“Say it.”
She pulled back against the hand that cupped the back of her head, but he wouldn’t let her budge.
“I’m not playing and neither is my wolf,” he said, knowing his wolf flashed in his eyes. Her little gasp of surprise confirmed it. “This is serious shit and if you deny me or my wolf, it’ll piss me off like nothing else and I’ll have to punish that pretty little ass of yours.”
He nipped at her lip with that one and licked across it before he repeated himself.
“What are we?”
He flexed his fingers in her hair slightly. He thought she might fight further, but then he saw the heat back in her gaze as she and her wolf surrendered to the truth they’d known all along.
“Mates.”
“That’s fucking right, baby,” he pulled her against him, his arm wrapping around her waist and his other hand pulling her lips to his. “You’re mine ‘til the end of time. You’ll wear my mark with pride, won’t you? You’ll let anyone who sees you know whose you are.”
She moaned into the kiss and nearly drove him out of his mind. But when she pulled back and made space for her to rain kisses down on his chest, his breathing hitched. What the hell was she doing?
“I’ve never done this,” she purred as she kissed lower, feathering light touches across his abs with her moist lips. “But I need to taste you, Sage. Teach me.”
He and his wolf bucked when a warm tongue traced lower and her nimble fingers undid the fly of his jeans. Was she seriously looking to do what he thought she was doing? Christ. It took all of his willpower not to come right there in his pants.
“Baby,” he breathed as he lifted his hips and let her slide his boxers and jeans off. “Be sure you want to do this. There’s no rush.”
She sniffed at him and nipped at the narrowing patch of hair that led right where she was heading.
“Be quiet, Sage,” she whispered. “And let me fuck you with my mouth.”
Fuuuuuck.
Her mouth was hot and wet and demanding as she slid it down the length of him, flicking her tongue on the underside of him. His hand tightened in her hair and he gently guided her, slowly at first.
“I love the way you taste,” she whispered between gulps.
“Baby, you’re going to make me come right now if you don’t stop torturing me,” he said coarsely, his control nearly gone.
“Come in my mouth,” she pushed, gripping the base of his shaft as she sucked harder and harder, letting Sage fuck her mouth while her free hand cupped his balls. “I want to taste all of you.”
“Jesus, Emery,” Sage groaned, pushed over the edge. “Here it comes, baby. Swallow it all. Let me mark you there, too.”
Her excitement was obvious as she greedily took everything he gave her, his balls twitching as he shot his hot load down the back of her throat. And she took it all, every last drop. She ended the exchange with a nip on his inner thigh and Sage was pretty sure that if he didn’t have pack business to get to eventually, he’d never willingly get out of Emery’s bed again.
***
“Earth to Beta,” Dane teased. Sage looked up and saw that his sentinels were all silently laughing at him and his lack of attention.
“Fuck off,” he said with a smile on his lips. Sienna must have shared the news. He’d told Brody and his sister about Emery as soon as he left her with a perma-smile on her lips.
He’d ravaged that body of hers again and shredded another set of sheets. He could still smell her on him and he and his wolf fucking loved it.
“When will you claim her?” Brody had asked. Fighting the mating urge was hard for shifters and the longer they ignored it, the more out of their minds with lust and need they became.
“When she’s ready.”
The answer was simple and direct—and the truth.
Later that afternoon, he swung by Emery’s cabin to help carry a few things over to his place. They’d decided that although they were going slow when it came to mating and claiming, neither of them wanted to sleep alone anymore. And since Sage had the bigger, more modern cabin, Emery had agreed to stay with him from now on. She didn’t have much, so he didn’t actually expect to find her in her cabin.
But what he found gave him pause.
Emery was sitting Indian-style on the floor, her cellphone in her hands, and her eyes distant. It took Sage saying her name twice and taking her face in his hands for her to focus.
“They called,” she whispered. “They found my cell and they called me.”
Her voice was shaking along with her hands.
“Who, baby?” Sage asked gently, trying not to spook her. “Who called?”
Her teary eyes turned to him.
“Cardoza’s men,” she said with a whimper. “They said my dad got out early and they were waiting for him. They said I needed to go pick him up myself or they’d kill him. They wanted to make a deal with me.”
Sage’s wolf flashed forward, furious that the gangster motherfuckers wanted to mess with his mate.
“It’s a trap,” Sage said softly. “Don’t believe the shit they tell you, okay? I’ll call Samuel and we’ll get the real story.”
Emery nodded but her eyes went distant again, forcing Sage to say her name again.
“Listen to me,” he said in a low voice. “Don’t believe a word they say. They’re out for revenge against you for turning in their boss.”
She nodded, but Sage wasn’t convinced.
“We’ll figure this all out,” he whispered against her mouth. “Don’t worry, baby.”
Jai couldn’t have picked a worse time to knock at the cabin’s door.
“What?” Sage growled, turning to face his enforcer. “What the fuck do you want?”
Jai’s hands went up defensively.
“Sorry, boss,” he said. “But Pax is here. They found the last Kodiak yesterday and he’s here. Taking him to the shed. I guess this one’s more willing to talk about their war against us and the plans their prime has.”
Fuck.
