Fated for Mikayla

by Suzette Rose Cauler

  Robyn’s expression asked Mikayla a question she couldn’t answer.

  Mikayla shrugged. She had no idea what Carolyn meant. “What do you mean, he didn’t?”

  “He didn’t lie to everyone. When we met, he was broken, drinking himself into a stupor every night. He told me the truth about his mate, about Luke, about everything. I helped him see that he was worth redeeming. Grey wasn’t perfect, and I know a lot of you didn’t understand him, but I loved him, and I have to believe he loved me.”

  Mikayla didn’t quite know what to say to that. In truth, she hadn’t known Grey long. She could only go by her instincts and the few experiences she’d had with the man. But her opinion of Grey didn’t matter anymore. He was dead, and Carolyn clearly loved him.

  She struggled for something comforting to say other than the obligatory I’m sorry for your loss. “He was lucky to have you love him so much. He will be remembered.” What else could she say? She couldn’t bring herself to say she’d miss the man.

  Carolyn allowed herself to be led from the room, and Mikayla headed toward lodge’s huge kitchen, stopping to peek in at Zion. Nikki was still working on the alpha, applying what seemed to be some type of poultice. She didn’t even look up when Mikayla entered the room. Luke and Mason sat watching her, looking rather defeated.

  Mikayla decided if Zion had hung in there this long, there had to be some hope. “How is he?”

  “Still with us,” Nikki said.

  “Need help?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe…not yet. Are the others back?”

  Mikayla knew she meant Adam. She was worried about him, too, but the anxiety that made her want to scream wasn’t for Adam. It was for Jack and Hunter. It was probably selfish, but she couldn’t help wishing she’d begged them to stay with her.

  “What about Hope?” Mikayla asked. They hadn’t been able to reach her by phone.

  “I’m pretty sure she’s fine. Levi left her with Sarah. They’re both guarded.”

  Mikayla was relieved to hear that Hope and her sister were safe, but couldn’t help thinking the alpha should have had more warriors with him, maybe even his own bodyguards. Unfortunately, that just wasn’t the way their shifter clan worked.

  * * * *

  If Mikayla thought the wait in the cabin had been long, she was sadly and sorely mistaken. It seemed like forever before she heard an all-clear in their part of the territory. And still they waited. They waited so long she insisted that Nikki let her help with Zion, just so she wouldn’t go crazy. Then she made more tea for everyone, which no one but Robyn and Carolyn actually drank. She asked the staff, those she could find anyway, to prepare a meal for whoever showed up to eat later.

  They eventually heard the howl that mean all was clear in their part of the territory and Luke and Mason went out to deal with Grey’s body. Mikayla wanted to go searching for her mates, but Mason convinced her it would be better to wait for them to return. Neither he nor Luke had said anything about her little thing with the spear, and she was relieved about that, at least. It was coming. She just knew it, but if she could avoid that conversation for a little while longer, she certainly would. And then there was the fact that she’d promised Jack and Hunter she wouldn’t leave the cabin. Maybe they’d be less pissed at her if she didn’t stray too much farther.

  Jackie emerged from wherever she’d disappeared to not long after the all-clear sounded. The red wounds still marred her graceful neck, though they looked well on their way to healing. She didn’t seem all that interested in Zion’s condition, and she ignored Nikki altogether. The hatred between those two was no secret. When Levi returned with the medical supplies Nikki requested, Jackie feigned concern for all of about sixty seconds before heading for the door.

  “Where are you headed?” Mikayla didn’t normally go out of her way to speak to Jackie, but under the circumstances it seemed like the right thing to do. Luke and Mason had said Jackie was captured and held prisoner by the Crimson Moon Pack, then used as leverage for Ulric’s escape.

  Jackie stopped and turned to look at Mikayla, her expression unreadable.

  “Do you want to talk about it? You must have been terrified.”

  Again the woman just stared at first and then shook her head. “Nothing to talk about, really. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and now I’m going home.”

