Stolen Mate_A Shifting Destinies Bear Shifter Romance

by Cecilia Lane

  Her father, summoned by the noise, jumped out of the family’s camper with a shout on his lips. He didn’t get far before a sharp crack with the butt of a rifle forced him to his knees.

  Everly slapped her hands over her mouth to keep from cheering. That felt too good to witness. It felt like justice.

  Hard hands shoved her father into the dirt. His eyes narrowed when he spotted her in her hiding spot and rage grew in the gold. That was satisfying, too. There was nothing he could do to her with guns pointed at him and silver slapped around his wrists.

  She was free.

  Chapter 24

  Everly drummed her fingers on the steering wheel of Sawyer’s truck. Hers was deemed too unreliable to drive several hours to meet Sawyer and the others upon their release.

  The entire clan made the journey, not just the mates of the men inside Shiftermax. The gathering of vehicles and people was similar to her entire life in the pride, only these people, this clan, felt like home. The campers and pride she left behind made a mockery of the word. She never knew how close she was to drowning until the Strathorns had dragged her to higher ground.

  “This was the time they gave, right? They should be coming soon?” Becca asked from the passenger seat.

  Everly glanced at the other woman in time to see her suck in a sharp breath and squeeze her eyes shut. She was fairly certain Becca was in the beginning stages of labor and not saying a word.

  She’d tried to forbid the woman from traveling, but Becca arched a single eyebrow and asked what, exactly, Everly planned to do to keep her home. There wasn’t any arguing with her, so Everly made sure to stuff her delivery bag under a seat before they set off. Just in case.

  “Should be any moment now.” She scanned the front of the prison for activity and nearly crawled out of her skin with anxious energy.

  The minutes dragged on and felt like days.

  Down the line, faces tight with tension watched the doors. Every last member of the clan wanted to feel complete again. The separation weighed on them, and they searched for the first sign their troubles were over.

  Without Callum, leadership fell to Leah and Cole. One missed her mate and the other his brother, but they kept the rest from doing anything stupid.

  They were the ones to pick Everly up after the raid on her pride, and they were the ones to ask prying questions about what had happened the afternoon of the brawl. She’d had the feeling if she hadn’t answered them completely or honestly, they would have tossed her out and declare her dead.

  Rylee watched Cole more than the doors. She never took her hand off him, either.

  Everly’s panther paced in her head. A stroke down the animal’s back did nothing to calm her. The beast wanted the touch of their mate, just like Cole had Rylee to keep him steady.

  Everly stuffed her hands between her thighs to keep from drumming against the wheel. Sawyer was so close, and still so far away. She didn’t know how much longer she could wait before her cat tried climbing the walls.

  On the other side, though Gray and Meghan joked together, they were stiff with the tension that everyone felt. Everly couldn’t discount Meghan’s role in the story. She didn’t hear a word of it while cut off from the outside world, but the other woman had hit hard against the SEA and had made a public spectacle of their holding citizens and denying their access to lawyers. She hadn’t even blinked when she’d found out her name was on the list of potential targets. Gray had raged, but Meghan had gotten right back to work on her latest article.

  Support like she couldn’t imagine existed around the clan. They were willing to get loud and angry to help one another, even when it didn’t benefit them. Their bonds were more than just clan. They loved one another.

  Sometimes, Everly felt like she watched through a cloudy window. She could see what they had, even wanted it for herself, but she was on the other side and didn’t know how to get in. Even when Sawyer stuck his head out the door and told her the steps to take to reach the inside, she faltered.

  They were in this mess, waiting to be reunited with their clan, because of her. Instead of hating her and pushing her out, they pulled her into their circle of support.

  Details were still sparse, but she had overheard snippets while she waited for her debriefing following the raid. More had happened behind the scenes than she realized.

  Wade had been followed the moment he left the camp, and a device was plucked from a mailing drop box. Her photos were paired with the evidence to make a tight case against Wade, even if all the others remained silent.

