by Lacey Thorn
“Is there anything else I should know about mating with a wolf shifter?”
Dad looked thoughtful for a moment then shook his head. “Leslie and I have given you the basic information. Things that are probably common for most shifter-human relationships. But there are some things you and Simon will need to find out for yourselves. The discovery builds bonds, as well.”
“I’m already in love with him,” I admitted.
“I know,” my dad offered with a smile. “It looks good on you. Now then, are you really leaving tomorrow?”
“Apparently,” I groaned. “Which means I won’t have any time to pack everything. Not even if I stay up all night.”
“Pack the stuff you’ll need immediately and leave the rest. Leslie and I will take care of it.”
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You’re a life saver.” I glanced around us. “How long do you think they’ll be gone?”
“A couple of hours, at least. Leslie likes to give her wolf a good run when she gets the chance. She’ll take full advantage of having your mate here.”
“In that case, I might head home for a bit and get some packing done. I’ll set an alarm on my phone and be back here in an hour. It’ll be just enough time for me to take inventory and make a plan on what to take. We’ve only got the Jeep, so that will limit me a bit. “
“I can go with you,” my dad offered.
“No, you stay here in case they come back sooner. You can give me a call. One hour!” I swore. “Tops.”
Dad laughed. “You better set that alarm. If they get back early, I’ll run Simon over to your place. No worries.”
“Thanks, Dad! You’re the best.”
One hour. Home. Quick inventory so I could plan. Then straight back. Simon wouldn’t even know I was gone.
I set the alarm on my phone while I headed to the Jeep. I lived less than ten minutes away. Sixty minutes at my house. I’d be back in under ninety minutes total. And if Simon did show up while I was gone, he’d be fine. It wasn’t as if I was running from him. I was simply getting a jump start on things, so we could be ready to go on his schedule. That was very nice of me. Considerate even. I nodded as I slid behind the wheel and took off.
My mind was going a mile a minute as I parked and headed inside. Clothes and toiletries were a must. Most of the rest of my stuff could wait. I’d grab a few of the photo albums my dad had given me. Pictures of the two us when I was younger. There were even a few with my mother in them. Some that included Leslie and Hannibal. I’d want those. A few of my books. My electronics and the cords for all of them. My favorite blanket. I’d probably need my pillows, especially my body pillow. I wasn’t sure what Simon would have.
I moved to the hall closet and pulled out my suitcases before heading to the bedroom. I was careful to set my phone on the dresser with the volume all the way up. I was neck deep in clothes and shoes—when did I get all these clothes and shoes?—when I thought I heard a door.
“Simon?” I poked my head out the door but didn’t see him, so I walked back toward the front room. “Simon?”
“You fucking bitch!”
“Madison?” I blinked a couple of times as if doing so would clear her from my vision. What the hell was she doing in my house? A man loomed behind her. I had no idea who he was. I didn’t recall ever seeing him, yet there was something familiar looking about him.
“Where’s your mate, little human?” he sneered.
I had no clue what was going on, but I knew it wouldn’t be a good idea to tell them Simon was miles away having a good run with my stepmother. Instead, I ignored the question and threw out one of my own.
“Why are you in my house? Get out. Now!”
Madison sneered. The man laughed. Then he inhaled deeply. “They’re mated. He’ll do whatever we want as long as we have her.”
What was it they wanted Simon to do? The question filled my head as I glanced back and forth between them.
“You need to get out of my house,” I snapped, trying to edge my way back toward my bedroom and my phone.
Madison moved quickly, much quicker than I could have anticipated, cutting me off so I was trapped between the two of them.
“They’re going to see how it feels,” the man assured me. “That giant freak who took my son’s whore. The bastard alpha. All of them. I’ll make them wish they’d never crossed paths with us. They’ll give my son back to me. They’ll give him back, or I’ll kill everyone they love. One by one. Beginning with you.”
