Stolen Mate

by Kimber White

  “Relax,” I said, putting a hand on his shoulder to pull him away. The instant our skin touched, electric fire spread through me. It forced the air from my lungs. Knees knocking, I pulled my hand away. Clint’s tiger stripes deepened. He stepped back, collecting himself.

  “It’s just my Aunt Pat,” I told him. “She’s my stepmother. My brother probably called up to the house and told her to be on the lookout for me.”

  “She can’t know I’m here,” he said. “No one can know I’m here.”

  “It’ll be okay. She’s up at the top of the hill. She won’t come down. She uh...she’s used to giving me my privacy.”

  “You in the habit of bringing stranger shifters out to this cabin?” I thought Clint may have meant it as a joke. But, his voice faltered at the end and his eyes darkened. It felt like...jealousy. Again, my heart flared with heat, shooting straight to my core.

  It was in me to tease him. I don’t know why I felt the need. I can’t deny I liked the dark look he gave me. But, I’m not one to play those kinds of games.

  “No,” I said. “But Aunt Pat knows I need to get away from the boys often enough. She respects that.”

  “Are you telling me you’re the only female in this pack of your brother’s?” Again, his tone felt possessive, jealous.

  “No. My brother has a mate. Camilla. A couple of the older members of the pack have mates too. And children.”

  “Lucia McGraw! You out there, honey?” Pat’s tone grew more insistent.

  “You should go,” Clint said.

  “Right. Just...feel free to hang out here for a little while. You know, until things calm down. The packs won’t wander onto the property. I told you, it’s neutral territory. As long as you don’t do anything to make yourself...uh...known...you’ll be safe here.”

  “Thank you. I think I can guess how much of a risk you’re taking doing this for me. I don’t want to make trouble for you. I’ve got the sense you kick that up all on your own.”

  This time, he kept the humor in his tone. I couldn’t help but laugh. I wanted to tell him I’d come back. God. I wanted to tell him not to leave. It made no earthly sense, and the rational part of me won out.

  “Well, it was good to meet you, Clint Tiger...er...uh...Yeager.” Clint’s eyes twinkled with mirth. I held my hand out to shake his. This wasn’t like me. Men didn’t make me awkward, shifters least of all. It was usually the other way around. They didn’t know how to deal with having a female shifter in their midst. Maybe Clint didn’t either, but the power circling around him was unlike anything I’d ever felt.

  Smiling, he shook my hand. That same electric spark went off when his fingers closed around mine. Time stopped. My wolf stirred. But somehow, I managed to collect myself and turn away from him.

  Just before closing the door, I looked back at him. “Stay to the western edge of the lake before you cut north. Um...if that’s still where you’re headed. You might want to cross the border by way of Wisconsin, not Michigan. Stay away from Wild Ridge. That’s bear country. That’s the last place you want to be if you’re trying to stay inconspicuous.”

  Clint gave me a half-hearted salute as I closed the door.

  Five

  Heart racing, I tore up the hill. Aunt Pat wasn’t there. I scented her easily. She’d gone back toward the big red barn on the northern edge of her property. I knew why. She didn’t like staying in this part of the woods. It’s where we’d buried my father.

  I found her in the paddock, running her hands down Chester’s smooth back. He was her newest pony. She bought him for the little ones to ride. Tucker wanted so badly to ride him all by himself. If we weren’t careful, that little hellion would try. Pat said my nephew reminded her more of me than his own father.

  “Well, look what the cat dragged in,” Pat said, smiling. My heart lurched. It was just a silly, cliched expression, but I had to wonder if she knew something.

  I grabbed the brush she had sitting on the fence and went to Chester’s right flank. He flicked his tail as I brushed his butter-colored coat. The sun had fully risen, shining in Aunt Pat’s face. She lifted her hand to shield her eyes.

  She had a chameleon face, my Aunt Pat. At times, I could see the young girl she used to be. She met my father when she was only nineteen. I don’t remember much about that time. I just knew one day I had a mother; her name was Sela. The next day I didn’t. My father had fought a war to keep us safe and we ended up here. He came alive after that and I knew Pat was the reason. He loved her deeply and completely.

  New lines of grief framed her eyes as she looked up at me. She was so small, barely five feet tall. At one time, my father could easily span her waist with his hands. She had a bright laugh that reminded me of church bells when he lifted her in his arms. It was a sound she made just for him. I hadn’t heard it since we lost him.

  “Did Jarred call?” I asked, knowing full well the answer.

  “He’s just worried about you, honey. You can’t blame him.”

  “He shouldn’t. You both know I’m fully capable of taking care of myself.” Tears sprang to my eyes. I moved closer to Chester’s head so Aunt Pat couldn’t see.

