by Dover, L. P.
“Don’t worry, I don’t listen to everything you say. But I do know you’re hungry. Anyone from a mile away could hear your stomach growling. Tyla’s going to take you to get something to eat.”
I looked down at the blanket. “In what? I don’t have any clothes.”
Tyla reached into the backseat of her silver sports car and held it up. “Now you do, sunshine. Let’s get you cleaned up. I’m starved.” She ran up the steps and patted Ryker on the shoulder. “She’ll be fine, boss. We girls are going to have some fun.”
He shook his head, a small smile splaying across his lips. “Not too much.” She winked and sauntered through the door, bag in hand. Chuckling, he turned back to me, smile disappearing. I liked his smile. “I’ll be back tonight. I’m hoping you’ll be here when I return. There’s a lot you still don’t know.”
I watched him walk to his truck and drive away, glancing back at me once before disappearing down the road. “You aren’t seriously thinking of leaving are you?” Tyla asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
Turning to her, I glared straight into her eyes. “What if I was? You gonna stop me?” I challenged.
She lowered her eyes and her head. “No. I’m no match for your power. But I do think you need to give Ryker and our pack a chance.”
I stepped past her into the house and sighed. “You wouldn’t feel that way if you knew what I’d done.”
After shutting the door, she stood in front of me, handing me the bag of clothes. “The past doesn’t matter. You’re Ryker’s mate and a true born alpha. I’ve never met another wolf like you before. It’s nice to have a female around who could kick some serious ass.”
She made me laugh and it felt good. “I’m sure you could too. You don’t take me as the type to put up with much bullshit.”
“I don’t, especially when I’m starving. Now, run upstairs and get dressed. I’m taking you to one of my favorite restaurants.” I stood there, staring at her like she’d lost her mind. “Why do you look like that?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. The way you all do things is so much different than what I’m accustomed to. My parents let me go away to college and I loved the freedom, but when I was back with the pack, I was never able to leave the compound. I guess I just figured it’d be like that here.”
“Hell no,” she exclaimed, bursting out in laughter. “We have our own homes, jobs, everything. Don’t get me wrong, we hunt and do a lot of stuff together, but we live like normal human beings. Ryker would never keep you on a leash.”
It was nice to hear that, but I knew I couldn’t stay long. The Yukon Pack would kill them all to get to me. Plastering on a fake smile, I started for the stairs. “Thank you for the clothes. I’ll be right down.” I took a quick shower and put on some jeans and a pink blouse from the bag, along with the pair of boots. It felt good to take a shower. It’d been over a week since my last.
Tyla waited by the door when I got downstairs. “Ready to experience true freedom?”
“You have no idea.” We hopped in her car and she sped us out of the driveway. I was mesmerized by the mountains, by the snow; it was breathtaking. “It’s so beautiful here,” I said.
“Yes, it is. I’m assuming you didn’t see much of this where you came from?”
I shook my head, wishing like hell I could forget everything that happened. “No, and I definitely don’t want to talk about it.”
“Okay, we won’t talk about it then. How about when you went away to school? What did you major in?”
I glanced out the window and smiled. “Teaching.”
“What subject?”
“Chemistry,” I answered, turning to face her. “I loved working with high school kids.”
She pulled into a steak house parking lot and turned off the car. My stomach growled even louder than before. “You could get a job at one of the local high schools! The school year is basically over, but I’m sure you could find one for next fall.”
We got out of the car and headed for the door. “Are you serious?” Excitement fluttered in my belly.
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be? If getting a job makes you happy, Ryker will be all for it. Not to mention, you could keep an eye on some of our rowdy teenagers. They’d behave knowing one of our alphas was watching over them.”
The thought was so tempting, I actually considered it. But I couldn’t do anything until I knew I was safe from the Yukon pack. “I’ll have to think on it. Again, I don’t know if I’m staying.”
Inside, the hostess sat us at a table and got our drinks. I was so hungry, I ordered two appetizers, an entrée, and dessert. One good thing about being a wolf was, I didn’t have to worry about calorie consumption. Eating every single bite, I garnered curious glares from our waitress every time she walked by. I guess I’d be like that too if I saw someone scarfing down a meal for two.
Sitting back in my chair, I focused on Tyla. “So what exactly do you do around here? Do you work?”
She nodded. “At a ranch down the road from Ryker’s.” Her phone rang, so she grabbed it out of her back pocket and looked at it. “Speak of the devil. It’s Blake, the guy I work for.” They talked for a few minutes, but I chose not to listen into their conversation. Tyla was watching me to see if I was.
After the call, she paid for our food and then we headed on our way.
“What exactly do you do on the ranch?”
“You’re about to find out. Blake needs help with a horse he just bought.”
“Is he human?”
“Yep. He moved out here about eight months ago, a city boy from Charlotte, North Carolina. Anyway, he inherited the ranch from his grandfather which is who I originally worked for. Blake had no clue how to manage it when he came. So I helped him, along with most of the pack. He’s good friends with Ryker.”
“Does he know what we are?”
She shook her head. “Ryker doesn’t want him to know. I wanted to change him, but my request was denied. My parents say to give the old magic a chance.”