I still had no idea who he was. Or his son. Someone the James Pack held, apparently. Then it hit me. The men Hannibal had been after. I’d looked at their pictures. I’d paid close attention in case I ran into one of them. I’d wanted to be able to help my brother. No wonder the man in front of me seemed so familiar. Age Benji Makers a little bit, and he looked just like the man in my house. Benji Makers, the man who would be facing justice when Hannibal delivered him. There was no way they’d give Makers up to his father. I wouldn’t expect them to. But I didn’t want to die. I’d just met Simon.
Simon!
I screamed his name in my head and swore I felt a jolt go through me. I needed him. I wasn’t sure I could get myself out of this. I needed my mate. I needed Simon.
Chapter Ten
~Simon~
The run had been fantastic. There was nothing like feeling the air rush by while I raced along in my fur. Everything was sharper, clearer, brighter. The sky, the grass, the trees. Everything. Yet, there was no ignoring the tug that pulled me back to where my mate waited. Where my mate should have been waiting with bated breath for my return. Instead, I found my clothes folded on a chair and neither Cici nor her dad anywhere around.
There was an itch along the back of my neck. Something was off. I felt it under my skin. I jogged around to the front of the house. The Jeep was gone.
“Cici ran over to her house to figure out what to take with her tomorrow and what to have us bring to her later.” Cain Lawson walked out the front door with Leslie by his side. “I’ve been trying to call her, but she’s not answering. Probably got wrapped up in what she was doing and left her phone on silent. I’m happy to run you over. She left this for you.”
He held out my phone. I’d left it with Cici in case it rang. Obviously, she hadn’t thought I might want her to answer it. I glanced down when it hit my hand and saw I had several missed calls. None from Cici. All from Gabe. I dialed him back.
“What’s up?”
“I’ve been following Madison. Three guesses who she’s hooked up with?”
“Who?” I snarled through the phone.
“Jarrod Makers.” Gabe dropped the name, and my blood ran cold. The Makers were trouble. At present, Benji Makers was being kept locked up by the James Pack. He’d escaped from us once before with inside help. Looked like we might have found out who had helped him.
“I’ll leave Cici here. If I leave now, I can be back in—”
“They’re not headed for Benji. I’m not a hundred percent sure where they’re going. We pulled off the highway about twenty minutes ago. Now, I’m in this small-town America, and they’re parked in front of a brick bungalow.”
Fear seized me by the throat and almost stole my breath. “Describe it to me.”
Every word out of Gabe’s mouth painted a picture I didn’t want to see.
“I’m ten minutes out,” I roared.
“How are you…?” Gabe stopped, and I knew he was connecting the dots. “It’s Cici. Why is he going after your mate?”
I waved to her dad. “I need to get to Cecilia’s. Now.”
Cain didn’t say a word. He and Leslie shared a look then he nodded toward his truck as they hurried to it. I gave Gabe orders as I moved.
“Don’t let them get to her,” I commanded. “I don’t know what they want with her.” But I did. God, I was really afraid that I did. “Madison knows she’s my mate.”
“Shit!” Gabe growled. “They’ll try to use her to get to you.”
Taylor would have, too. When Makers made the mistake of attacking Taylor’s mate not once but twice, Taylor had been ready to kill him. It was Gabe and I who’d dragged Benji Makers away. Now the bastard’s father was after my mate. Did he really think I’d let that stand? That I wouldn’t rip out his fucking throat the way I had Mullins? No one threatened my woman. No one.
“Hindsight and all that. I’m heading toward the house now. I’ll do what needs to be done.” Gabe disconnected. I knew he’d protect my mate as if she were his. That was the way we were. I’d do the same for his mate when Gabe found her, and we’d both do the same for Taylor’s mate, Rebbie. We’d do it for any of the mates, but the three of us had always been more brothers. I knew Gabe would protect Cecilia, but I needed to be there.
“Five minutes,” Cain said as if he were picking up on my tension. He probably was. I wasn’t subtle about it. “Is Cici in danger again?”
