Sanctuary

by Teresa Gabelman

  Still amazed at what was happening, Gemma thought of something. “What if the vote had gone the other way?” Even saying those words brought fear to her soul. If he would have had to pick, would he have picked her? Shaking those thoughts away, she knew if it had come to that, she wouldn’t have let him pick. She would have left Larry in charge and went with him. She was his mate. Not only did that mean something to him, but it meant something to her also.

  Eric thought for a minute, looking totally serious. “Then I would have pulled my alpha card.”

  “There’s such a thing?” Gemma’s eyes widened.

  “In a matter of speaking, yes, but I’m a fair and just alpha, so I allow voting. Thankfully they voted my way without pressure.” Eric grinned. “I have never been more proud.”

  “If the vote wouldn’t have gone that way, know I would have come to you.” Gemma spoke her thoughts out loud. “Larry could have handled everything here. I’m your mate.”

  Eric just stared at her for a minute without saying a word, his eyes intently searching hers. “Damn straight you are, and you honor me, Gemma.”

  “I’ve missed you,” Gemma whispered, staring up at him.

  Eric pulled her up for a long kiss. “Not more than I’ve missed you and soon I’ll prove just how much I’ve missed you, mate.” He glanced over her head and smiled. “But right now, we need to get your meat taken care of.”

  Gemma heard the beeping of a truck backing up and turned. A large truck was reversing toward them. She cried. For once she wasn’t going to have to worry about what she was going to feed the wolves under her care.

  “Hey, this is a happy occasion. All I want to see from here on out are smiles because everything is going to be taken care of. New enclosures, meat, medicine, and whatever else you need. No one will ever cause you trouble again,” Eric promised, wiping a tear from her cheek.

  “Lance Cutter won’t give up so easily,” Gemma replied, not wanting Eric taken by surprise.

  “We’ve already paid a visit to Lance, and let’s just say he’s not going to be causing any more problems,” Eric promised with an evil grin.

  “Really?” Gemma laughed at his grin. “Oh, I wish I could have seen that.”

  Eric shrugged. “We can pay him another visit if you want.” His tone serious until he added with a grin, “It was quite enjoyable.”

  Gemma would have loved it. She glanced to see a younger woman standing alone looking lost. “Who’s that?”

  “That’s Leeza.” Eric’s voice turned hard. “She is one of the women who was raped. Sherry is the other one, but she stayed behind. She’s visiting a neighboring pack before joining up with us.”

  “Oh no.” Gemma made a mental note to include her as much as possible. “Any luck with finding him?”

  “No,” Eric sneered. “But we will. All the packs in the area know. He will be found. His freedom is fleeting.”

  “Well, I’ll make sure to get her busy, so hopefully that will help her,” Gemma said, having no doubt Eric would find the one responsible.

  “And that’s exactly what the mate of the alpha would do.” Eric tightened his hold on her.

  “Well, I don’t think that’s all that needs to be done. I can also find someone who specializes in helping rape victims who she can talk to. It’s really what she needs.” Gemma was already planning on ways to help the poor girl. She couldn’t even imagine something like that, but she knew that she would do anything to help. “She will get the help she needs, I promise.”

  “Thank you. As alpha, I know a lot, but this…” His eyes went back to Leeza. “…is something I’m not very good at.”

  “I’ve got it, but I want her comfortable, so I’m not going to jump right away. Let her get used to things first.” She smiled as Leeza finally moved and headed toward one of the enclosures. Once there, she knelt and stuck her hand inside, then smiled as one of the wolves walked toward her, nudging her hand with his head. With a beaming smile, Gemma looked up at Eric excitedly. “Maybe she found a friend already.”

  They both watched as Alex headed toward Leeza. He stayed a distance away from her, but started to talk. Gemma felt a little hope when Leeza nodded at something Alex said and then gave him a shaky smile.

  “Well, maybe she had found two friends.” Gemma gave a relieved chuckle then looked up at Eric.

