by Olivia Arran
Contents
Title Page
Prologue
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
New Releases
Taken
True Mates: Book 2
A Craggstone Paranormal Romance
By
Olivia Arran
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Copyright © 2015 Olivia Arran
All rights reserved worldwide. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locals or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Please note that this work is intended only for adults over the age of 18 and all characters represented as 18 or over.
Published by Arran Publishing
Cover Design by Resplendent Media
Editing by S.A.M Author Services
Prologue
“Sean, you’re on loud speaker. We’re all here. How’s the search going? Have you found her yet?” James’s voice boomed through the cell phone’s tinny speaker, a startling contrast to the blanketing silence of the forest in which I stood. James was my best friend, and the Alpha of the Colstone Pack — my Alpha. As the Beta of the pack, I was supposed to be the best tracker…
“No go, so far,” I muttered, hating to have to admit it out loud. It made it a little more real, somehow.
“I won the fight, thanks for your concern,” James said, chuckling.
“And, got the girl,” a female voice added. Kara — a new member of the pack, and from the sound of it, James’s new mate. Good for them. At least things were going well for some of us.
“Eric?” I asked, holding my breath. Eric was next in line to be Alpha of the Smithrock Pack. And a mean son-of-a-bitch. Kara had sought protection with our pack from Eric, who thought she belonged to him. Things had gotten ugly, and a hearing with the Shifter Council had been called. But Eric had decided to take things into his own hands, breaking into the packhouse and kidnapping Kara’s best friend, Lisa — a beautiful, vivacious, jaguar shifter. Who I was now looking for.
James grunted into the phone. “Dead. And good riddance. But there were some…complications. Amanda brought Colin, the Alpha of Smithrock, to the hearing. Turns out he’s her uncle, or something. Eric killed him before we fought. Then I killed Eric. So the Council made me temporary Alpha of Smithrock,” he said in a clipped voice. He didn’t sound too thrilled.
“Amanda?” That didn’t sound like the vain, self-obsessed woman I knew.
“Hey! Watch it…” Amanda growled.
Right. Loud speaker.
“She stepped up, Sean. So, I made her proxy Alpha of Smithrock.” I could hear the grin in James’s voice.
“And, I’m her Beta…” Tarq drawled, sounding smug.
“For now…” Amanda hissed.
“Aw, baby. Don’t be like that…” Their voices faded, a door slamming loudly in the background.
James whistled through his teeth. “I’d like to be a fly on that wall.”
I forced a chuckle, my mind busy processing the new information. “If Eric is dead, then…”
“You have to find her, Sean, and quick, before they realize he’s not coming back.”
“Before they realize she’s expandable, you mean?”
A sharp intake of breath. “Please find her!” Kara whispered, pain clear in her voice.
A pain that hit me square in the chest, mirroring my own. I had to find her — there was no other option. Not while I was still alive and breathing. Lisa was my—
I ruthlessly cut off the thought, refusing to even go there.
“I’ll find her. You have my promise,” I growled, ending the call.
I looked around the forest, the fading light an illusion created by the army of fir trees around me, the silence almost suffocating in its completeness.
Closing my eyes, I spun in a circle, allowing my senses to expand…searching…
That way! My beast growled inside my head.
Without question, I lurched forward, darting through the trees, adrenaline spiking and heart pounding.
The clock was ticking.
CHAPTER ONE
Sean
My bones aching, exhaustion threatening to drown me, I slumped back against a conveniently placed tree trunk. Scooping up handfuls of dry leaves from the forest floor, I shredded them into fine dust, images dancing through my mind on constant loop, haunting me, teasing me. Eyes blurring with exhaustion, my lids drooped in surrender.
I watched as she strutted down the sweeping stairs, clutching Kara’s arm for support, her sultry almond-shaped eyes narrowed, taking in the revelry around her.
Damn! She took my breath away — just stole it, clean out of my chest. Her petite figure, packed tight with curves that could destroy a man and leave him begging, stirring a lust so deep — so primal — I gritted my teeth against the ache.
James, my Alpha and best friend, murmured something, his eyes never leaving Kara — but my eyes were fixed on her, irrevocably drawn to the woman I did…not…want…
“Yup, I know I do,” she drawled, her comment to James full of sass and mischief.
And then the little minx twirled, her short skirt flaring to reveal the most perfect set of legs I had ever seen. That every man in this goddamn room could see—
“What do you think you’re doing?” I gritted out, voice overtaking thought. She was not theirs to look at, “Everyone is getting a view of your ass, and you’re just smiling and letting it happen!”
“I didn’t think you cared!” She spun to face me, fire sparking in her caramel eyes, her hair spiraling out from her head with a life of its own. Masses of the damn stuff, enough for a man to sink his hands into, and hold on.
What would it feel like?
I can’t. “I don’t,” I snapped back.
