by R. E. Butler
“I’m hoping she’ll leave with us,” Ray had told their dad an hour ago. “I want to bring her to King. Can we stay with you?”
“Of course! Our home is yours, you know that.” Their father, Max, and his older brother, Miles, had been sharing a home since Ray and Wes had moved out after high school. Ray had always figured it was because he didn’t like an empty house.
“We’ll be there tomorrow afternoon, if we can get her to agree to come with us.” Ray knew that bringing her back to Ashland was foolish. The pack knew where Melody lived; they’d go to Ashland first.
Their dad had encouraged them to lay everything on the line with her – to tell her they were mates and they weren’t going to let her be given away to a stranger – and hope for the best. That was really all they could do. Ray certainly wouldn’t force her to leave. He wasn’t going to take her choices from her when her father was doing that exact thing.
Wes paced by Ray and drew him out of his thoughts. “Would you knock it off?”
Wes leaned against the wall with a sigh. “I can’t help it. Nervous energy.”
“Well, if you’re going to be twitching the whole drive to Bent Creek, why don’t you go run a few miles and burn all that off?”
Wes shook his head. “I’ll feel better when we’re on our way. I’m just anxious to see her and I’m worried about what she’ll say.”
Ray looked in the duffel and counted his clothes. They were planning to stay at least a week in King, maybe longer.
“If she turns us away, then at least we tried. If we never go to see her, it’ll haunt us, and I for one am tired of sleepless nights. Rue sneaking Scarlett’s address to us is the best thing that’s ever happened to us, next to meeting Scarlett, of course.” Ray zipped up the duffel and slung it over his shoulder. “Ready?”
Wes nodded, then followed Ray out of the room and stopped to grab his own bag from the hallway. They said goodbye to Aaron and Grant Fallon and their mate, Samantha, who were in the kitchen with their kids.
“Be safe,” Sam said, and kissed them both on the cheek.
Aaron said, “I know you don’t want to tell us where you’re going, but try to at least check in and let us know that you’re okay.”
“We will, thanks,” Ray said. “It’s just better if you guys don’t know everything.”
Ten minutes later they were on the highway on the way to the Luna Arms Apartments in Bent Creek. Wes was quiet and Ray wasn’t sure what to say at this point anyway. They’d shared their worries with each other many times over the last few weeks. They were sure Scarlett was their mate, but that didn’t mean that things would be all champagne and roses once they’d found her. What they’d learned about her Breeding Queen situation was that she was nothing more than a commodity to her father, a way to increase his power and territory. Ray couldn’t imagine trading a child of his own for something as petty as territory. It was sleazy and disgusting, and Ray thought less of her father every time he heard something new about the situation. He hoped he never crossed paths with her dad, unsure if he’d be able to hold his tongue, or his fists, in his presence. Scarlett was a female of worth because she was beautiful, inside and out. She deserved to be worshipped and loved, not traded like a thing for material possessions or territorial gain.
Snarling inwardly, he relaxed his white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel and concentrated on the dark road. It took only three hours to get to Bent Creek’s city limits. He pulled the truck into a gas station for a fill-up and, after handing his credit card to the attendant, walked into the twenty-four-hour donut shop attached to the building.
A surly-looking man behind the counter greeted them with a grimace. Ray ordered coffee and donuts for himself and Wes while Wes used the facilities, and then, after using them himself, they walked back to their truck.
The attendant handed him his card and receipt, and Ray got behind the wheel, stifling a yawn. Pulling away from the pumps, he stopped in one of the parking spots and left the engine running as he took a sip of the dark brew.
“Go now or wait until dawn?” Wes asked.
Ray hummed in thought and took a bite of a still-warm glazed donut. The place looked like hell inside but the donut was fantastic.
“I don’t have a clue.” It was just after midnight. He pictured her sound asleep, her beautiful hair surrounding her like a halo, her sweet scent saturating the sheets.
