by James Wolfe
My jaw dropped. “Baby, are you serious?”
Standing in front of me was a small wooden building with the word “BAKERY” written on a wooden sign on top of the front door.
“Very serious.”
I was in awe. “Wait, you got this set up for me?”
“Yep,” he said, smiling.
“You even assigned people to work as bakers and everything?”
“Sure did,” he said.
I squealed and wrapped my arms around him. “Baby, thank you, thank you!”
He knew one thing I missed desperately about my old village were the fun shops, especially the bakery. To make up for it, Cole was always bringing home baked goods from other members of the tribe. But I had no idea he would even consider actually having a bakery!
I knew about this building, of course. I saw the construction every time I walked by. But Jameson insisted they needed another storage building and I believed him.
“You’ve been hiding this from me for months?” I asked as I nudged him.
“Yes, and I promise it will be the only time I lie to you.” He smiled. “Do you like it?”
“Like it?” I nearly shouted. “I love it! Baby, you have no idea how happy this makes me.”
He wrapped his arm around me and kissed the top of my head. “And guess what they’re baking today, just for you?”
I looked over at him with a grin. “Pumpkin pie?”
“Pumpkin pie.” He smiled back.
I pulled him in for a long, deep kiss. The kind of kiss I gave when I wanted to remind him of just how deeply I loved him. “You are everything to me, do you know that? Absolutely everything.”
“Not everything,” he said as he rubbed my belly gently. “I can think of one other thing that means a whole awful lot to you.”
I put my hand on my own stomach. “You and him. You two are everything.”
He took my hand. “Ready for a slice of pie? If you want, you can yell at me about keeping this place secret. That way, it’ll remind me of the first time we ever had pie together.”
I laughed. “Deal.”
I walked in with him with an empty stomach and a heart full of joy.
Continue reading for a free excerpt from the first book in this series, set in the same universe, Fated Mates!
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Fated Mates
14
Daniel
Daniel
I felt the cool breeze of the night hit my face as I stormed out of the bar. I was absolutely fuming.
I had no idea where exactly I was going to go, though. I hadn’t driven tonight; my boyfriend had, and we were in the middle of goddamn nowhere. God, I knew I hadn’t wanted to come to this bar. I hated it. It was such a dive bar, and it was in the middle of fucking nowhere. I should’ve trusted my instincts.
Suddenly, when I heard my boyfriend calling my name, I realized I didn’t care where I was going. I just needed to go.
I started to storm across the parking lot, hoping that his drunk ass wouldn’t follow me.
“D-Daniel!” he said sloppily. “Daniel, wait your ass up.”
“Go back to the fucking bar, Rich. It’s over!” I said, as I continued to walk through the parking lot and toward the back of the bar, which was basically just the woods.
“It’s not over until I say it’s over!” he growled. “And I don’t say it’s over.”
God dammit, that was the wrong thing to say. Why was I always so antagonistic? I knew it was only going to make the fighting worse, and all I wanted was some space. But, I was a little tipsy, too, so I couldn’t help myself. I was just as angry as he was.
“Leave me the fuck alone!” I yelled at him as he continued to follow me, forcing me to go deeper into the woods, which I didn’t like at all.
I hated these woods. Honestly, I hated any woods. I wasn’t a nature person. Like I said, being away from civilization wasn’t my thing at all.
But, I especially hated the woods when it was dark. It was so fucking spooky. No lights, no human noises around, just animals rustling and the howl of the wind. To say I was out of my comfort zone was a serious understatement.
Yet still, I’d take these creepy woods over being with my boyfriend right now. Actually, my ex-boyfriend, as I’d recently decided.
“I didn’t mean it!” he groaned.
“You didn’t mean it, really? How do you kiss someone at a bar while you’re physically with your boyfriend and not mean it?”
I wasn’t even sure what that meant. Like, how do you ‘not mean’ a kiss? You either do it or you don’t. You don’t have to mean it.
And boy, had he done it. He’d told me he was going to be back in just a few minutes to play pool, that he just had to go to the bathroom. Twenty minutes later, I was looking for him, and I saw he was in the bathroom making out with some other dude.
Honestly, though, it was my fault. No, really, it was. Because I’d let him get away with this shit way too many times before. I’d allowed him to treat me like dirt, and I hadn’t done anything about it. Until now, that is. Now I was going to fucking do something about it, finally.
“We’re done, Rich. Go back to the bar, go find that boy you wanted to make out with so badly, and leave me the fuck alone, please.”
“It ain’t over!” he laughed. “It’s never over! Not with you and me, not ever. Just get your ass back here, I’ll apologize, you’ll forgive me, and we can go get a few more drinks.”
I scoffed as I continued to walk. “You think I want to drink with you?! Seriously?!”
“Fine!” he yelled back. “We don’t have to drink! We can do whatever you want. Whatever makes you happy, let’s do it.”
“Being away from you will make me happy,” I told him. “Please, just go.”
“Where the hell are you even going?!” he snapped. “This is the middle of fucking nowhere.”
I turned on my heel, frustrated that he had followed me this far. I could barely see the lights of the bar from here.