  “Home?” Like Mikayla, Jackie actually lived in Silver Spring but had been ordered back to River’s Bend when the shit had seriously hit the fan with Ulric.

  “Whatever.” Jackie rolled her eyes, sighing hard as if Mikayla was either the stupidest or the most annoying person she’d ever met. “Back to my cabin.”

  “Fine. I don’t care.” Honestly. She really didn’t. “I was just trying to be nice.”

  “Don’t bother.”

  “Don’t worry. I won’t.” Why she’d ever tried to talk to the woman was beyond her. Mikayla had known Jackie almost her entire life, and she’d been impossible to like for at least the last twelve of them. “In fact, I’ve already forgotten you were even here.”

  Jackie turned to walk away, but turned back with a gleam in her eyes. “I won’t forget what I saw, though. Little Mikayla standing so fierce, so proud, with a weapon at the ready. Your aim left something to be desired, but I’m willing to bet you’ve been working on it.”

  If only she knew. Mikayla had practiced for months and her accuracy was now dead-on. “Too bad Ulric didn’t keep you.”

  Mikayla braced herself for Jackie’s biting comeback, but to her surprise, the woman didn’t give one. Jackie’s eyes widened and then she just stormed out of the room. Mikayla heard the front door slam and was a little sorry that Jackie had gone. Okay, not really, but even a bitch-sized diversion like Jackie was better than simply waiting to see if Zion would make it, if her friends would come home, and if her mates were okay.

  Time dragged on until Mikayla decided waiting was the thing she’d always hate most in life. Finally, though, clan members started to trickle in. A few men here and few men there came and went until Adam arrived still bloody from the battle to check on Zion. He didn’t have news of her mates, and Mikayla left the family alone to go pace the foyer. Each time the door opened, she hoped it would be her men, but each time she was disappointed. She was ecstatic to see the clan members who came back in one piece, but still disappointed that none of them belong to her.

  That damned door opened so many times that she stopped rushing to look each time it did, tired of the sinking feeling she experienced each time. Finally, though, the door opened again when she was on a round of pacing away from it, and the scent hit her nose and laced its way through her body. Jack. She turned and ran to him, jumping into his outstretched arms, so happy to see him tears came to her eyes. She kissed his lips and then all over his face. He was filthy and bloody, but she didn’t care.

  “My mate.” The deep voice and accompanying scent was all Hunter, and the tears broke their boundaries to roll down her face as he shut the door and she threw herself at him.

  She gave him the same treatment as she’d given Jack, only stopping when she realized he was wincing a little on impact. “Sorry. Where are you hurt?” They both looked bone tired. Their scrapes and bruises were already healing, but the bites would take longer.

  Jack made a sound, somewhere between a yawn and a sigh. “All over.”

  “Everywhere,” Hunter said. “Even my hair hurts.”

  “Well, that’s something I can fix. Wait right here.”

  She hurried to see how Zion was doing. Adam and Levi were talking about moving him to the medical building, and it seemed that Nikki had worked a miracle on the alpha. She had plenty of hands waiting to help, so Mikayla hugged her tightly and told her to call if she needed anything, anything at all. Then, she hurried back to find Jack and Hunter leaning against the wall, looking as if they would fall asleep standing. “Come on. Let’s get you to bed.”

  * * * *

  Jack looked up at Mikayla as she fussed
over him, actually tucking him into bed as if he were a pup instead of an arguably overgrown man. “You’re an angel. You know that?”

  He knew he wouldn’t be able to stay awake much longer. She’d fed them, gotten them cleaned up, and applied some herbal medicines to their wounds. They’d already begun to heal on their own, but whatever she applied did lessen the pain. Then, she’d wrangled them both into bed, leaving a space in the center for herself.

  “Not quite,” Hunter said. “Let’s not forget that she snuck out when she said she wouldn’t. But…she’s pretty damned close.”

  Mikayla smiled down at him, lighting up the whole damned room as far as he was concerned. He reached for the back of her head, pulling her down so he could taste her lips. He held her there, even after he released them. “Someone still has a spanking coming.” He’d wanted her so badly their first night in River’s Bend that he’d forgotten to give her the punishment she’d seemed so eager to enjoy.