Wes pulled his phone from his back pocket and opened the internet browser. After a few minutes, he showed Ray a photo of the Luna Arms Apartments. Zooming in on the door, he saw a metal rectangle with several rows of buttons next to the double glass doors.
“I’m betting those buttons call the apartments. We can find her name and call her place.”
“I guess it’s that or wait for her to maybe leave her place today and sit outside the building like stalkers,” Ray said.
“It’s not stalking if she’s your mate,” Wes protested.
Ray chuckled. “I’ll remember to tell the judge that when we get arrested.”
Wes snorted and finished his coffee. After they’d dumped their trash, he followed the GPS to the apartment complex. The front was well-lit with a manicured lawn and seating areas made up of stone benches and fountains. They could have parked in the street, but he decided it was better to park in the parking lot, so they followed it around the building. The apartment complex’s parking lot was nearly full, but they found an empty space toward the back.
They closed the doors carefully so the noise wouldn’t disturb anyone and left the truck unlocked. Then Ray and his brother walked quickly to the front of the building.
There were a ton of buttons. He and Wes scanned them quickly and found a lot of Jamisons. His finger hovered over an S. Jamison, but Wes grabbed his wrist. “I think it’s this one,” he said, pointing to an empty one next to a C. Jamison.
Ray looked at him. “Why do you think it’s that one? The name is missing.”
“Exactly. I think it’s because she’s going to be mated soon and they’re moving her out of this place.”
“What if she’s moved already?” Ray felt like his stomach had dropped into his feet.
“I don’t think so, or Melody wouldn’t have been addressing a thank you card to her at this address. She’s got twelve brothers. Maybe the ‘S’ is one of them, and if we push that button then we might wake him up and make problems for her.”
Ray hesitated. He didn’t want that at all. Exhaling loudly, he said, “Okay. Blank button it is.”
The buzzing sound was so loud he cringed, wondering if everyone in the building had heard it. His heart began to pound as they waited. He half-expected police cars to show up, or some of the pack members, who would escort them out of town, but the only thing that happened was nothing.
And then…a miracle.
“Hello?” Scarlett’s sleepy voice came over the intercom and Ray could have cried in relief at finally hearing her again.
“Scarlett, it’s us. I mean it’s Ray and Wes Fiero.”
There was a significant pause and he looked at Wes in concern.
“I’ll buzz you in. Turn right in the foyer and come to the hallway. I’ll buzz you through the security door. My apartment is the last on the right, A13.”
Ray could have hollered in victory, but he wasn’t going to be an idiot. The front door clicked and Wes pulled it open. They hustled inside, turning right. As they drew near a security door, he tugged on it and it opened easily. Wes walked through and Ray made sure the heavy door didn’t slam shut and alert anyone they were there. Only a long hallway separated them from their mate. They couldn’t walk fast enough.
* * * * *
Wes kept pace behind Ray as they moved down the hallway as quickly, but as quietly, as they could. The doors all looked the same except for the gold numbers in the center of each one, just underneath the peepholes.
The last door on the right swung open before they could knock and she urged them to come in quickly, closing the doo
r silently once they were inside.
She was panting for breath and he could scent the fear coursing through her. “How did you find me? What are you doing here?” She folded her arms around her middle in a hug, fisting the thin t-shirt she was wearing until her knuckles turned white.
“We’re here because you’re ours, Scarlett. Tell me you fucking know that,” Ray said, his tone demanding but with a hint of worry.
Her eyes widened and her head tilted slightly. For a moment she said nothing, and time hung suspended between them. Suddenly she launched herself at them. It was no hardship to catch her and bring her close. Wes had dreamed about holding her again for so long that he felt like he was still in some kind of insanity-induced fantasy. But no, the beauty from his dreams was here in the flesh.