She pouted mockingly, her full lips forming a perfect rosebud. Smoothing her hands down her dress, she outlined every delectable curve my hands were itching to grab. “Sure looks like you do…”
My mouth went dry, eyes following. Snapping them back to her face I caught her look of triumph. This was a game to her, just a game. And I didn’t play games.
“Sweetheart, you have absolutely nothing that I want.” I forced out. And I didn’t want what she was offering — no, I wanted so much more. But, it was not for me.
And not from her, never from her. Sweet Mother, please give me strength…
I sent the fleeting prayer to the deity all shifters believed in, the Mother of All, the one who had bound our souls with our animals, and paired our souls with our true mates. But not all of us wanted
to be paired, with animal or mate.
Her eyes, always so open, momentarily flashed with pain, then she shrugged casually. “Mr-Hot-Beta-Wolf, you don’t know what you’re missing…”
“I have a name, Lisa,” I stated, keeping my tone bland. Show no emotion. I was the king of icy control.
“I know you do, sugar. Maybe one day I’ll have a reason to use it…” She winked saucily before spinning on a spiky heel and sashaying away, across the makeshift dance-floor.
It was for the best, I tried to convince myself. But my beast violently disagreed, throwing himself at my skin, trying to force his way out and chase after her — his mate. Our mate. But, one we would not claim.
I brutally shoved the beast back down, locking him inside. The passion she evoked, the rawness and hunger — it all ate at me, eroding the walls so carefully put in place…and I had to stay in control, stay human. He could not be allowed control, be allowed to choose. It would end in violence, then death. I knew this, I had always known, ever since…
Flashes of red coated my eyes, a river of blood and pain. Echoes of screams interspersed with begging whispers — whispers that were not heard, not answered…
I jolted awake from the trance I had fallen into, drenched with sweat despite the cool night air, my heart thudding rapidly in my chest. The forest was silent around me, my breathing mocking me — loud and ragged in my ears. Rubbing my hands over my shaved head, I desperately tried to force my mind to go back — back to the sweetness that was Lisa.
Man, how I wished I had done things differently. I should have leaned forward and kissed the pout right off those lips, smoothed her riot of hair back, and dragged her to me. I could picture it now, her lightly tanned skin, silky and ripe to the touch. Just one touch, one taste…that could have been enough — right?
I gave up trying to convince myself, hauling myself to my feet and dusting off my jeans. I’d been right not to touch her, I didn’t have anything to give — nothing that was good enough for her, anyway.
Must get her back, my beast growled inside my head, restlessly pacing back and forth in my mind’s eye.
We will. But she’s not for us—
Want!
Doesn’t matter, beast. I decide — not you. We’ll find her, return her to safety, and then…move on.
I knew what I had to do, but just the thought of her in danger, scared and alone, with fuck knows what being done to her…my stomach churned in revolt. I gritted my teeth, swallowing back bile. She was going to be okay. She had to be.
***
Lisa
The rancid smell burned my nose as I paced the confines of my cell for what must be the thousandth time. Room. Whatever — it might have a bed, but it also had steel bars on the windows, and a lock on the door. The steel bars themselves didn’t pose much of a problem, I could easily dispose of them when shifted to a jaguar — it was the fully-grown wolf shifter prowling outside that was the issue. Him, and the other three in the main part of the house.
“Stinking-flea-bitten-mongrels,” I cursed under my breath, breathing in through my mouth, trying to avoid the nasty-ass smell that permeated the house. More of a shack, really — the walls crumbling, the floor damp and moldy.
The last thing I remembered was leaving the party, trying to get away from him and those soulful eyes that followed me everywhere, caressing and accusing with burning intensity. He had wanted me, and I enjoyed a little verbal sparring as foreplay as much as the next girl, but then, when he had shut me down? Nope — he was closed for business, for me anyway.
And that had hurt — like a motherfucker; dredging up memories I had worked so hard to bury, causing a long forgotten ache in my gut to bloom back to life, threatening to drag me back to the girl I used to be.
He was so not worth it. I hadn’t convinced myself of this yet, but I would, given time. I was great at pretending to not care, and moving on. There were plenty more fish in the sea. At least, there might be if I ever got out of this little hell hole.
Spinning on my heel, I paced the length of the room. Five, six, seven steps, and I was at the door. I pressed my ear cautiously against the worn wood, straining to hear my captors. The wolves whispered, aware of my acute shifter hearing, but I was a cat and I could do just about everything better than any damn wolf. Was their alpha back? Was my time up yet?
Voices filtered through the wood. “—keeping him?”
“Shut up and play your card, Si. He’ll be back when he’s done…” a muffled voice growled impatiently.
“He’s been gone a fucking long time, Dez. Maybe one of us—”
“You’re not paid to think—”
“I’m not fucking paid at all, so if I want th—”
The scraping of heavy furniture on the bare floor, as posturing growls reached my ears.
“Enough!” a deep voice declared. “Pick the fucking chairs back up and sit down, the both of you. We’ve got our orders from Eric. If anyone’s gonna do any thinking — it’ll be me.”
