re dominant to me and I’m trying not to anger you.”
“Too late. If you don’t wish to anger me, maybe you should think before you speak.”
“Yeah, that’s never been my forte.” Why was she here? Nerves strummed through her. What did he intend to do to her?
He sighed. Loudly. “You are looking at me like you think I would harm you.”
“Well, I don’t know you. I never thought you’d kidnap me and here I am. How do I know what you’ll do?”
He sat on the bed next to her, his large, jeans-covered thigh touching hers, sending a quiver of awareness arrowing straight to her pussy. Her breathing became shallow as she tried to hide her reaction to him, aware that he could smell her arousal. Desire was present between them. Raw and uncut, it glistened like a diamond with flashes of fire and sharp slashes of near pain.
He tilted her chin up gently until her eyes met his. “Let’s get this clear between us right now. I will never hurt you. I will never use my strength against you. And I did not kidnap you.” She saw the sincerity in his eyes, her gut telling her she could trust him even as her head said fool, fool, fool.
“I don’t know why you’re acting submissive now when you spend most of your time challenging me.”
“I do not!”
He raised his eyebrow.
“You kidnapped me. Did you expect me to fall at your feet and say thank you?”
“I expect you might thank me for saving your life.”
“You keep saying that. What are you talking about?”
“When Reed found you, you were unconscious. Unresponsive. He alerted me, and I had to bring your wolf.”
It took a moment for her brain to catch up with those words. Panic froze her. Then her brain leaped into action. Frantically, she glanced around her. She didn’t recognize this room.
She took a deep sniff. There it was. How could she have missed it? The smell of her pack.
No. No, no, no.
Had Cooper been working for him? Why had he waited so long to come for her?
Doesn’t matter, Laney. What matters is getting out of here. Now.
Because there was no way, she was going back to Zachary.
Moving as quickly as she could, she slammed her fist into the side of Cooper’s nose, catching him unawares as she began to fight for her life.
Cooper watched in amazement as his tiny mate morphed into a crazy person. Fighting, pinching, scratching, she fought like a maniac as he deflected the worst of her blows. Of course, he could have easily subdued her, but he didn’t want to risk hurting her. However, as her head slammed into the headboard, he realized that she was hurting herself anyway. Grabbing hold of both her hands in one of his, he held them high above her head. Then, forcing her to lie back, he laid one of his legs over her thighs.
“Stop it, Laney,” he said sternly as she continued to fight pointlessly. Giving her a slight shake to calm her down, he felt nauseated when he saw her eyes darken in fear. Her skin paled, making her eyes appear like large, brown bruises on her face. Even her lips lost all their luscious color.
“I won’t have you hurting yourself,” he ordered, watching as her eyes darkened then narrowed. Fear and betrayal filled her face and tore at his insides. The need to comfort her, to take away her pain, her fears, overwhelmed him. He almost let go of her, the need was so great. But the need to protect her overrode all else, and to protect her he needed to find out what threatened her.
“You cannot hand me over to him. You might as well kill me now.” She arched her neck, as though offering herself as a sacrifice to him. But he felt the fear coursing through her. She was terrified.
He leaned down, smelling the spike in her fear before he gave her neck a soft kiss.
“Listen to me, sweet, and listen well. I would give my life to protect you. No one will ever hurt you while I draw breath.”
She looked up at him in shock, tremors shaking her body. He could see her pulse beating frantically in her neck.
“Why?” she asked so quietly he could barely hear her.
“Why what?”
“Why do you care about me?”
“Because you are mine, and no one hurts what belongs to me.”
“I don’t belong to you.” She glared up at him, and he had to hide a smile, pleased to see color appearing in her cheeks.
“We’ll see, little one, we’ll see. Now, if I let you up are you going to behave?”
She narrowed her gaze at him. He was pleased to see the fear disappearing, replaced by temper. On a deeper level, she trusted him. She might not even realize it, but she did.
“Behave? Seriously?”
Leaning down, he licked her lips, teasing them, swirling around them until they were glistening.
She turned her face from him as if that would enable her to ignore him. Leaning down, he clasped a nipple between his teeth and pulled gently, causing her to gasp in
shock. She turned to watch as he lapped at the abused nipple gently then repeated the action with her other nipple.
Capturing her mouth with his, he took command, reeling her in like a spider weaving a trap for a fly. Once he felt her give in, he let her go, staring down into her beautiful brown eyes. He nodded in satisfaction at the blush that now covered her cheeks, chasing away the milky paleness.
“You’re an ass.”
“Now, is that any way to speak to your new Alpha?”
Chapter Seven
Laney sat on the bed, wrapped in a sheet, in a state of total confusion.
What the hell did Cooper mean that he was her Alpha? Sure, he now smelled like her pack, the scent of pack intermingled with his own unique scent. But she’d assumed he was someone Zachary had hired to bring her home, a mercenary paid to return her to Shadowpeak.
And yet why would he lie? Damn him. As soon as he’d made that statement, he’d told her to stay while he made them some breakfast. Told her to stay just like a dog, and that was exactly what she was doing.
“Good little runt, woof-woof,” she muttered to herself. Maybe she should attempt to leave, but her clothing was missing. She could turn into her wolf, but her wolf didn’t want to leave. Her wolf wanted to stay and find out what was going on. Her wolf wanted to stay with Cooper.
“What was that, sweet?” She looked up as Cooper walked back in. That was if you could call what he did walking. It was more of a dance, a graceful play of muscle under the skin that had her mouth watering.
Of course, she told herself that she was salivating over the tray of food he carried. She couldn’t remember the last time she ate. Her stomach growled loudly, and she looked away in embarrassment. She expected him to chuckle in amusement. Instead, he laid the tray on the bedside table and, sitting beside her, turned her face to meet his.