Fighting for her Mate: Shape Shifter Paranormal Romance (Sassy Mates Book 5)

by Milly Taiden

  “It was self-defense,” Jordan added. “The bitch would’ve killed me if I hadn’t taken her out first.”

  Aric kissed his mate’s forehead. “I know, sweetheart. You’re total alpha female. But that was Lewis’s excuse for being here and hurting you.”

  Mason said, “So how does that pertain to me?”

  Aric wiped a hand down his face. “All right, keep up with me. Not sure if I’ll get it right again.” He held up a finger. “Lewis’s sister attacked Jordan because Jordan is my mate and his sister wanted an alpha. Jordan’s self-defense took out the woman. Lewis wanted retribution for his sister, but his alpha father said there would be no consequences since his daughter struck first. Lewis didn’t like that so he killed his father and took over the alpha position and came after Jordan.

  “After Nate and I took out Lewis and his second-in-command, that left only the widow. The council is demanding one of the unmarried alpha Wolfe sons marry the widow and resume the position.”

  “But,” Emma growled, “Mason is already married to me.”

  Ellie joined in at that point. “Oh, yeah. Thanks for the wedding invite, Em.”

  “I know. It looked just like yours,” Emma hollered. They both laughed, knowing Ellie didn’t send out invites when she and Caleb secretly married. She looked to Aric. “Sorry, you may continue now.”

  The eldest brother raised a brow at her haughtiness. Emma rolled her eyes. “I’m kidding, Your Behind-ness.” The girls laughed again. Ellie suspected poor Aric thought he’d never get respect from any of the mates in the group. But it was the opposite actually.

  Aric pressed his lips together, then continued a moment later. “The Central pack investigated public records to see who of the brothers wasn’t married and they didn’t find a certificate for Mason. They want him to marry the widow.”

  “But that doesn’t make sense. The JP married us personally,” Mason said.

  “Hey, Mason,” Caleb called from the front, “what’s the name of the JP?”

  Mason looked at Emma. “His last name began with an R. Roner or Rinert.”

  “Rineheart,” Emma said. Mason agreed.

  Caleb shook his head. “He was part of my pack. He died of a stroke.” He thumped his fingers on the steering wheel. “When were you married?”

  Emma glanced at Caleb. “Not too long ago. When did he die?”

  Caleb grunted. “Not too long ago.”

  “But he married us,” Mason explained.

  “Maybe he died before he filed the marriage certificate,” Caleb said.

  Emma stared at Mason with horror on her face. “Does that mean we’re not legally married?”

  “It’s the 50-50-90 rule,” Aric said.

  Mason scrunched his face. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right,” Aric started, “there's a ninety percent probability you'll get it wrong.”

  “You’re not helping.” Emma scowled.

  Ellie’s gut twisted as she watched the late afternoon sun sink.

  Finally, Aric looked around. “Listen, everybody. We’ll worry about it later. We’re almost to the Rahound alpha house. Caleb, you have a plan?”

  “Not really.” Ellie’s mate sighed. “I’ve cooled off from when your dad told his story, but dammit, I’m not backing down. I’ve seen the sign.”

  Ellie looked at him. “What sign?”

  Caleb drew down his brows and shifted in his seat. “I’ve been waiting for a sign to know when the time was right to fight Rocco. I got that sign, from my dad, no less. So this is it, no matter what.”

  “But your dad has been gone a long time. How…” She didn’t know how to finish her sentence without sounding condescending.

  “You held the other half of the sign, Ells.” He smiled at her and squeezed her hand. “I’ve heard the words ‘Castor oil’ twice in my life. Once from you and once from my father. That’s all I need to believe.”

  Ellie thought he was sort of reaching with that combination, but if that was what he believed, then she’d believe, too. “Okay, babe. Let’s do this.”

  The alpha house came into sight. A few gasps escaped the men in the truck. “Caleb, what the hell has happened to the place? It looks almost condemned.” Paint peeled, gutters hung down in a couple places. The grass was a foot high with weeds choking the once colorful flower beds. A broken window on the second floor was held together with duct tape.

  “It goes with the owner. Should be torn down and burned in hell.” Caleb sounded as if in his own world. Ellie wondered if something happened to her mate in the house. His look of disgust was too deep.

