by R. E. Butler
As silently as possible, she raced through the woods that surrounded the pack territory, heading for the nearest highway. She ran south for hours, her fur soaked with rain, her paws cracked and bleeding, and her body worn out. Fear and adrenaline pushed her onward as she kept on the highway until it crossed another highway, which she followed east.
The bus station was in a brightly-lit travel plaza. She moved as close to the main building as she could without being seen, and shifted from her wolf form to her human form. Immediately, she removed the satchel and opened it, tugging on the dress and flip-flops and racing for shelter. Catching her breath under an awning, she wrung her hair out, wishing she’d thought to pack a hair brush or ponytail holder. She must look like a drowned rat.
Scanning the parking lot, a part of her expected to see Byron and the pack stalking towards her from the trees, ready to take her back. But no troop of angry males barreled through the woods. No vehicles raced into the parking lot, tires screeching and engines revving.
She turned and entered the bus station. She didn’t know what the three men who were picking her up looked like, but there was no one in the bus station. The ticket counter was dark, with a sign that said they would open at 6 a.m. She took a step towards one of the chairs so she could sit down and wait for them, when her breasts began to tingle.
No, no, not now, she thought in panic, turning and racing towards the women’s restroom. Dropping her satchel to the floor, she looked at herself in the mirror over the sink and gasped in a sharp breath. Her face was flushed, her lips puffy, and her pupils were dilated. The tingling in her breasts had traveled down the center of her body and settled between her legs. The whole center of her body throbbed, and she doubled over as two sharp pains pierced through her stomach. She bit back a shriek, slipping to the cold tile floor and hugging the center of her body.
She thought back to when Byron had injected her before. This was different. Along with the out-of-control horniness she’d had with previous injections, she felt like she was having severe cramps. Tears leaked from her closed eyes and she tried to get to her feet, but she couldn’t.
She wasn’t sure how much time had passed before there was a knock at the door. She tried to open her mouth but her throat was dry and nothing but a squeak came out. It could be Byron! Fear swamped her and she backed up against the wall as the door opened slowly. A voice she didn’t recognize said gently, “Are you in there, Sydney? The relocation group sent us to pick you up.”
Relief filled her so fast that the shout of joy that wanted to break free from her chest was caught on a sob that wrenched from her throat. The door opened further and a large man stepped into the room. The door didn’t shut, held open by another man that she couldn’t see through the veil of tears in her eyes.
“Shit, are you hurt?” The man moved quickly through the bathroom and knelt next to her. The scent of the man washed over her and everything inside her quieted. Her heart was still pounding and her chest was still heaving, but the fear was gone. The pain in her stomach slipped away and the tingling, throbbing ache in her body dissipated.
She stared up into the blue-green eyes of her rescuer and the first word that slipped through her mind was mate, followed closely by home.
Chapter 4
Crux held open the bathroom door and looked at the tear-streaked face of the she-wolf they were supposed to rescue. Every primitive instinct in his body roared to life. She looked like she’d been beaten and starved, and he wanted to find the male that had hurt her and rip his throat out.
Sterling put his hand on Crux’s shoulder and he looked at his brother over his shoulder. “You’re growling,” Sterling said in a low voice.
Crux hadn’t even realized he’d been doing that. Stopping the sound immediately, it took all of his willpower not to walk over there and snatch her off the ground and cradle her close.
She answered Orion’s question. “N-no, I’m not hurt.”
“Good. Can I help you stand? We need to get out of here,” Orion said, offering his hand to her.
She stared at it for long enough that Crux wasn’t sure she was going to take it, but when she finally did, he heard Orion breathe a sigh of relief. Orion helped her stand, and her knees buckled. Crux had never seen his brother be gentler than when he lifted her into his arms.
“I’ve got you, sweetheart,” Orion said softly.
She let out a barely audible sigh as Orion strode out of the bathroom with her in his arms. As they passed, her sweet scent almost drove Crux to his knees. His beast prowled in his mind and his heart hammered in his chest.
Fuck me, she’s our mate.
He looked at Sterling, who was staring dumbfounded after Orion and Sydney. Sterling turned his blue eyes to Crux and shook his head, walking briskly to beat Orion to the door, to hold it open for them. Why had Sterling shaken his head? Probably because Sydney was a long-abused she-wolf who didn’t know them from Adam, and they should tread carefully. Mating with a hyena clan was serious, and not something to be rushed into or taken lightly.
Crux saw a satchel on the floor and grabbed it. It felt extremely light, but he knew it was hers because he could smell her sweet scent on it. Following his brothers out of the bus terminal, he looked around and noted they were still alone. Thankful for small miracles, he walked out into the pouring rain and got into the second row of their SUV. Sydney was seated in the front passenger seat and Orion had gotten behind the wheel. Crux looked at Sterling, who was seated in the second row against the window.
“I grabbed your bag, Sydney,” Crux said, reaching forward slowly. Even though his movements had been slow and he’d announced himself, she still flinched when the bag brushed her arm.
“Sorry,” she whispered, taking the bag from him.
Orion pulled out onto the highway and headed south. “Don’t apologize, Sydney.”