“You think I can't see that?!” I snapped. “You think I’m enjoying walking in to the middle of the fucking forest?! NO! I do not like this shit. But I will go anywhere, do anything, if it means that I can get the hell away from you! So, do me a favor and back the fuck off, finally!”
I could see the anger rising in his eyes. “Don’t talk to me that way,” he said, through clenched teeth.
“You’re fucking kidding me, right?!’ I snapped. “You get caught making out with some guy, and I’m the one who has to watch what I say? Why don’t you just start watching what you do, Rich! Isn’t that kind of more important?”
“Fine!” he yelled. “Fine! I will watch what I do, okay?! Are you happy now!? I’ll watch what I do from now on. I’ll be better, I swear.”
“It’s too late!” I told him. “The last time to be better was the first time I caught you in bed with someone else. I’m done now. This isn’t going anywhere else. Seriously, I mean it from the bottom of my heart, go find that boy you just locked lips with. Try to sweet talk him in to being stupid enough to date you. Because I’m not anymore. I’m really not.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Don’t talk about me like that!”
“I will! You’re an asshole, and I was an idiot to ever fucking date you! And I never will again!”
I wasn’t even expecting it. Out of seemingly nowhere, he lunged at me and tackled me on to the ground.
Rich was a huge asshole who had been unfaithful a number of times, but he had never been violent, so this completely caught me off guard.
My heart was pounding in my chest as he pinned both of my arms to the floor, his face inches from mine.
“Take it back!” he screamed.
“No!” I screamed back. “No! Get off of me!”
But his grip only got tighter on my wrist. “You’re not leaving me! You’re not! Take it all back!”
I was in shock. What was happening? I was literally lying here on the dirty floor of the for
est with my ex-boyfriend screaming on top of me? Was this a dream? Was this even real life?
But, I knew by the way that small sticks were digging in to my skin and crunchy leaves crushing under my arm that it was, in fact, real life. No matter how much I wished it wasn’t.
“Stop it, Rich! You’re hurting me!” I screamed.
But I wasn’t talking to Rich, not really. Not the Rich who I knew. And the Rich I knew really wasn’t that great.
But the Rich who was on top of me was someone else entirely. He had a hatred in his eyes that I couldn’t even identify. He looked seriously evil.
I knew there was no reasoning with him. I didn’t know if it was rage that brought him to this or drunkenness, but, one thing was clear, there would be no sense in this conversation.
I suddenly felt the primal urge to get out. To just leave, to escape this situation. Because it seemed like things could get really bad for me really fast.
Rich was a little bigger than me, a little stronger, but I figured I could at least get out of his grip. But then what? We were in the middle of the woods. I could go back to the bar. I could ask for someone to help me, to call the cops or something because my ex-boyfriend had gone insane.
Yeah, that’s what I’d do. I’d somehow break away from him and then run as fast as I could back to the bar. In his drunken state, there was no way he could run as fast as I could.
I did it as fast as I could. I jerked both arms upward and kneed him in the stomach. He grunted, and it was enough for me to get away, to slide out of his grip and start crawling on the forest floor, trying to get my balance so I could stand up and run.
And I did stand up. I stood up and got a few steps before I felt something around my ankle… Rich’s hands. He grabbed hold of me and yanked me backwards with such force that I couldn’t stand on my feet.
I fell to the forest floor again with a thud, but this time much harder than when Rich had first pulled me down. I felt my face scrape against the bark of a nearby tree, and I fell on my wrist, sending a searing pain up and down my arm. I’d had a similar pain before, when I’d broken my finger, and I feared for the worst.
But, right now, I feared more than just a broken wrist. I feared Rich. I feared what was coming over him and what the hell he was planning to do.
“Stop! Let go of me!” I yelled immediately.
“No! I’m done with your bullshit! You won’t disrespect me again! Not EVER again!”
Before I knew it was coming, I felt his fist slam into my cheek. I felt the full force of the blow, not anticipating it beforehand, so I didn’t have much adrenaline flowing.
It was a big hit. I immediately felt dizzy. But I was still in fight or flight mode, so I did my best to focus and let my arms fly in front of my face, trying to protect myself from any other incoming blows.
I was terrified. I had no idea what to expect here. I had never seen this side of Rich. As shitty as he’d been, I had never expected he was capable of this. Which meant I had no idea of what he was capable. Beating me to a pulp? Injuring me severely? Killing me maybe, even? No, that was too extreme… but, at the moment, I was scared of it anyway.
I could see him raise his hand for a second blow, but he stopped in midair when an unexpected noise came from the bushes beside us. A noise that made me even more terrified than I already was of Rich….
It was a low but still loud growl. A growl that sounded too deep to come from a dog… not that someone’s pet would be out this deep in the woods anyway.
My worst fear was confirmed when the bush leaves started to ripple and a large, grey wolf stepped out from the brush.
No, not large, large was an understatement. He was fucking huge. I’d never seen a wolf in person before, but I’d really never imagined they could be this big!
My heart was pounding. We both stared at it for a few seconds, but as soon as he started to make the low growl again, Rich jumped right off of me.
“Fuck!” he yelled out as he stumbled back and then ran out of the woods in the direction that we’d come.