God, I hated the way that sounded, as if she’d been in danger from the moment we’d met. Though in my defense, she’d already been in trouble the first time I’d laid eyes on her. I’d been the one to step in and take out the man who’d hurt her. This time, I’d get there before she was hurt. I’d protect her.
“Yes,” I finally remembered to answer. “I need you to park down the street and stay in the truck. They won’t pick up on my scent. They’ll think it’s Cecilia. I won’t let anything happen to her.”
“And if it already has?” he asked, his voice hard and cold.
“I’ll kill them.” It didn’t matter to me that Madison was a woman. She’d made her bed with the Makers, so she could share their fate. Benji Makers was a dead man walking. Soon, Hannibal and Taylor would take the rogue wolf to another pack, so they could get justice for the female he’d hurt and the one he’d killed. Jarrod Makers wasn’t walking out of Cecilia’s house alive. He’d sealed his fate when he made the choice to go after my mate. I didn’t give second chances. And Madison. Unless she was real fucking stupid, which seemed highly likely, I’d let Bas decide how to deal with her.
“I have keys.” Cain caught my attention as he parked along the road toward the back left side of Cecilia’s house. “Go around back. Hop the fence and sneak in through the back.”
Something in his tone gave me pause.
“What are you planning?” I demanded. No way could I let him put himself or Leslie in danger. They were family, and I protected family.
“I’m going to drive up and park. Then I’m going to take my time walking up to the front door, giving you and your friend plenty of time to slip inside and position yourselves.”
“We,” Leslie interjected.
Cain gave her a fierce look, which was returned with interest, until he nodded. I opened my mouth to argue, and Leslie’s gaze cut to include me. Hell. I wondered if that look worked as well on her son, but I knew it did. I had little doubt Hannibal, no matter his size and strength, would always respect his mother. I figured he’d also protect her. I could do no less.
“Give me five minutes to get in place. They’re going to know you’re a wolf,” I warned.
“I’m counting on it,” Leslie said with a smile. “They won’t know me, who I am or why I’m there. It’ll have them scrambling to decide how to react.”
I prayed she was right.
“Do not get yourselves hurt!” I ordered with a snarl. I had no wish to have either my mate or her brother kill me for letting their respective parents get harmed.
“You sound like Hannibal,” Leslie offered with a laugh. “Now, go!”
I dashed from the truck to the back fence and vaulted over it easily. Privacy fences were not made to keep out shifters. At least, not the fences in her neighborhood. I was heading toward the back door when Gabe stepped out for the corner of the house and waved me over.
“They’ve got her in the living room. She’s holding her own so far.”
“How close did you get?” I asked.
“Close enough to hear the conversation. Makers Sr. is planning to use your mate to force us to turn over his son. Lacking that, he’s going to kill her and keep going until he hurts all of us the way we hurt him.”
“Taylor should have killed him instead of telling him to get the hell out of town,” I growled.
“We all should have done a lot of things. Lessons learned. Now, what do you have planned?”
“Slipping in the back door. Cecilia’s dad and Hannibal’s mom are going to head to the front door and try to either gain their attention or at least split it while we get inside. You focus on my mate. Get her out of danger and don’t leave her side. No matter what.”
Gabe nodded. I knew he saw the bloodlust in my gaze. My wolf wouldn’t calm for anything less. My mate was in danger, and I wouldn’t be satisfied until I tasted the blood of my enemy, until it dripped from my lips while I tore out his throat.
“Madison?” Gabe asked.
“If she tries to run, stop her. If she tries to interfere, stop her. If she tries to hurt my mate in any way…kill her.”
Gabe nodded again.
“Follow me.”
We made our way to the back door, and I had the key in place and ready to turn when I heard Cain and Leslie making their way to the front of the house. They were loud, laughing and talking as if they had no idea what awaited them inside. I turned the key and eased the door open, leaving it ajar as Gabe and I made our way inside.
“Who the fuck is that?” Jarrod Makers demanded.