“Old magic?”
We drove past the entrance to Ryker’s ranch until we came to another one with a sign that read Three Bar Ranch at the top. She turned down the gravel path and drove slow. “You really don’t know what old magic is?” When I shook my head, she looked nonplussed. “I’m sorry, that’s just . . . so strange. I thought it was basic knowledge for every wolf. What the hell did your parents teach you?”
I clenched my teeth. “Obviously, not a lot. They never even told me about true mates.”
“I see that. I’m sure Ryker will tell you all about it. Anyway, the old magic is the way things used to be in the past. My parents are true mates, the way you and Ryker are . . . or will be, eventually. Many of us wait our whole lives to find that one person. It used to not be like that. Before, you could find your mate easily.”
“What if you don’t?”
She parked the car and looked out the window. “Then we either, find someone else and never be truly happy, or we turn someone. The latter is frowned upon, but some have done it. That’s why having you in our pack and mated to our alpha would give us hope—that one day it could happen for us.”
I grabbed her hand. “It will happen. I have faith.”
“Good, because everyone believes in you. They think you are the beginning to it all.” Opening the car door, she got out and waved for me to follow.
I didn’t know anything about the old magic, but I was sure as hell going to find out.
Bailey
“Do you want to go with me again tomorrow?” Tyla offered.
I stopped at the first step to Ryker’s house and turned around, a huge smile on my face. “You don’t think Blake will mind?”
She snorted. “Of course not. He enjoys watching me prance around in my short shorts while training the horses. I’ll bring you a pair tomorrow.” Then her gaze met something over my shoulder and I could feel Ryker approaching. “Or I’ll just bring you a pair of baggy sweatpants. See ya tomorrow,
B.” As fast as she could, she sped out of the driveway, laughing the entire time.
“Did you have fun?” he asked.
I turned around and my heart thudded at the sight of him, dressed in a pair of ripped jeans and no shirt. “I did,” I answered truthfully.
“What all did you do?”
Narrowing my gaze, I stalked up the steps. “Can’t you just listen to my thoughts?”
He smirked. “I can, but I’d rather hear it from your mouth.”
“Okay, let’s see . . . she took me to eat lunch, and then we went to Blake’s, where I got to ride the horses and watch Tyla train one.” I walked inside and the smell from the kitchen was so heavenly, I moaned.
Ryker chuckled. “I’m glad you had a good day. You hungry?”
“I’m always hungry.” I followed him into the kitchen and sat down at the table. There was food everywhere. “Did you cook this?”
He gestured for me to take the open chair across from him and sat down, cutting a bite of steak. “Yes.”
“It looks amazing.” I dug in and swallowed a bite of my own steak, savoring every minute of it. “Tastes good too.”
“I’ve been on my own for many years, so I had to learn.”
“Where’s your family? Are they not a part of the pack?”
His jaw tensed. “They’re dead.”
“I’m sorry,” I murmured, hating the guarded look in his eyes.
“Me too. I was just a child. It happened shortly after I met you.”
I choked on my food and coughed. “How is that possible? Why don’t I remember ever meeting you?”
He stared at me as he chewed, like he didn’t know how to answer. “I tell you what . . . let’s finish dinner, and then we’ll talk all about it. You’re going to need a drink, or ten.”
I hurried with the rest of my meal. When I was done, he poured me a large glass of wine and ushered me to the couch. His hand brushed my side and the same electric current from before shot through my veins. It took my breath away.
“Don’t worry, the same thing happens to me,” he confessed, sitting beside me.
“Will it always be like that?”
“Not always. Only until we complete the bond. It’s one of nature’s ways of making sure we know who our mate is. What I want to know is, why didn’t your parents tell you about true mates?”
“I don’t know, but that’s a damn good question. Tyla told me a little bit, but she left most of the explaining to you. She mentioned something about old magic.”
Leaning over on his elbows, he looked down at his hands, and then over at mine. I could tell he wanted to touch me, but resisted. “It’s called old magic because no one has seen it recently, except with me and you. There have been a handful of wolves over the past few decades who’ve found their true mates, but it’s not common. The first time I met you, I was ten years old, which would’ve made you around seven. You had gotten lost in the woods and stumbled your way into our territory. You were scared and upset, so I brought you back to my pack and we watched over you for a time.”
I put a hand over my mouth. “You lived in Canada? Can you tell me why I don’t remember this? Surely I would’ve remembered meeting you.”
“That’s what I thought too when I came to your school. When you stayed away from me, I knew something was wrong. Someone must’ve erased your memories.”
“And I don’t remember our second meeting either. None of it makes any sense. I didn’t even know there was another white wolf pack other than mine and the Yukon’s.”
He lifted his gaze to mine. “There’s not. I was part of the Yukon pack, until my family was banished. I never found out why because on the way out of Canada my mother and I were attacked and she was murdered. My father was killed before we even left. I barely escaped, but I crossed the border into the states and was saved by another wolf pack who took me in.”
“And now you’re their alpha.”