  Several cars were parked along the circular drive. Caleb slowed while still on the street. Ellie studied him. She saw a touch of fear in him, but anger overrode his smell. Her mate was going in strong. Caleb leaned forward and reached his hand under the seat, coming up with a pistol in hand. Ellie sucked in a sharp breath.

  Caleb tucked the weapon behind his back, under his shirt. “Don’t worry, my love. It’s only if things get out of hand. I don’t trust my uncle one inch. And since I know you ladies won’t stay in the truck, I have to be ready for anything.”

  Ellie gave him a serious nod and swallowed hard. “You’re right about that. I’m no longer staying out of the picture while this crazy bastard does what he wants. We’re a team and we will act like one. You got that, Your Behind-ness?” She smiled at Emma’s silly word, hoping to lighten the tension.

  Caleb parked along the side of the driveway, allowing for easy escape, if needed. She was going to suggest that if he hadn’t already done it. Her confidence in her mate soared. She loved him and would battle alongside him.

  Everyone piled out of the vehicle, staring at the dilapidated home.

  TWENTY-TWO

  Caleb parked the truck in the driveway positioned for a quick getaway, if needed. He didn’t think his uncle would do anything drastic since this was a surprise visit, but he wanted to be prepared. His mate and the other mates were here and he would protect them with his life.

  When seeing the cars lining in the drive, he had slowed their approach. That night, so long ago, when Rocco wanted to ‘make a man’ out of Caleb, rocketed through his head. What would he and the group find when they walked into the house? An orgy full on? During a Sunday afternoon? If that wasn’t reason enough for a lightning bolt to strike his uncle, he didn’t know what was.

  Whatever was going on in the house would soon be public knowledge.

  Caleb knocked on the front door instead of barging in. He could at least give the women time to cover themselves, if they cared. A strung-out blonde finally opened the door. “What do you want?” She squinted her eyes from the sun.

  Caleb studied her, trying to remember if he knew her. “Who are you?”

  She snorted. White powder flew from her nose. She giggled. “Oops, busted.” She turned and walked away, leaving the door open. Caleb listened for telltale signs of the goings-on as he pushed the door open wider and stepped inside. All seemed quiet. Not even a TV was on.

  The others followed behind as silently as the house was. The mates mumbled to each other as they progressed to the front room. Shambles was a nice way to describe the interior’s condition. The odor of body sweat and sex permeated the air.

  Caleb heard Aric telling Jordan, “Don’t touch or sit on anything and leave your shoes on. No telling what you could be stepping on. Especially if squishy.” A couple ewwws came from the girls. Aric was probably joking, but Caleb knew he was right.

  Several scantily clad women and a couple younger guys were draped over furniture in the large living area. Mirrors and razor blades and plastic bags of white powder covered the coffee table between all the sofas.

  Ellie grabbed his arm. “Caleb, you told me you didn’t ever want to live in the alpha house again, but you never let on it was this bad. Oh my god, what does the pack think of this?”

  He shrugged. “From those I talk
to, I hear they hate it. But if they react, Rocco finds a way to retaliate. Like giving daughters to his enforcers for ‘dates.’” That thought brought back his anger and vengeance for his people.

  Rocco wasn’t in the living room, but Caleb smelled his scent, along with several others from his pack, all familiar. He followed it down the hall to the den’s closed doors. This time, he didn’t bother knocking. He threw the doors open and walked in.

  “Good afternoon, Uncle.” Caleb scanned the room. Around a dozen of the larger men in the pack and Rocco’s enforcers sat or stood, all facing his uncle sitting behind his platform-raised desk. He looked to be seated on a throne with his peons gathered to him. Caleb wanted to vomit.

  Rocco’s expression of surprise pleased Caleb. Perhaps for once, the underdog would have the upper hand. But he wouldn’t remain suppressed much longer. “Aren’t you happy to see me?” Caleb almost sneered but remembered others were in the room. He would remain respectful as long as he could.

  Rocco’s eyes narrowed as the group walked into the dark room. “Of course I’m glad to see my nephew. It’s been quite a while. To what do I owe this pleasure?”