  “I’m not Camilla,” I said quietly, knowing Pat would understand. “I’m nothing like her. I’ve tried.”

  The tears fell, born out of anger and frustration more than sadness.

  “Oh, she’s something all right,” Aunt Pat said. She’d moved to Chester’s front, cradling his nose between her hands. She pressed her forehead to him and reached into the pocket of her dress to pull out a treat. Chester gobbled it readily, stomping his front hoof in gratitude.

  “I don’t know how to be like that. She knows how to calm my brother, how to get what she wants without raising her voice or getting angry. She’s like that with all of them. They worship her. She says the right things. Does the right things. And she’s...comfortable...with…you know...”

  Pat’s cheeks turned pink and she dropped her gaze. “Are you judging her for that?”

  “God! No!” I came around Chester’s front so Pat could see me. Though she was my brother’s mate, Camilla had been claimed by the entire pack. It had been like that with my mother, Sela, as well. When Alpha male wolves mated with humans, like my father and Pat had, they stayed monogamous. But, true female wolf shifters, rare though we were, usually indulged in a more...er...open arrangement.

  “It’s just…” Icy fingers of dread closed around my heart. Jarred’s words drilled into my head. If I mated with one of the other Alphas, they might expect me to take the whole pack. Some very small, ancient part of me flared with heat at the thought. Sure, it was a wild fantasy, but it wasn’t what I really wanted. I wanted… My heart fell, I hadn’t yet been able to answer that for myself.

  Pat led Chester back to the barn. I followed. “He’s coming along,” Pat said. “Sarah’s been working with him. I don’t know what I’d do without her help.” Sarah was one of the girls from town. She was another stray Aunt Pat had taken in over the years. She had a knack for training the horses and a few other things.

  Once Pat settled Chester in his stall, she finally turned to face me. She didn’t have to be a shifter to know my mood.

  “He said three pack Alphas went to Daddy and made a proposal for me. Is that true? Did you know about it?”

  My eyes stung with my fresh tears. Pat’s expression stayed warm and kind. She’d aged so much in the last year and a half. Her hair was mostly gray now. She’d only be forty years old on her next birthday.

  “Yes,” she said simply. Though it hurt to hear, I respected her honesty. “But, you also have to know your father would never have forced you into anything you didn’t want. Jarred won’t either.”

  “It’s a problem though, isn’t it?” I asked. I knew the answer, of course. I felt it every time one of the other pack members got near me. Just like in the bar, I sensed their lust, their raw hunger for me. And it stirred the darkest part of my nature. That was the one thing I couldn’t give voice t
o. Not even to Pat.

  “Jarred won’t say it, but he thinks the packs might be willing to go to war for...me.” My voice burned in my throat.

  Pat drew in a sharp breath. She crossed her arms and started a slow stride toward the end of the stall. I followed. We stood side by side, watching the sun rise over the pasture. Finally, Pat looked up at me.

  “I think you worry too much,” she said. “And I think you need to go talk to your brother. But, listen this time, Lucia. Really listen. Jarred is trying to hold the peace among the packs together with his bare hands. These are precarious times. It’s always like that when a new Alpha rises. Your father is a tough act to follow.”

  She put a hand on the small of my back and leaned her head against my shoulder.

  “I miss him,” I said, hating myself a little for it. I didn’t want to make her sad.

  “I know.”

  “Why did he do it?” I asked. “Why did he go down there alone?” The words spilled out of me. We’d never really talked about what happened. But, my father had been killed near the Ohio border. Factions of a rival pack from Kentucky had cornered Peter Matthews’s brother Calvin and a few members of his pack. Calvin died, but my father managed to free the rest of the Matthews pack. He’d been mortally wounded in the battle and barely made it home. He died here on the farm the next day in Pat’s arms.

  Pat didn’t answer me. She had one though. I could see it in her eyes. “Another time, honey. For now, go home. Go see your brother. I’ll tend to things here.”

  She held more secrets behind those eyes and my heart flared wondering if some of them were mine. Did she know what I’d done? Had she seen me with Clint? Or was she reading the secrets hiding behind my own eyes?

  For now, we would each keep them to ourselves. As I turned my face into the sun, I felt my brother’s call. For once, I decided to heed it.

  Six

  “He’s in the back!” Marcus shouted from behind the customer service counter at Wild Lake Outfitters. I dodged around construction workers and yellow caution tape to get to him. The hammers pounding behind me matched the thundering of my pulse.

  “I can’t believe these people still want to shop with all of this going on,” I said. When the expansion was finished, W.L.O. would be the largest hunting and camping store in Michigan, measured by physical space, at least. Half the packs thought Jarred was about to lose his shirt on the renovations. Jarred ignored every one of them. Judging by the scores of people pushing carts around the orange cones, I knew he was on to something.