Silence filled the SUV for several minutes. Orion finally said, “My name is Orion Stone and these are my brothers: Crux is behind you, and Sterling is behind me.”
“M-my name is Sydney Nichols, but I don’t know what name they’ll give me when I get to Alaska.”
“What do you mean what name they’ll give you?” Orion asked a second before Crux could.
“They’re supposed to give me a new last name, so I can’t be found.” She rubbed her arms with her hands.
Crux said, “There was a storm where your cousin’s pack is. It’ll be a few months before we can take you there.”
She didn’t say anything, and Crux thought she was just absorbing the information until a soft sob escaped her lips.
Sterling nailed Crux in the shoulder with his fist, and Crux grunted with the impact. His brother could punch a hole through concrete. “I’m sorry, Sydney. I thought the relo group told you that you couldn’t go to your cousin’s yet.”
She shook her head and she seemed to struggle to get herself under control. A few tense minutes passed before she said, “Where will I go?”
Home with us forever.
Orion said, “Sydney, we’re taking you to Dalton, Kentucky, where we live with our cousins. You can stay with us in your own room, or we can get you an apartment in town. We’re not just going to drop you off somewhere and leave you alone. We promised to take care of you, and we will. Whatever you need.”
Crux didn’t miss the heartfelt tone behind Orion’s words and they were echoed in his own mind. No matter what, he would make sure that she was taken care of. Forever.
* * * * *
Orion’s hands clenched the steering wheel as he navigated the winding road. It was raining heavily and clouds obscured the moon, making it pitch black except for the headlights.
Sterling leaned up to his left and said in a low voice, “Are we cool?”
“I can’t see a fucking thing,” Orion admitted. “Crux, see if you can check a weather site and find out how long this damn storm is supposed to last.”
Easing the car over to the shoulder, Orion put it in park and put on the
emergency lights. Turning slightly, he frowned as Sydney shrank against the side of the car, her whole body trembling. “I’m just going to see about the weather, sweetheart,” he murmured, trying to sound as friendly as he could.
Crux flashed the screen at Orion. The storm wasn’t moving on anytime soon. He didn’t feel comfortable driving now, but he didn’t know what else to do.
“There’s a cabin nearby,” Crux said.
“How the hell can you tell?” Orion asked, peering out the front window.
“I pulled up a map. There’s a road about a mile ahead on the left, and the cabin is about two miles further down. We could stop and ask for shelter until the storm passes.”
Sterling growled unhappily. Orion didn’t much like it either, but they sure as hell couldn’t stay on the side of the road all night waiting for the storm to pass.
He looked at Sydney. She seemed to be trying to make herself as small as possible, and it killed him. He was tempted to touch her, to stroke his finger down her arm and clasp their hands together, but he had a feeling she’d jump right out of her skin. “Sydney, are you okay with us trying to find some shelter?”
She panted a little, her head tilting to the side until her big blue eyes met his. “Wh-whatever you want, Orion.”
He didn’t think she really meant it, but they were in no position to argue. The road ahead was winding and dangerous, and the last thing he wanted to do was get into an accident and get stranded on the road.
“Then we’re agreed?” He glanced back at his brothers and found both of them looking at Sydney with worry and longing. Taking their silence for agreement, he put the truck into gear and eased onto the road.
He’d known the moment that he opened the door and met Sydney’s blue eyes that she was going to be their shared mate. Every fiber of his being was in agreement with that. But there was no way in hell that the fragile woman sitting in the seat next to him was ready to even think about joining with them. He knew he could trust his brothers not to rush things, but they still needed a quick conversation to make sure they were all on the same page.
After finding the dirt road on the left, the SUV eased slowly along it for so long that Orion was beginning to wonder if Crux had read the map wrong. Just as he was contemplating having Sterling throw another punch at Crux’s shoulder, a clearing to the right opened up and he stopped.
“Well, I can’t see a damn thing,” he muttered. Looking over his shoulder, he waited for one of his brothers to volunteer to check out the clearing and see if a cabin was there. Crux finally sighed. “I’ll go. Open the back so I can get the flashlight out of the emergency kit.”
Orion pressed the button on the key to open the back and Crux quickly jumped out, shutting the door behind him. He sloshed down the side of the SUV and appeared in the back, opening one of the storage compartments and pulling out the emergency kit. He found the flashlight and shut the back, moving quickly away from the truck. The flashlight moved back and forth quickly, and when a sudden flash of lightning lit up the area, they could see the cabin easily. It was small and dark inside.
Sydney whispered under her breath, and Orion said, “What are you saying, Sydney?”
She glanced at him and then looked away. “I was counting between the lightning flash and the thunder.”
“To see how many miles away the storm is?” he prompted, smiling because he did that himself from time to time.
She nodded, chewing on her bottom lip and watching out the window. If counting between lightning and thunder was any indication of the storm, it was very close to where they were now.
Crux walked around in front of the SUV and Orion opened his window. “Cabin’s empty, follow my light and I’ll guide you down the drive.”