  Caleb stepped onto the raised stage and approached the massive cherry wood desk. One of the enforcers at his uncle’s side stepped forward, but Rocco waved him off. Caleb, wearing an oversized, overdone smile, grabbed up his uncle’s hand and shook it vigorously.

  “And the pleasure is all yours, Uncle.” He paused and looked each man in the room in the eye. He wanted to remember everyone here. A few he expected, a few were a surprise. “Did I interrupt a meeting?”

  Rocco steepled his hands in front of his chin. “We were just having a social get-together to catch up on things.” Several men in the crowd frowned, and Caleb caught angry glances come and go quickly.

  “So I gather, Uncle.” He plopped onto the corner of the desk to partially face both Rocco and the group. “My friends and I,” he gestured to the Wolfe clan standing at the back of the room, “are here for the same reason. Sorta.” Caleb turned feigned-happy eyes to the alpha. “We’ve discovered some things my pack would love to know.”

  Rocco flashed him a flinty stare. “Perhaps we should talk in private.” He stood from his chair.

  Caleb popped to his feet from the desk corner. “No, Rocco. I think they would want to hear this firsthand.” All jovialness left his demeanor.

  His uncle raised his hand and his enforcer stepped forward. “No, I’d rather—”

  One of the pack men stood from his chair. “Yes, Alpha Rahound, we would like to hear.” Several men nodded and mumbled agreement.

  Rocco once again stopped his lackey, then smiled to Caleb. “Tell me, nephew, how is your dear mother doing? I’m sure the money I’m giving her pays for all her medical bills and medication.” His uncle’s smile turned devious but Caleb was ready for this manipulation; he’d done his homework. Rocco had used his mother as an unspoken bargaining chip for a long time.

  “Yes, the money my father’s life insurance provides does take care of the former true alpha’s wife. I’m glad Dad set that up so only Mom and I can touch it. Otherwise it might have been spent a long time ago.” Murmurs slid across the room. Who knew what Rocco told the pack about taking care of his mom. Probably that he was giving her money he shed sweat and tears for. Bastard.

  Caleb continued. “And if you cared enough to check on her occasionally, you would know she’s been out of the hospital for a while now.” Rocco’s face paled. He realized his biggest control factor over his nephew was gone. Caleb nodded to Aric and noted the Wolfe clan had spread out along the back of the room, making a loose, yet formidable, barrier. He owed his life to these people.

  “With help from others, my mother has relocated to a secure place where I no longer have to worry about others using her for their own benefits.” His look zeroed in on Rocco. Mumbles from the group again passed through the room.

  Rocco stepped around to the front of his desk and glowered down at those sitting with rapt attention. “I’ve held you long enough. It’s time you leave—”

  Caleb pushed his uncle against the desk. “I’m not finished yet. I haven’t mentioned the Wolfe’s three babies you’ve kidnapped, or the people you’ve murdered, or the attempted murder on the Wolfe pack’s alpha couple.”

  The crowd no longer remained quiet, including the enforcers. Pack members demanded to know what Caleb was talking about. Rocco’s goons pushed and shoved members away from their alpha. Some threw fists, knocking over end tables and chairs. The aggression continued until Rocco and Caleb pulled guns on each other at the same time.

  The audience silenced and the two stood face to face on the raised platform. Rocco smiled. “I see you’ve come prepared. Perhaps I’ve underestimated your resourcefulness.”

  “Damn right, you have,” Caleb started. “You may have the rest of the pack controlled under fear of retribution, but you don’t have me any longer. You’ve grown fat and lazy, Uncle. You assume I’m still the scared little boy running from your physical and mental abuse and rape attempts.”

  Caleb kept his uncle in the crosshairs of his Glock. He fought to keep the shame and fear of the past from engulfing him as it used to when he was younger. He was the victim, his people were still victims, but not for much longer. “Here’s how this is going to play out, Uncle. I’m declaring a challenge for the right to be alpha of the Rahound pack. It will be a fight to the death. The pack members here have heard my announcement. Do you accept or step down?”

  Rocco’s face showed no emotion. “I accept your challenge to the death.”

