“These men are good men who carry a great secret within them. They need your help and your protection,” Lanaya said gently, but there was an urgency in her voice. “They are in grave danger. They will barely escape with their lives.”
“Escape from what?” Burke asked, standing as his wolf pushed forward. He didn’t understand why his wolf was suddenly so interested, but he wasn’t going to question the fact that he was. His wolf’s instincts had never been wrong.
“These gentle and kind beings were stolen from their homes and have been held by a group of men whose evilness knows no bounds,” Lanaya said with anger. “They are going to be sold into slavery.”
“Slavery!”
Burke’s wolf growled angrily within him, clawing at Burke’s chest and demanding to be released. The very thought of another person suffering the indignities and pain of a life of slavery raised the hackles of his wolf and the humanity in his man. The scars on his back and thighs pulsed with remembered torture and unimaginable pain. He could never forget how he and his friends had been taken, beaten, and forced to serve a man who had used them as slave labor to build his empire of cruelty.
That was where he had met Murdock. Never in his life did he ever think that he would become friends with a vampire, but Murdock had been different than any other vampire he had ever known. Murdock was the exact opposite of the vampires that Burke had been raised to mistrust. Murdock, his brother Vincent, and their friends had also been taken and forced into a life of slavery.
All of them, wolves and vampires alike, had been tamed by the one substance that rendered them weak and controllable—silver. The silver collars that encircled their throats had tortured them throughout their year-long imprisonment. The wolves could not shift, and the vampires lost their strength. Each of them had been expendable pawns in a game of control that Master Z had taken full advantage of.
“You and your friend Murdock must help these men,” Lanaya implored, her brown eyes flashing with the intensity of her emotions.
“And why would we do that?” Burke asked her angrily.
Memories of being alone and forgotten weighed heavily in his heart. He could not help but lash out. As beautiful and as soothing as it was to be in Lanaya’s presence, the pain and the fear that he had experienced on a daily basis during his imprisonment, still ate at him. He didn’t think he would ever be able to forget the cruelty or the abuse that he and his friends had endured.
“No one was there to help or protect any of us when we were ridiculed and banished from our packs.” He looked at Lanaya and did his best to ignore the gentle pleading in her eyes. “No one cared if we lived or died. No one came forward and prevented the pain and suffering that my men experienced. No one helped Murdock or his coven when they were denied the blood that they needed in order to survive.”
“What was done to all of you was inexcusable,” Lanaya said quietly.
“Damn right it was,” Burke snapped. “And nothing was done to help us when we were sold into slavery and beaten. We were whipped, and starved, and humiliated. Why was it that you didn’t come to our rescue? Weren’t we worthy enough to be saved?”
“Never doubt that you are worthy, Burke. All of you are good men who deserve respect,” Lanaya said gently. “There was no one to help you.”
“You could have helped us!” The anger in Burke’s voice made the room vibrate.
“I could not,” Lanaya said softly.
“Of course you couldn’t,” Burke said, nearly snarling as his wolf pushed at him. “We weren’t good enough for you to help. We meant nothing.”
“You are very wrong, dear Burke,” Lanaya said softly, raising her hands and allowing her gentle rays of healing and love encompass him. “I was with you during that dark time.”
“I would have remembered that,” Burke said, his deep voice hard and cold.
“Do you remember the dreams?”
Burke froze. He had never told anyone about the dreams, not even his best friend Dalton.
“I gave you the gift of those dreams to give you hope,” Lanaya continued. “I wanted you to see that your life would be valued. I wanted you to have a glimpse of the man who would love and cherish you.”
Burke’s dark eyes glowed golden at the mention of the man. The dreams of that innocent boy had begun during the time he had been caged at Master Z’s stockade. It was then that he had first seen the gentleness in his blue eyes and had felt the kindness and humor that was so much a part of him. He had often dreamed of walking through an open field with the youth. He watched the young boy tend to a garden and play with the animals of the land, seeing the care and that tenderness he gave to each one. Experiencing those things each night as he slept had given him the strength to get up every day and push through the pain and sadness.
“You have seen the man who is meant to be yours, Burke,” Lanaya said gently. “He is a good man. He is a kind man. He will be your true mate. You deserve to find the happiness that his love will afford you.”
Burke snorted with disgust as he sat on the edge of his desk and crossed his arms across his chest, the muscles of his arms bulging and his golden eyes flashing angrily as he faced Lanaya. The anger that filled him was instant and intense.
Him deserving of love? He wasn’t deserving of anything. Wasn’t that what his father had told him when he had found out that his youngest son would not be willing to mate with the woman that his father had chosen for him?
His father had been alpha. No one ever denied his requests. No one ever refused his orders. Except for Burke. He had known that he could not live his life with a woman who was not his true mate. He wanted to know real love and tenderness with a man who would own his heart.
Telling his father what he wanted had earned him a beating so severe, he didn’t know how he had survived it. He had been beaten so mercilessly, nearly every bone in his face had been broken. He had been dragged from his home and thrown into the open bed of a truck, driven nearly thirty miles away from his father’s pack land, and tossed from the truck while it was still in motion. He had only been seventeen years old at the time.