  Eric was staring down at Gemma with an intensity that had her stomach doing all kinds of crazy flips and dips.

  “Come on, Larry and Alex can handle everyone for a bit. I need to teach you how a mate properly welcomes her alpha back home.” Eric tightened his hold on her, his grin promising things she couldn’t say no to.

  Gemma laughed as he pulled her toward her small home, their home. It was no longer just her anymore, and she had never been happier. With one last look around, she already saw Eric’s family, her family, working with Larry, and her wolves were already thriving under the attention. For the first time in a long time, she felt excited about the future, not the overwhelming fear she had grown to know.

  She stopped him before they entered so she could take one glance around. “I thank you, Eric Jackson, and so do my wolves.” Then a thought hit her and her eyes shot back to his. “Where in the world is everyone going to stay?”

  “Never thank me,” Eric whispered as he also glanced around. “Family does for family. Your grandfather would be proud of you. And that is my problem to take care of, not yours. We will make do, as always. Just know you will have some very close neighbors.”

  Gemma nodded, choked with tears, wondering if Eric knew what his words meant to her. Before she started blubbering and ruining the moment, she gave him a push.

  “Come and teach me how I properly welcome you back,” Gemma teased as she was pulled into the house. “But I should warn you, I’m a very slow learner.”

  “Never fear, mate,” Eric growled down at her, then picked her up. “We have the rest of our lives for you to learn, starting now.”

  Chapter 11

  Gemma woke to find the bed next to her empty. With a smile and a stretch, she reluctantly got up to start her day. The smell of coffee filtered through the room, and her first goal of the morning was to drink as much coffee as possible because after last night with Eric, she was going to need it.

  Grabbing a pair of shorts and a shirt, she slipped them on and headed to the kitchen, which to her disappointment was empty. She had hoped to see Eric still there. She wasn’t very confident yet in their relationship because, well, she had never really had a relationship before and definitely not one with a shifter. With Eric, it had happened almost overnight. What was she talking about? It did happen overnight and seemed unreal to her. With a sigh, she poured herself a cup and went to the window to look out. All she could do was go with the flow and hope her heart didn’t get broken in the process.

  She watched the activity of strangers taking care of her wolves and honestly didn’t know how she felt about that. It had always been her and her grandfather, then her and Larry with a little help from others here and there. The assistance was new for her, but as she watched with a knowing eye, she saw the wolf-dogs under her care responded positively. With strangers, they would usually hang near the back of the enclosures until the stranger had left. Instead, the wolf-dogs greeted them as they did her. While she was happy that she finally had the help she desperately needed, she couldn’t help feeling a little sad that her wolves were reacting to others as they did her. Dumb, she knew, yet her wolves were all she’d had for so long. Rationally, her feelings were just human nature, but still, she felt bad feeling this way. With a sigh, she rolled her eyes.

  “Just be happy, idiot,” she told herself, then turned, almost spilling her coffee as she ran into a hard chest.

  “And why wouldn’t you be happy?” Eric had snuck in and was smiling down at her, but concern edged his eyes.

  “It’s nothing.” Gemma looked up with a half smile. “Just me being me.”

  Eric peered out the window beh
ind her and frowned. “Is this too much?”

  “No,” Gemma replied quickly. “No, not at all. It’s just…. You know what, it’s nothing.”

  Eric stared down at her and was aware his eyes missed nothing. “If something’s bothering you, it’s not nothing to me, Gemma. What is it?”

  Knowing she had to move away from him in order to speak with any sense, because he smelled so freaking good, she sat down at the kitchen table, setting her coffee in front of her.

  “I’m used to just a little help.” She gave him a small smile. “I guess this much help is a little overwhelming.”

  Eric remained silent as he watched her intently.

  “Not that I don’t appreciate it,” she added quickly, not knowing what his silence meant. “I really do.”

  “Are you second-guessing us?” Eric asked, a low growl ending the sentence.