He nodded. “And you will be too . . . as my mate. Surely, you have no doubts about that, right? The signs are all there. I think I’ve proved them to you. You can’t deny you feel it, can you?”
“I’m not going to lie, I feel things when you’re around, but I have choices too. I’m not just going to spread my legs because I get all tingly when you touch me.”
His lips spread into a mischievous smile. “Tingly, huh?”
“Get over yourself,” I said, rolling my eyes. “What I do want to know is, how you can hear my thoughts but I can’t hear yours? I don’t like that.”
“Don’t worry, it won’t stay that way for long. As soon as you taste my blood, you’ll be linked to me and be able to hear whatever the hell you want.”
“How did you get a taste of my blood? I don’t remember offering up a vein.”
Sighing, he bit his lip and licked it, as if he could still taste me on his tongue. “When I subdued you in the forest, I had to bite you to calm you down. At that point, I swallowed your blood and the connection opened. Did you not have any friends who were mated in your pack?”
I shook my head, lowering my gaze. “No, all of my friends were human, except Sebastian, the one who was with me the day I left college. Everyone else stayed away from me like they were afraid, or maybe even told to. I’m not sure. I don’t know why my parents didn’t tell me any of this.”
“I’d like to know too. The legend of mates is more like a folktale of sorts, a bedtime story; except everything about it is true. The magic of the wolf binds us to the moon, and also to our other half. Obviously, the first sign of finding your mate is that feeling in your gut which draws you to the other, almost like magnets. It’s stronger in the males. The need to claim can be almost unbearable. That’s why we’re more violent the older we get without a mate. Did you feel me close by?”
I nodded. “All the time, but I just thought you were a rogue. What else happens when you meet your mate?”
He paused and cleared his throat. “I’m sure you remember the visions?”
My heart sped and my body tightened between my legs. I crossed them to help suppress the ache. “Are the visions always like that?”
“No. From what I’ve heard, they vary. Sometimes they’ll be from a hundred years in the future, where you’re holding your grandkids, or ones like ours that were recent.”
“Does that make a difference?”
He closed his eyes, releasing a heavy sigh. “It does.”
“What does it mean?”
“Visions can always change though, depending on the choices we make.”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes, hesitating before responding. “You read me well, angel. If you want to know the truth, usually when the visions aren’t of our extended future, it means something will separate us; whether it be running away, death, or another tragedy.”
“Or someone else,” I whispered.
His temper spiked, his eyes flashing green. “That’s not going to happen. No one will take you away from me. Again, the visions can change. The future isn’t always set.”
“How many times do the visions occur?”
“Every time blood is exchanged. The females are usually the ones who experience them, but the males see them through the bond.”
I leaned my head against the couch. “I see. So if we want to know our future, we just have to bite each other. How messed up is that? Not to mention you can control my emotions.”
Ryker moved closer. “It’s used to help the other, not control them. I’ve deliberately not tried to calm you down because I know you don’t like it. Believe me, it hasn’t been easy. But as far as the biting, I think we could both enjoy that.”
I elbowed him in the side. “Not if I’m biting off your ear.”
He chuckled. “You can’t hide the truth from me, angel.”
I’d never bitten another wolf out of pleasure, only pain. I was curious to know what it’d be like, drinking his blood and feeling him inside me. The vision s
aid it all though; we would complete the bond, even if it was short-lived. Gazing out the window, the sky was gray, with sheets of snow blanketing the ground and mountains in the distance. It was beautiful, but I knew I couldn’t stay there, even if Ryker was my mate. Eventually, I would be hunted down and I couldn’t bring that kind of war to him and his pack.
“All I want was to be normal, to live my life by my own choices, making my own decisions. What’s the point of being an alpha if I can’t do that?”
Turning my face toward him, he looked straight into my eyes. “You do have choices, Bailey. I’m not going to make them for you, unless I absolutely have to. You’re my equal and I know that.” He moved closer, his lips so close to mine. I didn’t even want to move away. “However, I can’t promise I won’t be the alpha in the bedroom.”
I leaned into his touch and let him comfort me. “If we complete the bond, will I be able to alter your emotions as well?”
“Yes. But I’m not in a hurry. Right now your mind is everywhere, you’re not ready. I only want you to come to me when you’re absolutely sure this is what you want.” He brushed the hair off my face, placing his forehead to mine. “We have time.”
Sighing, I held onto his hands and closed my eyes before pulling them away. Why couldn’t my life be simple? With furrowed brows, he stared down at me with those emerald green eyes of his. I couldn’t believe the amount of power coming off of him; it was exhilarating and more powerful than any other alpha I’d encountered. My wolf stirred and I knew what she was thinking. Mine.
I swallowed hard, dreading my next words. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
“What is it?”
Taking a deep breath, I let it out slowly, lowering my gaze to the fists clutched in my lap. “I was never happy with my pack. I always dreamt of something more—something else for my life. When they let me go to school, it was the best time in my life. But my parents had made me promise that when I turned twenty-three, I would come back to the pack and fulfill my duties. I was willing to do that; at least until a week ago.”
His body tensed. “What happened?”
“My parents had promised me to another wolf. The day I ran away was the day he came to claim me.”