A few seconds ago, anything that would have made Rich run from me would have been a relief. But this was not a relief. This was a much more intense fucking problem. Rich killing me was highly unlikely, but this wolf? Well, that was a much more likely death.
I had to do what Rich had done and bolt for it. I stood up as fast as I could, but the second I was on my feet, I realized the extent of my injuries. I was a lot dizzier than I had thought.
The entire forest floor was spinning, as if I was wasted. I couldn’t keep track of what direction I should go in. I wasn’t even sure where the wolf was at this point. And, as soon as I took a step forward, I stumbled and felt my feet slip out from under me. I was on the forest floor again before I knew it.
This is it, I thought. This is how I die. In a dark forest, eaten alive by a fucking wolf after my boyfriend just punched the daylights out of me.
Not exactly how I’d imagined I’d go out.
I’d never felt so hopeless or so scared in my life. I didn't want to die, I didn’t, but there was nothing I could do. The dark leaves of the trees were spinning around me, and I couldn’t move no matter how much I tried. My arms just seemed to flail out in front of me.
I felt the crunching of leaves and knew that the animal must be stepping toward me. I felt like I was going to puke, piss myself, or maybe both. Slowly, even through my blurry vision, the wolf came into view.
“Please, please…” I began to plead with the animal, as if he was a human who could understand me.
I didn’t know if it was the head injury or the debilitating fear, but as I saw the wolf’s face near mine, my vision began to tunnel, and I knew I was losing consciousness. Maybe that was for the better, maybe I didn’t want to be awake for whatever came next.
The last thing I recall was something cold and wet on my cheek.
I woke up with a pounding headache in a room that was not my own.
The first few seconds of consciousness were a total haze. But, slowly, the memories of last night came to me. Or were they memories at all? It kind of felt like a dream… like something that couldn’t possibly have happened. I mean, Rich hitting me? A wolf creeping out from behind us? It didn’t feel real.
But, if it hadn’t been real, I would have woken up in my own bed, wouldn’t I?
For a second, I thought I must be in a hospital room. That someone had found me in the woods and called 911. But, this didn’t look anything like a hospital room.
The walls were all wood, and I was covered in a thick quilt. There was a large deer head hanging on the wall… all the decor had a very rustic feel.
But, so, if I wasn’t in my room and wasn’t in a hospital room, where the fuck was I?
As if my experience last night wasn't traumatic and anxiety-inducing enough, I now had all new fears about being in a place I didn’t recognize whatsoever.
“Hello?” I called out, as I began to roll the blankets back and get out of bed. As soon as I moved my arm, something felt a little weird. There was a pressure in the crook of my elbow. When I pulled it out from under the blanket, I realized there was a needle and wire in my arm. I followed the wire with my eyes, realizing for the first time that there was an empty IV bag next to my head.
Okay, what the fuck, I knew this wasn't a fucking hospital. Now I was really scared.
“Hello?!” I called out more frantically.
My heart pounded as I heard footsteps in the hall coming toward my room. The doorknob seemed to turn in slow motion as a large, bulky man stepped through the door.
“You're awake,” he said, in a monotone voice.
“Who are you?” I asked worriedly. “Where am I?”
“Please, don’t be afraid. I am Alexander,” he said. “You’re in my home. I found you in the woods, looking extremely injured. I took you here to heal.”
What a weird thing to say.
“You…took me here to heal? To your house?” This didn't exactly set my an
xiety at ease. “I don’t understand… why didn’t you take me to the hospital? Why didn’t you call 911?”
“I have no way to call 911,” he answered, “and they take a long time to arrive, anyway. My home was much closer.”
“You… don’t have a way to call 911?” This was getting weirder with every answer he gave. “You have no cell phone?”
“No, I do not.”
“Well… you must know someone who does? A neighbor, maybe? One of your neighbors must have a phone, and… where exactly are we?” It hit me suddenly that there were no nearby towns. It was just forest for miles behind the bar. Which was why it would take so long for an ambulance to arrive. But surely it would have taken equally as long to drive me to his home?
“You’re in my village. Please, relax, I know this all must sound weird, but—”
“Did you say village?”
What the actual fuck was happening?! What was he talking about, village? There were no villages anymore. There were towns, there were cities… this guy was giving me such creepy vibes.
“Yes, my village, we are located very deep in the forest. Not much farther from where I found you. When I saw you, I was protecting the perimeter. We don’t allow anybody to find our village, so we each take turns guarding the wall to make sure we stay undiscovered.”
I suddenly burst out laughing. “I’m dreaming,” I said, “this is some weird concussion dream. And I am just going to wake up any minute now…”
“You’re not dreaming,” he said coolly, “but you remember the doctor telling you that you have a concussion, then?”
“Doctor?” I raised an eyebrow. “No… I was just assuming I had one. I was seen by a doctor? I thought you said you didn’t take me to a hospital?”
“I didn’t. Our village doctor examined you. You were very out of it. But, he said you should be fine, it’s a minor concussion. You will just need to take things easy for a few days.”
I scoffed. “Your… village doctor examined me?” I asked suspiciously. “Dude, what are you talking about?! Are you insane?! I just—”