Ray pressed against her back and the two of them caged her between them in an embrace that was new yet old at the same time. She shivered as her body pressed against Wes’s, one arm tight around his neck and the other fisting Ray’s shirt.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. “I dreamed you’d come.”
Wes stroked her hair and met Ray’s eyes. “We’re here now, but we know it’s not safe.”
She lifted her head slowly. “No, it’s not. I don’t want you to get hurt. You should go, right now.”
She spoke the words, but she didn’t try to push them away.
“We’re not leaving without you, sweetheart,” Ray said.
She swallowed audibly. “It’s dangerous. Damn it, it’s too dangerous.” She pressed her forehead to Wes’s chest and grabbed a handful of his hair. “Don’t let me go.”
Ray chuckled. “You’re sounding a little mixed up, Scarlett. Come on, sweet love, tell us everything and then listen to what we have to say.”
She lifted her head and went up on her toes, brushing her lips across Wes’s. An electric shock slipped through him and he groaned as the all-too-quick kiss ended and she reached for Ray to kiss him.
She led them to the couch and they sat on either side of her. Wes couldn’t ignore the packing boxes sitting around the front room, although it didn’t look like she’d actually done much packing.
She took one of their hands in each of hers and sighed. “The male my father chose for me is coming tomorrow for our mating ceremony. I’m supposed to be packed up. This afternoon I’m supposed to go to my parents’ home and stay for the night, and then after the ceremony I don’t know where I’ll be living.”
“Just like that?” Ray asked incredulously. “Some guy shows up and you go with him, no questions asked?”
“It’s not like I chose this life, Ray,” she protested. “It’s my genetic destiny. The fathers choose the mates for their daughters, and the daughters smile through the whole farce and swear on their lives to be faithful to the chosen mate for the rest of their lives.”
She stood abruptly and whipped around to face them. Her voice was a harsh whisper. “Do you think I wanted to leave like a thief? That I liked swearing Melody to secrecy so you didn’t come up here and get hurt? Do you have any idea what my father would do to you if he found out that you came here for me because of what happened between us?”
Ray stood slowly, his eyes dark and his lips pulled over his blunt teeth. “I don’t give a fuck what your father wants, Scarlett. Wes and I only care that you’re allowed to make your own choice for your future. Tell us what you want.”
Her eyes glimmered with tears. “I want you both, but I have no illusions that my father won’t kill you if he finds out about this.”
Wes stood and joined them, placing his hand on Scarlett’s back. She was trembling. “We want to mark you and be with you forever. No matter what your father’s plans are, he can’t ignore a physical mating between us. After things cool down, you can contact your father and tell him what happened. For now, come with us. No one in Ashland knows where we’re going. We both knew you were ours the moment we saw you during Melody’s wedding, and our cats were driving us bananas. Your genetics don’t matter to us. Tell us you feel the mate-pull between us.”
She blinked and tears slipped over her cheeks. “I do. I don’t know what it means because Breeding Queens don’t have truemates, but I feel in my heart that we belong together.”
“How could you leave us?” Ray asked the question on Wes’s mind.
“I was trying to save your lives, but I can’t walk away from you again. It would kill me.”
“We’re safer together,” Ray pointed out. “Come with us. We’ll keep you hidden forever if you’re really choosing us as your mates.”
A small smile curved her trembling lips. “I can’t explain it, but I know I’m yours.”
“Pack your things. Fast,” Ray said.
Scarlett raced out of the room and Ray collapsed onto the couch with a groan. “I wasn’t sure she was going to say yes.”
Wes rubbed at the space over his heart. “Me, either. Melody never said that she was keeping away from us because she was worried her father would kill us if he found out. That’s incredibly cold and cruel.”
“Her dad’s an asshole.” Ray cracked his knuckles. “I’m going to get the truck and pull it around to the front of the building. Bring her as soon as she’s ready.”
Ray stood and walked to the front door. He swung it open and froze as he faced a tall male wearing jeans and no shirt.