  “No, I mean…” What the hell did she mean? When he was gone, he was all she thought about, and after last night, she shouldn’t be second-guessing. But now that he said it, she realized she was. “Maybe. A little.”

  Eric didn’t move, just stood still as stone letting her talk. His mouth was slashed in a straight line, and his eyes so intense it set her on edge.

  She finally opened her mouth to ask the question that burned in her gut. The question she wanted answered most of all. “Why me?”

  He remained silent, and that said so much. He didn’t know why. It was the mate thing. It had nothing to do with physical attraction, love, or whatever people who spent months dating and spending time together learned to feel for each other. They had spent only days and were total strangers.

  “It’s purely the mate thing, isn’t it?” She heard the sadness in her voice so knew he heard it also. “It’s okay. I understand more than most what that’s about, but I really don’t think I can do this based off—”

  “Are you finished?” Eric finally opened his mouth to speak and sounded pissed off.

  “I guess so since you cut me off.” Her mood quickly switched gears with a touch of pissy attitude. She hated being cut off, whether with words or in their car.

  “That right there is why you.” He gave her one nod before pulling her up from the chair and turning her toward the window and pointing. “That is why you.”

  She looked out over the yard to see the busy hustle still happening outside her tiny house. Once again, she let him turn her to face him. He tilted her face up to his before taking his hand and placing it over her heart.

  “This is why you.” He leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I know everything is confusing, even with your understanding of shifters and mating, but this is the way I’m made.”

  Unsure what to say, Gemma remained silent.

  “I’m going to walk out to give you space, but I want you to know that you are mine. Whatever you decide, I will honor it, but know I’m going to fight for you, your heart and soul. Never doubt my devotion to you, Gemma. I knew you were mine the minute I saw you in the enclosure facing down a caged wolf.” He stepped away slightly before leaning toward her. “You, Gemma, are mine.”

  She let him kiss her, then watched him walk out the door, her feelings more mixed than before. His words were sweet, made her knees weak and yet, there was no mention of love. He never once said he loved her. The funny thing was she was human without the mating phenomenon, and she knew without a doubt she loved him.

  Heading toward her room for a quick shower, Gemma realized that with love one-sided, this would never work because she was not made that way.

  ******

  Eric drove back to the Sanctuary still wondering if he’d done the right thing leaving Gemma after her doubts of their relationship. Cursing, he glanced down at the truck clock. He had been gone longer than he wanted, but by the time he’d finished with the bank and talked to the realtor who was selling the land next to Gemma’s, time slipped by.

  He had no idea what had changed between last night and this morning, but something had, and he was determined to show her how he felt about her, no matter what it took. He also knew that he would hold off telling her that he was buying the property aligning hers for expansion of the sanctuary as well as living quarters for some of his pack members. Eric had set that in motion when he’d left to collect his pack. He didn’t want it to look as if he were trying to buy her because that was far from his motives. He believed in what she did, respected it, and wanted to be a part of her life, and this place was her life.

  Pulling into the sanctuary, a sense of urgency overcame him. Slamming the brakes, he was out of the truck and headed toward the trailer, his eyes scanning for Gemma, but she was nowhere to be seen.

  “She’s not here, lover boy.” Kile grinned as he carried a bucket of meat toward an enclosure.

  The sense of urgency he felt before turned into dread, making him stop in his tracks. “What?”

  “She left a few hours ago.” Kile also stopped, looking at Eric. “What’s wrong?”

  Eric shook his head knowing his brother felt his concern. He didn’t understand it, none of them did, but once one found their mate, they had a connection. And right now, the connection he felt with Gemma had him wanting to find her and find her fast. “I don’t know, but something’s off.” And if there was anything Eric trusted, it was his sixth sense; it never failed him. If anyone knew where Gemma had gone, it would be Larry. “Where’s Larry?”