He put up the window and kept Crux in his headlights, following him as he walked towards the cabin. The headlights showed the front door was open and the interior was dark. Sterling opened his door and got out. Orion turned off the SUV and unbuckled his seatbelt.
“When it’s light out, hopefully the storm will have moved on. We can rest here and continue on our way in the morning. Do you need me to carry you? I don’t mind.”
In fact, he liked it.
Shaking her head, she unbuckled her seatbelt, opened the door and got out. Sterling appeared at the door and silently offered her his hand. She only hesitated a moment before she took it and walked with him into the cabin. Orion opened the back, pulling the emergency medical kit from the other storage compartment and checking in the road kit to see if there were any other supplies that would be useful. Slamming the back shut, he hurried into the house, a package of waterproof matches and another flashlight in his hand.
“Great!” Crux said, taking the matches. “I found some candles.”
Within minutes, a dozen candles were lit and placed around the cabin. The interior was small; one large room with a bed in one corner, a fireplace, two recliners, and a small kitchen. Sterling prowled around the cabin, his mouth open as he breathed in deeply, and Orion knew he was scenting. There was a door near the bed and Sterling opened it. When the candle illuminated the interior, it revealed a tiny bathroom.
“No one’s been here for months,” Sterling said, coming to stand in the kitchen. Sydney was near the door, looking out the window at the darkness, her arms wrapped around her middle. Her skin looked flushed and she was trembling.
Crux walked into the kitchen and looked at the sink. A pump-operated faucet was covered in cobwebs; he gave it a few experimental pumps and water sputtered out. “Well that’s a bit of good news. Cabinets are empty, though.”
“We can make it one night without food,” Orion pointed out. “We’ll leave as soon as the storm lets up and get something to eat at the first place we find.”
A small sound of pain came from Sydney and they turned as a group. Orion moved to her slowly, afraid to spook her. “Are you ill, sweetheart?”
She turned to look at him and a tear slid down her cheek. “I don’t think anyone’s ever called me sweetheart.”
“Then it’s my pleasure to be the first.”
Her arms were wrapped around herself and she was clutching her sides. She couldn’t hide that something was wrong. Pain was evident in her eyes, and beads of sweat had popped up on her forehead. It wasn’t exactly cool in the cabin, but it wasn’t sweltering either.
He lifted his hand to touch her forehead, worried she might be sick. She flinched and took a step back. Grimacing, she took a deep, trembling breath and said, “Sorry. I’m sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize, sweetheart. You’re safe now.”
She glanced out the window again. “How can you be sure?”
“Do you think you were followed when you left your pack?”
She shook her head.
“And the bus station was empty, except for one employee that was in a back room watching TV. He wasn’t even aware anyone had come in. The parking lot was deserted, and we’ve been traveling for two hours by vehicle.” He wanted to hold her in his arms and kiss away the worry, but he didn’t dare. Even though his body rebelled at not comforting her, she wasn’t ready for anyone to touch her. He could see that clearly.
Crux joined them. “When the storm passes, we’ll be on our way. We will keep you safe, Sydney.”
The rain began to pound harder against the roof, the wind howling outside as the storm raged. Sydney hugged herself tighter and he wondered if it was a coping mechanism. Maybe she’d never been hugged.
“Can I,” she cleared her throat, “can I use the bathroom?”
Did she feel like she needed to ask permission? What kind of life had she been forced to endure?
“You don’t have to ask, sweetheart, of course. Whatever you want to do is fine with us,” Orion promised.
She turned away from the window and hurried to the bathroom, shutting the door quickly.
With a sigh, Orion leaned against the rough wood wall and ran his hand through his hair. He had a feeling it was going to
be a long night.
* * * * *
Sterling scoured the small cabin, looking for something for Sydney to eat. She looked as if she hadn’t eaten well in months, maybe years. She was short, but she was thin, with dark circles under her eyes and a pale complexion that made him wonder if she spent much time in the sun at all. Rage boiled inside him. She’d clearly been abused. The dress she wore revealed old and new bruises on her arms and legs. He’d been raised to never lay a hand on a woman in anger. He didn’t understand males that abused their women. Having a mate was a sacred honor, and she was to be cherished and protected at all costs, not brutalized and ground under heel.
Crux asked, “Is there no food at all?”
Sterling shook his head. There wasn’t a crumb to be found. There had been vending machines at the bus station. If he hadn’t been so overwhelmed at finding their mate, he would have been thinking more clearly and purchased some snacks.
Orion and Crux joined him in the kitchen. Orion lowered his voice. “So we’re all in agreement that she’s our mate?”
Crux answered yes and Sterling nodded. Orion let out a short breath. “She’s just coming out of something bad. The bruises alone tell a lot of her story, but she’s skittish as hell and half-starved.”
Crux said, “She needs to feel safe around us. That could take a while.”
“She’s a wolf, so I’m sure that she’s feeling connected to us. She needs time, so we’ll give it to her. We want her to come to us because she wants us and cares for us. Let’s give her the space she needs to find peace, and the rest will come in time.”
Sterling nodded silently, agreeing with everything his brothers had said. It would be hard, but they would keep their hands to themselves because her happiness was the single most important thing in their lives now.