  And if they refused to flip on their alpha, the mysterious fae captive was happy to spill all her secrets.

  Wade himself and a handful of others avoided capture. Unsettling, that, but they weren’t Everly’s problem. She had done her part for the SEA, and she was glad to wash her hands of the whole fiasco.

  She had a mate to bring home.

  She chose Sawyer. She picked walking away from her pride and rejecting the piles of corruption they clung to instead of accepting the differences in the world.

  “Is that them?” Becca sat up as straight as possible and banged on the dashboard. Excitement stirred in the air of the truck.

  Everly snapped her attention forward. The doors of the SEA facility swung open, and four men glared at the guards watching their exit.

  The vehicles all emptied and Everly lost sight of Sawyer in the taller crowd.

  Leah and Callum were the first to come together. She practically climbed the man, wrapping her legs around his waist and throwing her arms around his neck. Rough whispers from them both bounced off of Everly’s awareness.

  Nolan sprinted past. Good man to keep his pregnant mate from moving too far.

  There he was. Sawyer brushed his hair back from his face and glanced over his shoulder to Hudson. The other man said something she couldn’t hear, then Sawyer fixed his focus on her. One look filled her stomach with butterflies and made her knees go weak.

  She’d never experienced the happiness she felt in his arms. Her days before she met him were simply about surviving. She had to watch her tongue, guard her heart, and make it from sunrise to bed. Friends were fleeting and held at a distance out of necessity. Her days, her duties, even her mate was governed by the whims of one man.

  No more.

  Sawyer hadn’t forced her into anything. He’d made her open her eyes and see the life she should have been living. He had pulled her from the outside and offered her a place next to him on the inside.

  She chose him and the life he offered.

  Sawyer waited with the others in the first and final room of the facility. They’d been shoved inside with protests on their lips a week before and now waited impatiently for the last bit of paperwork to be signed.

  His bear raged dimly at every delay. From the moment Sawyer and the others were told to expect their release and through the hours before collection from their cells, the animal wanted to claw his way out of Sawyer’s skin and bite anything that kept him apart from Everly. It was an easy emotion to ignore when the desires were faint and almost invisible behind the control of silver, but Sawyer plunged right into them. He didn’t want to calm the unruly creature. He wanted to share that anger. If they were to be free, then why the delay? Fucking bureaucratic process. It didn’t work in their favor when being placed in a cage. Why should they respect it now?

  His fingers itched to rip open the door and make his own way out. A long, steady look from Callum kept him glued to his seat. There was a time for fighting and a time for waiting. This was the brutal, agonizing waiting period.

  “Did they teach you how to read and write in school? I’m positive I could fill that out faster using my feet,” Nolan growled at the guard in charge of his paperwork. “Let me do it for you. ‘Reason for release: Suspect didn’t do shit. We fucked up and now we have to let him go.’“

  Sawyer was certain the guards were taking their sweet time just for the hell of it.

  Finally, after his bea
rd had grown, hung down to his middle, and turned grey, the guards stepped up to them one by one and unlocked the collars around their necks. Sawyer scratched at his skin and glared in silence. His bear rushed to the forefront of his mind. The week of muted awareness was over, and he reveled in the feel of fur brushing against his thoughts.

  Around him, the others shuddered or let their eyes close for a brief second. He couldn’t fault them for wanting a moment to feel their other halves. Two parts made up a whole, and they’d been blocked from that side of themselves for too long.

  Now it was time to find the other halves of their hearts.

  The humans stepped back, some even fingering their weapons. The scents of uncertainty and nerves goaded Sawyer into baring his teeth at them. They’d be so easy to snap in half.

  A wash of power flowed over him and grabbed his bear by the scruff. Sawyer pushed back on his beast. Callum’s unspoken words were right. Waiting was over, and the fight wasn’t with the humans. Not this time.

  The door out of processing opened, and then they were through the lobby. Through the doors. Out into the sunlight.

  Only a few steps more and they’d be reunited with the clan.