  “Last I saw him he was down by the lower enclosures.” Kile nodded that way. “Let me feed Samson real quick and I’ll be right there.”

  Eric didn’t answer; he rushed toward where Larry might be. Within two steps, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Stopping, he took it out hoping it was Gemma.

  It wasn’t.

  Chapter 12

  Gemma was heading back to the sanctuary when blue lights flashed behind her. “Dammit!”

  Clicking on her blinker, she pulled to the side of the road. With one last glare in her rearview mirror, she reached over for her registration papers and then her license because she knew that was exactly what Sheriff Brennan would ask for, like he did every single time he pulled her over. She knew she hadn’t been speeding, but that didn’t matter to Brennan. He got joy out of making her life miserable. Lance must pay him well, the asshole.

  Before she leaned back up to roll her window down, the door was ripped open.

  “Get out of the car!” a man’s voice ordered.

  Gemma was so surprised to hear someone else’s voice other than the sheriff’s she dropped her registration and license as she was literally pulled out of the car.

  “Get off me.” She struggled, trying to see who the hell was pulling her, but she was slammed against her truck.

  “If you want to live, bitch, you will listen and do what you’re told.” The man hissed in her ear, “Now move!”

  Confused and frightened, Gemma did as she was told, staring at the police car. “Where’s Sheriff Brennan?” She tried to glance behind her to see who was pushing her, but he pushed her head back around. One thing she did notice was he was in civilian clothing. He was not one of the deputies.

  As she got closer to the police car, the memory of her grandfather telling her to never allow herself to be forced into a car by anyone popped into her head. “Fight with everything you have because chances are it will end badly if you don’t,” he would say. On one of the back roads that maybe saw a car or two an hour, her survival mode kicked into high gear.

  Fear so strong overtook her that she jerked and began to fight her way free. To her surprise, the man lost his grip, and she tried to head toward the woods, but her freedom was short-lived. She was tackled to the road, her face skidding along the rough terrain.

  Undeterred, she fought hard, but he was too strong. He flipped her over so fast the sun blinded her, and all she could see was a large silhouette looming above her. It wasn’t until his head moved, blocking out the sun, that she saw who sat on top of her. She may have only seen the picture Eric showed her for a brief momen
t, but she knew exactly who this man was. She also knew her shock was apparent when he laughed.

  “I see Eric has been talking about me.” The man chuckled, but it wasn’t a pleasant sound. “When I heard Lance bitching about a new man at the wolf sanctuary, I took the time of snoop around because I had a hunch it was that bastard Eric.”

  “Lance?” Gemma asked. Then things became clear. She should have known. She should have told Eric that Lance hired a lot of men to run his place. He had such a high turnaround of employees so was always hiring new people. It never occurred to her that he may have hired the man Eric sought.

  “Yeah, my boss.” The man snickered, but she didn’t get the joke. “I was right under his nose, and he never even knew it because he was too busy fucking you.”

  Gemma wasn’t going down without a fight. This was the man Eric had been looking for, and she’d be damned if she was used for bait so this man could get to Eric.

  He stood, grabbing her by the hair and pulling her up. Blood trickled down her cheek and the sting of the road rash on her face spurred her into action. She kicked out, but he was quick and moved just in time.

  The man tugged her to him so hard it knocked the breath out of her. “I might just say fuck Eric and keep you for myself.” He leaned close and nuzzled her neck. “I like fighters.”

  Vomit wedged in the back of her throat as tears burned the edges of her eyes when he licked her neck. Disgust filled her soul almost to the point her body wanted to shut down so she could crawl inside herself, away from this nightmare. It wasn’t until he started pushing her toward the car that she began to fight again. She screamed, hoping someone would hear her, but once he opened the back door and shoved her inside she knew no one would be coming to her rescue.

  Her feet hit something as she fell onto the back seat. Her eyes quickly went to what it was, and another scream escaped her throat. Sheriff Brennan stared up at her from the floorboard with wide lifeless eyes.

  ******