He looked down at Emery and searched her eyes.
“You’ll be okay for a little bit?” He asked, completely willing to stay behind if she needed him.
Emery drew in a deep breath and gave Sage a forced smile.
“I’ll be okay,” she said, her voice raw. “We can make a plan when you get back.”
Placated for the moment, Sage kissed the top of her head before jogging after Jai.
“Make yourself comfortable in my cabin,” he called over his shoulder. “My home is your home now.”
Emery nodded and gave him a watery smile. As he briefly caught her eyes, Sage could have sworn that he caught a brief flash of something that looked like regret, but lost it just as fast as it appeared. She was more than likely worried about the threat the humans had made against her father.
They’d figure it all out when he got back.
Chapter Ten
Emery
This was stupid. Really, really stupid.
Holy shit, but this was stupid.
Emery replayed the mantra over and over in her head as she drove north to Wyoming in a pickup truck she’d stolen from Sage. Well, she’d actually stolen the keys from his dresser, but still. If he ever forgave her for what she was about to do, he was going to be so super pissed with her.
As soon as Sage had left, clarity had returned to Emery and she called the jail that held her father. It was true, he’d been released yesterday a few weeks earlier due to overcrowding. The receptionist checked the logs and said a man signed as Felipe Ventura had received her father and his belongings. She didn’t know the name, and she was certain her father didn’t know the name, either.
As she packed a backpack for what she hoped and prayed would be a short trip to Wyoming, she called her Alpha, Samuel.
“No, Emery,” he said, his tone worried. “Nobody contacted us. Where’s Sage? You’re not planning anything stupid, are you?”
She assured Samuel that she wasn’t (she
was) and that Sage was busy at the moment and that she’d tell him to call Sam as soon as she saw him again (she wasn’t).
As soon as she snuck the truck off pack lands, she sent a text message to the number that had called her and waited for instructions. It was going to be a long ride and possibly even a longer night, but against humans (despite their weapons) she was hoping that she and her father and their wolves had a fighting chance of survival. She wanted to be past this chapter of her life so badly it hurt. And to think that this was the only thing standing in her way of mating freely and with open arms with Sage, it made her want to put this issue to rest even more.
Emery wasn’t a fool—she knew they were luring her there and would probably try to kidnap (or worse) her, but they didn’t know she and her father were shifters. She had the element of surprise on her side and if she could get her father out of there, there was a chance they could remain under the radar for however long it took the Cardoza gang to forget them. Hell, Emery could even save enough money to repay them with interest if they let her.
She just needed her father to be safe. She could work out something from there—she hoped.
***
Emery knew as soon as she got out of the truck in the warehouse parking lot that she was a damn idiot.
She’d let her emotions get the best of her and acted rashly. She’d left Colorado like a thief in the night and now, as the men in the dark sedans got out of their cars and began to surround her, she realized she’d probably never see Sage and his pack ever again.
There was no street-smart solution here, she thought glumly, as she counted six men and some sort of slack-eyed ring leader. She was back up against the driver’s side door of Sage’s truck and her heart was racing.
When a heap of clothing and skin was dumped from the side of one of the closer vehicles, a strangled cry sprang from her lips when she recognized the unconscious form of her father.
“Daddy,” she whispered, unable to control the tears in her eyes. “What did they do to you?”
The leader stepped forward and kicked her father in the ribs as he approached Emery.
“He crossed us,” the man said. He was soft and fleshy, obviously not a trained warrior. In fact, all of the men here were soft when compared to the sentinels she’d trained with in Boulder. They only thing that saved them from having her wolf rip their throats out was the fact that they had high-powered weapons.
“Now, as much as I love sitting out here talking to you, Cardoza is on his way and wants to talk to you,” the man said. Emery’s mouth dropped open.
“How?”
Looking annoyed the man answered.
“We broke him out earlier this morning,” he said with a shrug. “And he asked for you as a welcome home present. So, you know, it’s night-night time.”
She’d hardly had time to frown when she heard the shot from a gun and the sting of a dart in her neck.
Whatever tranquilizer she’d been hit with, it was strong. Shit.
“Didn’t want you shifting on us, did we?” The pudgy man said with a grin. “He wants his new pet in perfect shape.”
Panic flooded through Emery. They’d known she was a shifter? Is that why her father was unconscious? They didn’t want either of them to shift. They wanted them powerless.
With a cry, Emery sank to her knees as she clawed at the dart in her neck. She couldn’t go out like this—without an ounce of fight. It was unfair. She had so much worth living for now and the choice had been taken from her.
Memorizing the man’s face who was walking toward her, Emery vowed that if she survived what was about to happen to her, she would rip his throat out first. And enjoy it.
Her eyes slid closed over her tears as the tranquilizer took effect.
***
She had dreamed about Sage. The dream started out so sweet, but as she felt the pull of consciousness yanked her from it, Sage’s face had morphed into pain and agony. Emery was forced to watch her mate suffer as she was lifted out of the darkness into the real world.
Emery blinked her eyes a few times to clear the blur. It was dark where she was. Maybe it was nighttime as well, because there was no light coming in from the windows up above her. She made to move and couldn’t, finding her body bound to a chair and her hands and ankles zip tied together.