  “Midnight tonight, be at the Scenting Field. It will be just you, me, and the council, Rocco. I will not let my pack suffer any longer under you and your sadistic tastes. You’ve tried to hurt others, and you’ve succeeded. But know if you harm one hair on the babies’ heads, you will learn a new meaning to pain.”

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about, nephew. Why would I want to hurt poor, helpless babies?” Rocco tried to sound innocent, but innocence was too far from his persona, he couldn’t even fake it.

  Caleb grunted. “For the same reason you cut the brake lines to cause the death of so many. Barbara Wolfe’s brother, and Tristan and Barbara themselves, my father.” Rocco laughed.

  “Why would I want any of those wonderful people dead?”

  “Nice try, Uncle. We all know the hierarchy to becoming an alpha. If one way didn’t work, you found another that did.” He waited for the others in the room to quiet. “Aric, you have anything you’d like to say before we call this meeting?” Glancing toward the Wolfe group, he noticed that each brother had a gun pulled also. That was surprising. Guess they knew Rocco as well as he did.

  “Yeah,” Aric began. “Rocco, to make it official, as the current active alpha for the Wolfe Pack of Blue Creek, I’m declaring a challenge for the right to be alpha to the Rahound pack in retribution of the kidnapping and attempted murder of my family members. It will be a fight to the death. No one gets away with hurting my family or my pack. If Caleb doesn’t take you down, I will. Do you accept or step down?”

  Rocco’s face turned dark red and his hands holding his gun shook. “I accept the challenge to your death, Wolfe bastard. I will shred you alive. I hope your niece and nephews are safe while you fight me.”

  “You son of a bitch!” Before anyone realized what was happening, Karla sprang toward Rocco. Midair, her wolf exploded out, sending clothes shrapnel in all directions.

  Nathan lunged after her. “Karla, no!”

  Rocco didn’t have time to react, but an enforcer stepped in front of his alpha and took the hit from the furious momma wolf. The two rolled and the wolf came up on top, human throat in her mouth. Caleb stepped closer to his uncle, putting his gun in his face to keep him or anyone else from shooting the wolf.

  “Karla, stop.” Nathan was instantly at his mate’s side, talking her down from the blood lust she craved from threatening her children.

  “Y
ou’re lucky to be alive, Uncle. You should know better than to piss off a mother wolf. I’m done here. You have the challenge and six hours to prepare. Now, let the pack members in this room leave without threats of any kind. Then my friends and I will leave. Put down your gun and so will I.”

  Rocco had to know he stood no chance of surviving a shoot-out in the den. None of them would, probably. As his uncle brought his weapon down, so did Caleb.

  “I’ll see you in several hours, Uncle. Have a great day.”

  TWENTY-THREE

  Operation Shitty No More had begun.

  Raymond was the man for this mission. He looked down at the two babies lying quietly on the bathroom floor, intensely staring at him. Damn that freaked him out. It’s like they knew what was going on and would zap him with lightning bolts from their eyes if he messed up. He shook it off. He had to focus.

  Dressed in a full apron, backward baseball cap, clothespin on his nose, and yellow latex gloves securely fastened, Ray approached the tub holding the enemy within. The tiny face giggled and gurgled at him, waving arms and legs. He focused on the bottom half of the body—the enemy’s stronghold.

  Open trash bag in hand, he knelt and bent over the tub’s edge. The clothespin pushed up, snapped together, and fell, leaving him defenseless to the smell. He quickly snatched it back up and stuck it on, clipping his nostrils closed.

  He studied the diaper fit snuggly under a bulging baby belly. Two strips across the top front looked like a good means to access the enemy. Ray’s gloved hands reached down and pulled the strips to the side. They easily pulled away and lay against the tub’s bottom.

  The critical moment was just ahead. The success or failure of Operation Shitty No More depended on his next move. Slowly, carefully, he lifted the front section of the diaper and pulled it away.

  He saw the enemy. Ewww. Shit. Shit was the enemy. Don’t throw up. Don’t throw up. Seconds mattered. Don’t throw up. He pulled the diaper up (don’t throw up) and into the trash bag with one sweeping motion. He quickly tied a knot in the bag and tossed it into the hallway. Enemy camp destroyed. Mission complete.