Muttered grumbles along with the sound of chairs being righted.
“She smells so sweet, can’t we just have a little taste?” one of the wolves whined.
“No touching. Not until the alpha has his prize. Then we can do what we want…”
Prize? They must mean Kara! She’d better be keeping herself safe, or I’d have—
“Well, well. What have we got here? A little sneaky eavesdropping…” the voice came from behind me, and I whirled around, my heart threatening to burst out of my chest.
Standing and gripping the bars at the window was the wolf shifter I had heard prowling outside. He leaned forward with a leer, pressing his face against the steel. “Boys!” he shouted, his eyes burning amber with his wolf, teeth still elongated into fangs.
With a start I felt the vibrations of feet and jumped over into the corner, as far away from both the door and the window that I could find. The door clicked as the lock was turned, then it burst open.
“What the fuck’s the matter, Gregg?” the shifter with the deep voice demanded, his tone brimming with annoyance. “Why are you shifted? You shouldn’t be talkin’ with her—”
“She was listening…through the door.”
“So what? Not like she’d learn much,” Deep Voice glanced at me, a sneer on his face. “And anyway, she’s not going to get a chance to tell anyone anything. Once Eric gets back, we get to party — and I think this little pussy is going to be mine…” He licked his lips in anticipation, and my stomach rolled.
“But Gary, Eric said we could share—” a voice whined.
“And I’m Beta, so I get first dibs…and if she’s as tasty as she looks…” the shifter I now knew to be Gary stalked toward me, his muscular frame blocking my view of the room, crowding me and adding a sour muskiness to the stench of the air, “…then I’ll be keeping her.” He stopped, his arms trapping me against the wall and forming a cage. His eyes, deep set and faded blue, squinted at me as if I were a bug under a microscope, and he was trying to decide which leg to pull off first.
I bared my teeth at him, all the while trying to shrink back into the wall.
“Yes, I think she’ll be a feisty one. I won’t break her, because then she’d be boring.” He tilted his head in consideration, grabbed a fistful of my hair, and wrenched my head to one side, exposing my neck. His eyes travelled from my ear down to my chest, and I cursed the fact that I still had the slinky party dress on — the one I had specifically worn for Sean. What I wouldn’t give for a thick woolly turtleneck, or even a damn balaclava!
My heart thudded in my chest. I would not let this happen, not willingly. He wanted feisty? Well, I had that in spades…
My hand shot out, nails shifted to claws, raking deep furrows down across his cheek and jaw. “Get the fuck away from me, you stinky-ass-bottom-eating-mongrel!” I hissed, letting my jaguar flash in my eyes. She was pissed, prowling and twitching beneath my skin, her jaws stretching wide in a throaty roar.
Gary didn’t m
ove; he didn’t even twitch. His tongue snaked out, licking at the bloody gashes, his brows arched in amusement. “That’s what I’m talking about, little pussycat. We’re going to be great together…” He leaned forward, his mouth hovering above mine, puffs of stale breath assaulting my nose. “Do it again…I dare you…” he whispered, his eyes burning with a sick kind of lust.
“Uh, Beta…Eric said no touching, remember?” called a nervous voice from the door.
Gary froze, our lips a hairbreadth apart, then he chuckled, the sound strangely high-pitched compared to his voice. “You have a reprieve, little pussycat.” He let go of my hair abruptly. “Until next time…” he murmured. Stepping back he signaled his men and they left the room.
Muttering under his breath at Gary’s command, Gregg shifted back to wolf, his claws clattering on the stone wall as he dropped down to four paws.
The door closed, lock clicking into place. I was alone again — for now. I sunk to the filthy floor, hugging my legs to my chest. Was anyone looking for me? More importantly, how would anyone know where to look?
CHAPTER TWO
Sean
The trail stopped dead, not a flattened leaf or scent marker to be found.
Shifting back to human, I rose onto two feet, searching the surrounding forest for a clue — any clue. “Dammit!” I cursed under my breath. What good was it being the pack tracker, if I couldn’t track the one thing I wanted to find the most? I had to be looking in the wrong direction, false trails…or something. They couldn’t have just upped and disappeared into thin air. She had to be somewhere!
Rage clouded my vision, fueled by the frustration bubbling inside my chest.
Think!
They weren’t in our boundaries, and I’d checked most of Smithrock’s land. James had people combing Craggstone, on the off chance they were hiding in town, in plain sight — but I didn’t think Eric was that stupid. Though, he had been stupid enough to go up against James, Alpha of the Colstone Pack, the biggest pack in the area. I snorted, wishing I’d been there to see the fight. Tarq had called, giving me his version of the evening, high on scoring a chance to be Beta with, and this was the funniest thing I had heard in years…Amanda! Fuck, yeah. I shook my head, a smile pulling at my lips, despite my foul mood. Never saw that one coming!