“What the fuck are you doing in my baby sister’s apartment?”
* * * * *
Scarlett’s mind was racing. She knew that going with Ray and Wes was probably a very stupid idea, but she couldn’t push them out of her life again. She had to take a chance on them and their plan to hide out. She knew in her heart what she’d been feeling all these weeks – they were her truemates. After they had mated officially, however mountain lions did that, then they could come back to Bent Creek and there wouldn’t be anything her dad could do about it. No alpha would want a female – even a Breeding Queen – who was already marked and mated to others.
A heavy weight lifted off her shoulders, but only for a brief moment. She heard the front door open and Christian’s voice.
Shit!
Darting down the hallway, she skidded to a halt as her brother bared fangs and snarled at her mates. Wes turned and grabbed her, putting himself between her and her brother.
“Christian,” she whispered so her voice wouldn’t carry out the open door. “Please.”
He growled low and she peeked around Wes’s body to see Christian and Ray staring each other down. Ray was bigger than Christian, but she knew her brother, like all her siblings, was a well-trained fighter, and she didn’t know how much training the mountain lions had had when it came to that sort of thing.
“She’s our mate.” Ray snarled the words with a menacing tone.
Christian’s growl abruptly cut off and he straightened, looking at her in surprise. Reaching back, he closed the front door softly. “I want to talk to my sister. Alone.”
Wes’s hands tightened on her for a brief moment and she met his eyes. “It’s okay. He’s my favorite.”
Christian chuckled. “I am so holding that over your head forever. Devon won’t like knowing he’s not your favorite brother.”
She snorted. “There’s no way Devon thinks he is, anyway. I never let him win at Scrabble.”
Christian walked past her and she smiled at her mates reassuringly before turning and following him. She wasn’t really sure what Christian was going to say, but he wasn’t baring his teeth or snarling in a way that would alert the rest of her brothers. He shut the door to her bedroom and leaned against it, folding his arms over his chest.
“Spill.”
She blinked. “Wow, okay, well, I met them at Melody’s wedding and we had this really wonderful night together. I walked away, though. Melody told them not to get in touch with me, that they should move on and forget about me.” She felt tears sting her eyes and she sat down on the corner of her bed and pressed the heels of h
er palms into her eyes. “I’ve thought about them ever since. I don’t know how they found me, but Melody doesn’t know or she would have called to warn me.”
“What about your mating ceremony tomorrow?” His voice was cool, his face blank.
Her stomach twisted into a big knot. She looked up at her brother. “They want me to leave with them and hide out for a while. Then we can tell Dad that I’m marked and mated and he won’t be able to trade me to anyone.”
Christian growled. “I don’t know if that’ll work, but I guess it’s worth a shot.”
Her mouth dropped open in surprise. “You’re not going to tell him, or try to stop me?”
He shook his head. “Fuck, no. He’s been trying to control your life since you were little. If he really wants to be an alpha with a big territory, then he should get it the old-fashioned way by taking over packs, not bartering his only daughter like cattle.”
“Cattle? Geez,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“You need to go. I don’t know when it’ll be safe for you, but leave your phone, your car, and your credit cards here. Call me in a couple weeks from one of those pre-paid cell phones and I’ll let you know what’s going on.”
She ran to him and he hugged her tightly. “Thank you, Christian.”
“Don’t thank me until you’re out of Bent Creek and safely away from this madness.” He tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear and smiled. “I’ve always hated how he treats you, Scar. It’s not fair for anyone to force their child to mate with a stranger. You’ve been acting weird for weeks, and now I know why. They’re pretty decent guys for trying to find you after all this time, not giving up on you.”
“I know, I’m lucky.”
“I hope to be lucky enough to find a mate someday who won’t give up on me, either.” He kissed her cheek and pushed her away gently. “Pack fast and go out the back way, through the service entrance. I’ll go with one of them to make sure they get out to their vehicle safely. See you outside.”