  “Yeah, yeah. You said that before, but it’s clear you only bark and don’t actually bite.”

  He let go, drowsiness overtaking him, and closed his eyes as she rounded the bed toward Hunter. He woke briefly when she sank into place between them and turned to bury his face in her hair before he let sleep take him again.

  Jack liked his life the way it was. Since he’d left his pack, he’d experienced a sense of freedom few shifters ever really knew. He’d never thought he’d want to be part of a true pack again nor part of an organized clan, but lying beside Mikayla felt like home. For the chance to lie beside her every night, he’d consider anything.

  * * * *

  “Rest.” Mikayla’s voice did sound like an angel’s in the night. Jack had that right.

  Hunter had no illusions about Mikayla. She’d proven that she would do what she wanted, when she wanted. A female who would go so far in disobeying her alphas was sure to be a handful. And she’d willfully left the cabin when they’d told her not to. But looking into her eyes as he fell asleep, Hunter realized he wouldn’t have it any other way. A life with her would be full of the twists and turns that made the difference between truly living and simply existing. And if that meant there were a few spankings on the horizon, who was he to argue?

  Down boy, he thought. He was miles south of exhausted, but his cock hadn’t gotten the memo. The thought of his hand spanking her full, round ass was enough to make him forget about sleeping.

  Mikayla gave him a knowing smile, the link at work again. His eyes were closing, but he pushed a thought at her as he drifted off. Soon.

  Chapter 11

  Most wolf shifters had a quiet period in which to get to know each other after the claiming. Even those who didn’t bother with official joining, which resembled a human wedding, and the honeymoonlike hydan tended to spend at least some time alone and losing themselves in one another. That hadn’t been the case for Mikayla and her men, however, and things didn’t seem likely to change very soon.

  The day after the attack was filled with burials and a ceremony to honor the fallen. Jack and Hunter pitched in to help with the bodies while Mikayla helped Nikki tend the seriously wounded. Despite their supernatural healing ability, some wounds just needed care, and time, to heal properly. Hope, Robyn, and Amber pitched in, too, as did a number of the other women. Even Jackie helped out, which shocked the hell out of Mikayla. She remained tight lipped about her ordeal, however.

  To Mikayla’s delight, Zion wasn’t among those buried. Maybe the man had nine lives because Nikki had managed to hold him together long enough that his healing ability cheated death once more. He’d been injured in a challenge months ago, and Nikki had saved him then, too. Mikayla thought he was very smart to quit while he was ahead.

  Adam would take the helm as the new alpha over the next couple of weeks. No one knew exactly what Ulric had done or would do to provoke the vampires, but they needed to be ready, and that meant a change in leadership. Luke had no interested in serving as alpha, his distaste for the position even stronger after Ulric’s revelations, but he agreed to serve as Adam’s right-hand man. Adam, Hope, and Levi would join before leadership passed to Adam, and Hope would become a fully accepted member of the clan, a big deal for a female who’d been human just months ago. And while all of this was going on, they had to find ways to better defend against enemies, including those willing to up the ante with weapons like fire and explosives.

  Then there was the issue of how Ulric had made it so close to the borders without detection. His explosives had been planted just inside River’s Bend territory, something the clan’s continuous border guard should have prevented. That topic had caused much debate among clan members, but no one seemed to have any real answers. Mikayla guessed someone had either dropped the ball or helped Ulric from the inside. Only the other women seemed willing to entertain that idea. Even Adam seemed offended by the idea that the clan’s mighty security could have a few leaks.

  Mikayla hadn’t changed her mind about wanting her mates to remain in River’s Bend with her, but she’d decided to stop arguing for it. Seeing the devastation on Nikki’s face when she thought Zion would die had reminded her of all her men had lost. Even Luke and Mason struggled with grief over their father. If they needed revenge, she would do her best to understand and pray that once they’d found it, they’d come back to her in one piece.