The fact that his older brothers had done the beating had been even more cruel. At first he had thought that they had beaten him and banished him from the pack because he had dared to defy their father, but as he grew, he realized that it was because he was destined to be alpha and, as such, was a threat to all of them.
Burke’s best friend Dalton Harrison had followed them in the car that Burke had helped him get into running condition when Dalton had bought it from the local garage. Burke had no doubt in his mind that if Dalton hadn’t come after him, he would not have lived through the night.
Dalton had pulled him from the wooded area where he had been thrown as if he were nothing but trash to be discarded. He had tugged Burke into his car, helping him to lie in the back seat and cushioning his bruised body as best he could with the blankets he kept in the trunk. He drove them to their friend Niko’s place.
Niko was older that they were by five years and lived in a small cabin almost twenty miles from the place where Burke had been thrown. Niko had hidden both him and Dalton, helping Burke to concentrate enough to shift into his wolf form in order to begin the healing process.
Dalton had gone back to pack land so as not to draw suspicion, but it hadn’t mattered. Burke’s father had suspected that Dalton had helped him. Burke still remembered the day his father and his six brothers had followed Dalton out to Niko’s cabin. They had waited until the early morning hours when the three of them had been asleep then burst into Niko’s small home and had taken the three of them.
Burke didn’t remember much about that night except for the cold-blooded way his father and his brothers had attacked and had beaten them for daring to try to fight back. The three of them had been rendered incapacitated by the silver collars that his father had fastened around their necks. They couldn’t shift to fight. They could barely stand. The weakness that assailed them was immediate and
debilitating.
There was a long ride in the back of his father’s truck. There was the sound of deep voices discussing the price of three hardy wolf shifters. Then there was nothing but a year of pain and torture as they had been forced to work as slaves for the man they had come to know as Master Z.
“Why couldn’t you help us escape?” Burke asked Lanaya quietly. “Do you realize how we suffered?”
“Yes, Burke, I do,” Lanaya said sadly. “I helped you when I could.”
“How? How did you help us?”
Burke felt his anger overwhelming him as the pain of that time burned brightly within his memory. He did his best to let go of those memories, but sometimes they were just too much to push from his mind. The weakness from the silver collar still affected him. Although he was muscular and healthy now, exhaustion made him lose strength when he walked. When he shifted into his wolf form, he was much stronger, but the weakness in his human form was always there, making him know every day of his life that he was less of a man because of it.
“There was always food and water for you. I made certain of that,” Lanaya said softly, knowing that the memories Burke was experiencing were painful.
Burke was stunned by the revelation. There were many times that he and his friends had found food and water by their crates. He never knew who had been responsible for that. Now, he did.
“You were meant to be in that camp to meet the men who would form your pack,” Lanaya continued gently. “Were you not in that situation, you would never have met them. They needed you. They still do.”
Burke remained silent. He would not admit that meeting the men who were now his pack family was a good thing. He couldn’t imagine his life without them in it. They were good men. They were loyal and brave. Burke was proud of all of them, but admitting to Lanaya that the year of slavery was worth it was just not something he was willing to do.
“Murdock needed to be there to find the members of his coven,” Lanaya continued.
“Weren’t there other ways to meet our men?” Burke snapped. “Why did we need to suffer the torture that met us every morning and bedded with us every night?”
“To know such cruelty carries a great weight of sadness,” Lanaya told him quietly. “It has served to shape all of you to be the men of honor and fairness that you are.”
Burke grunted in response. What he was, what Murdock was, and what their men were, had nothing to do with the horrors of that year. What they were, they were despite that year of slavery.
“I think you should leave, Lanaya,” Burke told her firmly.
“I cannot, Burke. All of you must fulfill your destiny. The men from Tuath are your destiny,” Lanaya continued gently.
Burke shook his head and laughed without mirth. “Yeah, right,” he scoffed. “Sorry. Don’t believe you.” He stood and walked over to the large picture window that looked out over the back of his pack land. The full moon was high in the night sky, illuminating the land that he had come to know as his home. “I doubt Murdock will believe you either.”
“You are correct. He did not.”
Burke turned around and faced Lanaya. “You’ve already spoken to him?”
Lanaya nodded. “He holds much anger within him just as you do, my sweet wolf,” Lanaya said, smiling sadly.
“Can you blame him? He and his men were nearly starved when we found them,” Burke said, remembering the small area of crates that Murdock, his brother Vincent, and the other members of their coven had been locked away in.
“You helped them,” Lanaya said, proud that Burke had pushed aside his prejudices and fear of vampires that his father had taught him.
“Yeah. We did. We helped them.”
He remembered how Murdock and Vincent had protected Burke from Master Z when he, Niko, and Dalton had first arrived. Murdock’s blue eyes had connected with his brown ones, and a bond had been formed. In that moment, both men knew that they were meant to walk with each other as friends and brothers to protect the men who followed them. It was a role that both men took to heart.