“My dad and his new wife.”
The tone of my mate’s voice made it seem that she didn’t like her father’s new wife. I knew better. I tried to figure out what she was thinking. Was Cecilia trying to make Leslie seem less important, thinking that would keep her safe?
“She’s a wolf.” Madison’s voice and it took all I had to hold back my growl. I honestly wasn’t sure if I could let her walk away. I didn’t make a habit of attacking women, but there was a special place in hell for those like Madison. Those who sought to use and abuse others because they could. Because humans were so far beneath her.
“Wrong,” Cecilia said.
“I can smell a wolf.” The sound of smacking flesh was followed closely by Cecilia’s cry of pain.
Gabe grabbed my arm, and I almost attacked him but managed enough control to focus on what he was trying to get me to pay attention to. I heard another smack, followed by a yelp from Madison.
“She’s not a wolf, you fucking moron,” Cecilia snapped. She sounded vicious. I wanted to see her. To taste the fire on her tongue. To let it burn through us both. “My dad is.”
“It doesn’t work that way,” Jarrod said. “Wolves sire wolves.”
“Not when they mate humans,” my mate challenged. “Then it’s fifty-fifty what you get. And with me, my parents got human. My mother was so disgusted she left when I was younger. My father kept me anyway.”
I could add cunning to my mate’s list of attributes. She’d managed to make it so they’d concentrate on her father and not pay as much attention to Leslie. Cecilia had just painted the other woman as a weak human, playing on their beliefs. Fuck, there was nothing weak about Leslie or Cecilia. Now, instead of them realizing Leslie’s scent covered her mate, they’d think Cain’s scent was covering Leslie. Oh, my mate was a genius.
A knock fell heavy on the door.
“Cici, you home?” A few more knocks sounded against the door. “Cici!”
“If I don’t answer, he’ll use his key to come in. He knows I came back last night and that I’m mated to a wolf. He doesn’t know which one.”
“Nice try,” Jarrod scoffed. “He’ll smell your mate on you and know my scent doesn’t match.”
“Then figure out what to say!” Cecilia snapped. “It was your brilliant idea to come here and take me. Surely, you planned what to do if someone or something interfered.”
“Watch your smart mouth, you little bitch, or I’ll shut it for you. Won’t be able to do much with a broken jaw.”
“I hear your son liked to knock around women, too,” Cecilia fired back. She was glorious and utterly insane. What the hell was she thinking riling him up? Makers could kill her.
“You fucking whore!” Madison swore.
“I’m coming in,” Cain bellowed at the same time, and I heard the lock on the front door click just as I heard my mate yell like a banshee.
Gabe and I flew around the corner and jumped into the chaos. Gabe followed Madison and Cecilia as they rolled across the floor, a flash of wild arms and legs as they each fought to get the upper hand. Makers had his back turned, facing the front door where Cain was already pushing inside. I jumped the couch with a snarl and landed right behind him. He turned with a growl, and I watched as claws sprouted from his fingertips. I was going to enjoy this. Immensely. At least, I’d get the pleasure of killing one of the Makers.
“I’m going to kill you,” Makers swore. “I’m going to rip out your throat then rip out your heart. I’m going to send it to your alpha in a box so he’ll know what’s coming for him.”
I laughed and had the pleasure of watching his face flush a darker red with anger. “You really want to die for that two-bit loser of a son of yours?”
“My son is twice the man you are. He could have been alpha. He should have been. They should have come to us instead of going to a bastard like Bastion James. Him and that freak of a sister of his. Someone should have snapped her neck at birth. But I’ll appreciate the pleasure anyway when the time comes.”
“Bee would rip you to shreds,” I informed him. “You wouldn’t stand any more of a chance against her than you did my mate.”
“Your mate’s about to die.” Jarrod nodded to something behind my back. I didn’t take the bait. He wanted to distract me, but my focus was on him. I knew Cecilia could take care of herself, and if she needed help, then Gabe was there.