  Sawyer glanced behind him at Hudson. Something unpleasant wafted off the man, almost like jealousy. And Sawyer realized what was the problem. He’d been so wrapped up in wanting to see Everly that he hadn’t taken notice of what Hudson lacked.

  The man didn’t have anyone special waiting for him. His mate sat in a cell underneath Bearden Town Hall. He was surrounded by happy couples without someone to calm his bear.

  Hudson shook his head, but the deep sadness remained in his eyes. “I’ll be fine. Go get your girl. Mine’s just waiting back at home.”

  Sawyer caught sight of Everly in the middle of the mass of people. His people, with his mate. They faded in the background while she held his whole attention.

  His bear, finally free of the silver caging him inside, roared a greeting to the cat that stole their heart. The human stared at her, stunned.

  She had done it. Whatever happened on the outside, whatever feats she had performed, she had set him and the others free. She had come through exactly when she had needed to and made her choice. She had rejected her pride and actively picked others over the life she’d known.

  He was haunted by his past, just like she’d thrown in his face during one of their fights. Words told to him with scorn and violence echoed through his actions. There was always the doubt and fear of not being good enough or wanted or worthy.

  Everly had banished those ghosts and made him see he had to find his peace. It wasn’t enough to turn his back and ignore the pain. He had to clear it away and prove their words wrong.

  He was worthy. He was strong.

  He wasn’t like Curtis and Wade and all the other assholes of the world.

  Sawyer trashed every single backup plan he kept stashed in his mind. He had to dig his heels in and make himself part of something. There was no time for lingering on the sidelines.

  He strode through the others with a singular destination in his mind. He wouldn’t stop until Everly was in his arms.

  A smile ticked up her lips, and her eyes brightened as he neared. Gorgeous woman, gorgeous cat. She fought like a beast when she made up her mind.

  Sawyer reached for her, cupping her cheeks even as he took the last step to bring them together. He tilted her head and took one final look into her hazel eyes. The gold of her panther pooled in the color, making her look even more beautiful.

  The harshness of his inner bear faded the moment their lips collided. A single beat of their hearts passed before she opened her mouth and he slipped his tongue inside. She moved with him, letting him lead the moment. A shudder passed through her as she tightened her arms around his neck.

  She tasted like heaven and hell in one delicious package. He’d been pushed to his limits and had shoved her toward hers. In that moment, he knew the journey was needed to tie them together.

  She was his mate and he couldn’t let her go.

  When they finally broke apart, she whispered the words he wanted to hear. “Take me home.”

  Chapter 25

  Everly wanted to say so much. Sly glances couldn’t convey everything that stuck to her tongue and threatened to push past her lips. The ideas wanted to be given life.

  “I swear to all that’s holy, if you don’t pick some names I’m going to call them Cheeto and Cheesy Poof,” Becca grimaced in Nolan’s direction.

  But they weren’t alone.

  “I think those are fine names. I like the alliteration,” Nolan said blithely.

  Becca groaned in frustration.

  Or she was hiding a contraction. Everly wasn’t sure and Becca wasn’t talking.

  Soon. They’d be home and alone soon. Everly peeked at Sawyer from under her lashes and squeezed his hand. It was so hard not to give voice to all the thoughts running through her mind and even harder not to order him to pull over on the side of the road and give in to the instincts from her cat. That little beastie wanted to rub up and down the big bear’s body.

  They passed Oxmark and made the turn for Bearden. The air felt heavier and lighter all at once as they neared home.

  They’d danced around the heavy subjects all afternoon. Everly was glad of it. She knew she’d likely cry when they went over the details of how they found themselves standing across a prison parking lot, and she didn’t want to show those tears to anyone but Sawyer.

  Nolan and Becca provided a convenient shield, but that didn’t last. As soon as Sawyer pulled the truck to a stop in front of his cabin, they waddled away with Becca insisting little Cheeto and Cheesy Poof demanded offerings of ice cream and waffles.