Murdock had taken the whippings for Burke, Dalton, and Niko when they didn’t work hard enough or fast enough to suit their master. In time, Burke had learned. So did Dalton and Niko. Burke had never let his friends down again. Soon, it was both he and his newly formed pack family who protected the others.
When Burke had seen the way Murdock and his coven were weakening, he had gathered his men together in order to figure out how they could help. His men had been willing to do what they could for their vampire brothers—including allowing them to drink from their wrists in order for them to survive. And so, a blood bond had been created between vampire and wolf that remained in place to this day.
The vampires had taken only the barest amount of blood once each week to maintain their strength. It was enough and too much at the same time. All of the coven members worried for their wolf shifter friends. To take too much blood would weaken the already weakened states of their wolf brothers.
Murdock had told him that the hope of every vampire was to find their true beloved. Their beloved would be the one to gift them with their blood over their lifetime together as mates. It would strengthen their bond and form a connection that could never be broken.
Burke couldn’t deny the same need to taste the blood of his mate. The mating process for the wolf was much the same as a vampire. The claiming bite would be the catalyst to the bonding with his destined love. Burke wanted that with the man he saw in his dreams.
That man soothed him each night. Burke didn’t think the man was even aware of the moments that they shared. Those moments were beautiful and gave him such peace—until one week ago when everything changed. His man came to him each night with pain and fear. It was the very reason Burke was working without rest. He couldn’t stand to see those blue eyes looking at him and pleading him for help that he didn’t know how to give. To see that man so upset tore at his heart.
He pushed the thought of the handsome man with the gentle smile from his mind. To think about him just made his chest ache. He was lost without the love he secretly prayed for. He couldn’t dwell on it. Taking a calming breath, he returned his attention to the goddess who had dredged up so many painful memories.
“Our relationship with Murdock and his coven was forged through a common goal. Escape,” he said as he looked at Lanaya, hardening himself against the gentle sadness he saw in her eyes. “We found friendship along the way.”
“Together, you will find your mates,” Lanaya said with conviction. “You must go to the cove near the lake. Your destined mates need your help and protection. They will give you the love that all of you deserve. They will gift you with the miracle of a family.”
Burke looked at Lanaya and shook his head. He couldn’t deny that this was all a lot to take in. Hell! It was impossible to believe! But he had to admit that the fact that Lanaya stood before him was one hell of a miracle. Maybe going to the cove would be a good idea. What could it hurt?
Not much hurt him now except his memories and his loneliness. He had grown into his power as alpha soon after he and his friends had escaped on that miraculous night. He had never understood how their cages had been left unlocked, but they had been. Looking at Lanaya, he wondered if the goddess had something to do with that. He had a feeling that she had been instrumental in their escape. Maybe Lanaya had guided them across the land that separated Master Z’s property from the small ocean town of Farraige.
They had hidden away in the caves that bordered the ocean, gaining strength and health as they fought to survive. Dalton and Vincent had stolen tools that they had used to remove all of the silver collars. Returning the tools to the man that they had taken them from, they had found an ally in the old wolf shifter who knew of Master Z and his cruelty. George Winston had been the savior that all of them had dared to hope for.
So much had changed because of the goodness and the generosity of George Winston. Burke and his friends had been able to grow strong and
healthy. Once he was certain that they were fully recovered from their ordeal, George had asked them to work in the small transport business that he ran on Andivoy. George had said that he needed their help, but Burke and Murdock had known that the older man was providing them with an opportunity to feel useful again without hurting their pride.
None of them knew anything about transports, but they had learned. It wasn’t long before all of them had become self-sufficient and were ready to move on to create homes of their own. They didn’t want to leave George behind, but George had told them all that he was too old to relocate. He wanted all of them to find the lives that were meant for them. He also wanted Burke to fulfill his role as alpha, and Murdock to be the coven leader that he was meant to be.
George had given them directions to a plot of land that his family owned that covered hundreds of acres of forest and large lakes that were far away from the area that was under Master Z’s rule. George wanted them to start fresh and create their new home in an area of safety. George had gifted the lands to both of them, knowing that the friendship between the wolves and the vampires would ensure a peaceful life for all of them.
They all missed him deeply. He was more than a good friend. He was the caring and loving father that none of them had ever had. And he had never given up that role. It didn’t matter that they didn’t see him much now that they had started their new lives. He was still the man who had rescued and protected them.
They would never forget him. They would never ignore him. He was the guiding force in their lives who had truly saved all of them. He had handed over the control of his transport business to the both of them. That business had given them security. Their pack and coven had thrived. There was always enough money and food. They were safe. Because of George. They visited him as often as they could, using the unique transport system that George had created.
After a few years had passed, Burke and Murdock had decided to try their hand at construction. Their construction company had been instrumental in helping many neighboring towns with the building of homes and places of businesses as well as schools. During all of their dealings with customers, they made sure to keep their pack and coven lands secret. No customer knew the location of Burke’s or Murdock’s homes, and each man was determined to keep it that way for the protection of their men.
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