  After conferring with Adam, Jack and Hunter had decided to stay in River’s Bend long enough to make headway with preparations to better protect it. Then, they would return to their post with the underground, visiting River’s Bend whenever they could. They also promised to leave the safe house as often as possible to call and let her know they were okay.

  For her part, she’d agreed to move into the lodge, once Adam took his place there as alpha. He’d decided to add a security detail there, and Jack and Hunter insisted that she needed to be there under his protection. It was slightly annoying, but Mikayla couldn’t argue with living a life of luxury for a little while, and maybe she could secretly give the alpha’s servants some instruction on how to at least try to protect themselves and the alpha if things ever went south again.

  It wasn’t ideal, but she admired Jack and Hunter for their commitment. They did what they felt was right and were always willing to stick their necks out for another. How could she ask them to change that?

  So, Mikayla would deal with them being gone for weeks at a time, and she’d find a way to keep her worry for them from becoming full-blown debilitating anxiety. Most of all, though, she’d look forward to when it was all over.

  * * * *

  Two weeks passed before Mikayla had to say good-bye to her mates, and she thought she was prepared. Turns out she wasn’t. By that time, Jack and Hunter each had a closet in the cabin, filled with clothing purchased in Silver Spring, and each one had a dresser drawer to boot. The cabin smelled of their mixed scents, and her body had decided that the only way it ever wanted to go to sleep was wrapped up in their musk. Damn that wayward wolf. Mikayla was sure her inner bitch would keep her up night after night pining for them.

  “Just so you know. You’re going to come back to find bags the size of suitcases under my eyes,” she told them on the way to Hunter’s car.

  Hunter grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly. “We’re going to miss you, too.”

  “I bet you say that to all the she-wolves.”

  Hunter stopped in his tracks and yanked her into his arms. “I mean it.” He cupped her chin and bent to stroke his lips over hers. “I never thought I’d need a woman by my side to sleep well, but I need you.”

  She laughed. “Like I can believe a word you say. You could sleep with a freight train plowing through our cabin.”

  Hunter shrugged. “As long as I had you in my arms.”

  Mikayla pulled away, fighting the urge to beg him to stay, if that was how he really felt. “Come on. We better get you on the road before I do something embarrassing.” Like wrap her arms around him and beg him not to leave, not to ever to
leave.

  She hadn’t told either man about her brother. It didn’t seem fair to lay her past hurts at their feet and perhaps convince them to stay out of pity. Besides, it wasn’t all about Maki anyway. The fact was life passed too quickly, even for a shifter, and she absolutely hated the idea of wasting even a single day without them.

  Jack grabbed her around her waist as Hunter got in and started his car. “I know this is hard, and I feel like apologizing for leaving.”

  “You don’t have to.”

  “Yes, I do.” He brought his hand up to stroke her cheek. “I didn’t hesitate when we found you. You were our mate, so of course we would take you, claim you. I was grateful fate had chosen you. Beautiful, sexy, and smart.” He shrugged. “What more could a wolf want?”

  “Stop. You’re going to make me blush, and I don’t even do that.”

  “You do…when you’re under me.”

  “Seriously? You can’t talk to me like that and then drive off. Get in the car while you still can.”

  “I mean it. But it’s more than that. You’re an amazing woman, Mikayla. Even when you’re going against everything I’ve said, you amaze me, and I don’t think there’s anyone as lucky as me alive. Well, except for Hunter.”

  She almost told him she loved him then, but she held back. It was too soon and he’d think it was just the mating bond talking. “I feel the same way, Jack. Fate had it right when it sent you both to me. But I have to tell you, you’re killing me with this right now. I’m trying to be strong, but if you don’t get in that car, I’m going to lose the fight. Please. If you’re going, just go.”

  He didn’t let go of her like he should. Instead, he just trapped her in place with those intense eyes of his. “The point is, you’re so much more than just beautiful and sexy. You make me feel more alive than I’ve ever been, but this, leaving you like this? We have to do it. I don’t like it, but we have to.”