  With the door shutting the rest of the world behind them, though, all her cat could think about was sinking her claws in and never letting go.

  Sawyer was her mate. She’d doubted her instincts when they shoved her closer to him and instead had relied on the falsehoods spewed by her pride. After her world had shattered around her, the instinct to stick near the man was the only true emotion that remained.

  Her heart soared when he turned to face her. Her eyes didn’t leave his face as he emptied the contents of his pockets on the counter. He ran his gaze up and down her body, greedily consuming her every inch and making her wish those looks were his touches.

  Sawyer held out a hand. “Come here.”

  She couldn’t deny him even if she wanted. The smoldering gold of his eyes compounded the hook sunk in her middle and drawing her closer. She wanted to anchor herself to him. The tiny kisses of hands and light touches on the ride home weren’t enough. She needed to feel him and wash away the last week of their separation.

  Sawyer brushed fingertips over her cheek and leaned down. He hovered for the briefest moment, their lips barely touching, before making the connection she needed.

  Her cat purred loudly in her head. Sawyer’s lips curved into a smile, and his fingers brushed down her neck to feel the vibrations in her throat. His deep, sexy groan whipped heat through Everly.

  He kissed her with deep, twining thrusts of his tongue. Teased her into actions she’d clung to in her dreams while they were apart. The real thing was so much better. He tasted like a storm meeting the earth, all raw power and unleashed man. Everly curled her fingers into his hair and kissed him as hungrily as he tasted her.

  He skimmed his fingers under her top, around to her back, over her ass. The rough rasp of his breath matched her own. He touched her everywhere, like he was starved for the feel of her. His rumbling chest sounded loud over her softer purrs. Everly gasped when he picked her up and backed her against a wall.

  “I need to know.” He rubbed his cheek against hers. A tight growl rumbled in his chest. “Need to know you’re in this.”

  The words sobered her. Too many issues still stood between them. She wanted to scale every last mountain and meet him at the top, but that didn’t mean the journey there would be quick or easy.
Getting naked would just complicate matters. “Sawyer...”

  He skimmed his nose down the column of her neck and nipped the crook. “Just one word, that’s all I need. Everything else is for tomorrow.”

  Quiet man with his hidden depths knew exactly what she needed to hear. There was such certainty in his voice that she couldn’t help but believe him. No matter the odds, no matter the shadows of their pasts, they could overcome anything if they did it together. “Yes.”

  Yes, her body screamed with need. He rolled his hips against her, his cock pressing right between her thighs and smoothing over the pesky need for words with a hot rush of greedy hunger.

  Loud knocks seemed to shake the whole cabin. They both groaned when the banging didn’t stop.

  “Everly!” Nolan shouted.

  “I’m going to kill him,” Sawyer growled.

  “Becca’s water broke!”

  Everly dropped her forehead to Sawyer’s shoulder. Her heart raced with his closeness and her cat wanted to maul someone for interrupting the reunion. “I knew she was hiding contractions. That sly little—”

  “Fox?” Sawyer cut in before she could curse Becca. He pressed a smiling kiss to her nose and let her slip to the ground. His fingers bit into her hips with a hint of his frustration. “Go. Take care of her. I’ll be here when you’re done.”

  “Promise?”

  “If you promise not to run off again.”

  The words cut her, but they were true. She’d dealt him a bad hand, and even cleaning up her mistakes didn’t fix what she’d broken. It was just one topic that needed addressing when they weren’t trying to get each other naked as fast as possible. “I’m done running after others. You’re it for me, Sawyer. You’re my family now.”

  “You’re mine.” Another quick kiss and he put space between them. “Go. Don’t let her gnaw your arm off.”

  With one last look, she yanked open the door hard enough to make poor Nolan jump. He narrowed his eyes at her, thought better of whatever he wanted to snap, and jogged down the porch steps. Everly followed, pausing long enough to reach into Sawyer’s truck and pull out the bag she’d brought with her in case Becca went into labor on their trip to retrieve their men.