She tried to keep her breathing and movements quiet so as not to draw attention to her for as long as she could. She needed to figure out where the hell she was and how she was going to get her father out of there.
It seemed like she was alone for now. Glancing around, Emery realized she was in the middle of a giant empty warehouse. It looked like it’d been long abandoned as there was no equipment and most of the windows up near the ceiling were broken. A wan light came from two bare bulbs hanging from the second-story metal roof.
Emery inhaled deep and felt for her wolf. Nothing. Sienna had mentioned having the same thing happen to her when she tussled with the Kodiaks in Nevada and how scared she’d been. It was a temporary thing, though, so Emery focused on not losing her shit over something that would wear off. Eventually. Her job was to stay alive and stay whole in her human form until her wolf could come out.
She pulled at the zip ties at her hands and let out a cry of frustration when they didn’t budge.
“Please!” She grit out in desperation as she felt the blood running down her wrist and hands from her fruitless struggle.
Behind her, a door slammed closed and she heard multiple sets of footsteps.
“God, I love it when women beg,” a voice purred. She recognized it immediately from the hearing she’d attended to save her father from prison. Fucking Eddie Cardoza.
She closed her eyes as he and a group of lackeys approached, schooling her features into a bored mask to avoid giving the man what he was likely after—a reaction.
Cardoza came to stand between her knees and knelt.
“Hello again, Emery,” he said in a deceptively soft voice. She didn’t miss the glint in his eye, though. There was pure malice there. “Didn’t expect to see me again so soon, did you?”
“Not really,” she deadpanned with a bored tone. “Thanks for the invite to your little welcome home soiree. Real cute.”
Cardoza, a man in his 30s with a penchant for silk shirts and an over-manicured moustache, smiled seconds before backhanding Emery across the face. Coupled with the tranquilizers in her system, the blow nearly sent her back into oblivion.
“So clever right? Such a smart girl?” He was back in her face, hissing and spitting. Emery craned her neck away from him, trying to convey her obvious disgust.
“Here’s the plan,” he continued. “I’m going to keep your system so full of this fantastic little narcotic that you’ll never shift again. And in the meantime, I’ll have my fun. My men will have their fun. Hell, we’ll make a little sport out of who can abuse you the worst and we’ll put it on the internet. How’s that sound?”
Emery drew in a short breath, trying to avoid the bait. He wanted her cry. Instead, she craned away a few more inches so he’d lean forward to crowd her space. When he fell for it, she brought her forehead forward as fast as she could, straight into the bastard’s nose and mouth.
He yelled in pain and fell backwards on his ass, clutching his now-bleeding face.
“I’ll have your balls before you lay a hand on me, motherfucker,” she spat. He wanted a victim? Fuck that.
Cardoza pushed to his feet and moved to hit her again when a wall to the left of her exploded into a cloud of dust and debris right as a giant SUV drove through. Giant wolves, some she recognized, some she didn’t, raced in behind the vehicle and immediately went on the offensive, taking down Cardoza’s men with terrifying efficiency.
Before he could truly grasp what was going on, Emery pulled her bound ankles toward her and kicked Cardoza in the stomach as hard as she could, sending him flying backwards a second time into an ungraceful heap.
A half second later, a familiar sable and white
wolf stalked forward, his head low and his teeth out. The snarl coming from him was bone chilling and Cardoza tried to scoot away from him on his ass while the wolf stalked him down.
“Wait,” Cardoza began. “I’m a rich man! I can…”
But he never got to finish. The wolf had his teeth around his neck in a flash and that was the end for one Eddie Cardoza and the hired men he’d used to kidnap both Emery Wilkins and her father.
Chapter Eleven
Sage
He’d been so angry, he hadn’t been able to speak a word to Emery as they made their way to Tahoe Pack territory to drop Hank Wilkins off. The older man had started to regain consciousness and told his side of the story to Jai.
It checked out. He was released early, and although he didn’t recognize the man there to pick him up, he’d just assumed it was somebody that Samuel sent for him. It was only when the needle was stuck into his neck that he realized not only had Cardoza gotten ahold of him, but also that he knew he and Emery were shifters and that Emery was Cardoza’s ultimate target.
“I’m out now, though,” Hank had said to the assembled shifters in the Tahoe lodge. “I can take care of Emery now. We’ll be fine.”
He had a protective arm draped around Emery’s shoulders from the moment they entered the lodge, making it clear to every shifter in the vicinity that she was his.
“She doesn’t need to be taken care of,” Sage drawled. “She’s fairly competent not only in stealing trucks, but in making decisions about her own life.”
He’d felt the surprise in her as she jerked beside him.
“What does that mean, Blaine?”
Hank tossed the question at him, the menace in the older shifter growing.
“Well, Wilkins, it means that Emery decides where we live and what we do from this point on,” Sage said simply and didn’t meet her eyes when Emery turned to look at him.
“What?” She whispered. “What do you mean?”
Sage answered her in a low voice, though he was certain the other shifters in the room could hear him just fine.
Beta's Destiny (Rocky Mountain Shifters Book 2) Page 6