  “Tell me the truth, Marcus. How mad is he at me?” Along with Charlie Devane, Marcus was the last of the “old guard.” He’d been there when my father took over as pack leader. As his most loyal lieutenant, I knew some factions on Wild Lake assumed he’d be the natural choice to take over as Alpha instead of Jarred. If Marcus had that ambition, he never showed it. He’d pledged his life and loyalty to my brother, just as he’d done to our father.

  Marcus paused to scratch his chin. He had a day’s worth of cinnamon-colored stubble growing there. If his wife Maggie were still alive, she’d be the first to give him trouble for that. Human, she’d died almost three years ago giving birth to their son, Asher.

  “Lucia, he’s not mad. None of us are. We’re just worried about you is all.”

  “Don’t be,” I said. “I can take care of myself.” I swatted at Marcus as he mimicked me and repeated the last bit right along with me. I suppose he had heard me say it often enough.

  “Look,” he said, turning to face me square on. “I don’t want to get into your business, but what were you thinking the other night, huh? The Backwoods? That place is crawling with shifters on the make. It’s not like it was a few years ago. You know everyone in there is looking to hook up. I’m not saying you don’t have every right to come and go as you please. And I know you can handle just about any situation you’re in. But, why invite trouble, you know?”

  Marcus’s words stung. He was generally stoic and had been more so since losing Maggie. For him to get this personal meant he was really worried. I appreciated it but didn’t know quite how to handle him.

  “I just...I don’t know.” That was as honest an answer as I could give him. Something drew me to that bar that night. I was only just now starting to process what that might be.

  “Your brother’s just got a lot on his plate right now besides...uh...your situation. Some of the packs are putting up some resistance about the highway plan.”

  I peered out the front window. Wild Lake Outfitters sat on the prime real estate a half a mile from the interstate. Only, the closest exit was a mile and a half either north or south. Jarred was working on getting approval for construction of a new exit that would bring people to the store’s literal doorstep. But the property he needed to build it cut across lands belonging to five of the other packs.

  “Which ones?” I asked, grabbing a store apron from under the counter. There were lines forming at all four registers. We were short-staffed already.

  Marcus let out a sigh that cut through me. I knew the answer before he said it. “Lanier, Monroe, Matthews.” My stomach flipped. Marcus at least had the decency not to look away when I met his eyes.

  “He didn’t,” I said, barely able to get the words out. My inner wolf buzzed. “He wouldn’t!”

  “Lucia, wait!” Marcus tried to put a hand on my shoulder, but I dodged him. White haze clouded my vision as I leaped over the counter and headed for my brother’s closed office door at the top of the stairs. I’d moved with enough violence to draw the attention of half the people in the store. To hell with them. This was Wild Lake. They were used to this kind of thing.

  I heard Jarred talking on the phone, but the door was locked. Fueled by rising anger, I broke it open and pushed my way inside. Jarred’s wolf eyes flashed a warning as I slammed the door behind me.

  “I’ll call you back,” he barked into the receiver. “Five minutes.” Slamming the phone down, he rose out of his chair.

  “Lucia…”

  “Don’t,” I said, putting my hand up in warning. I hadn’t meant for this. I didn’t want another fight, but it felt like all the puzzle pieces had finally fallen into place.

  “Am I the carrot?” I asked.

  Jarred jerked his head back, eyes wide. “What?”

  “The carrot. Lanier, Monroe, Matthews. You need them to sign off on your stupid highway exit plan. You’re not strong enough yet to be the stick. You’re too new. They don’t respect you like they did Dad. But you have something else they want. You have me. So, is that the scheme? They get me for getting on board?”

  Jarred dropped his head. He dug his clenched fists into the desktop, trying to control his breathing. I could smell the blood where his claws dug into his palms.

  “Stop it,” he said, his voice a low, furious monotone.

  “Jarred, I swear to God, if…”

  “Stop it!” He pounded his fist on the desk hard enough one of the front legs broke. Papers slid down the side. Jarred’s fiery, silver eyes never left mine.

  “Lucia, I am not going to have this same fight with you. But you’re driving yourself insane. You can’t even see it.”

  “See what?” I took a step back, pressing against the doorjamb. The lights buzzed in and out as it got harder to control my wolf.

  “This. You. If you could see yourself right now. You’re barely hanging on. It’s the Rise, Lucia. Haven’t you talked to Camilla about it?”

  The Rise. I shook my head as if I could clear the words right out of the air. The Rise was something that happened to female shifters before they went into a kind of heat.

  Jarred dropped his head, drawing a deep breath he calmed himself and stepped around the desk. “You need a mate, dammit.”

  “Don’t take another step,” I said. Thundering rage poured through me. I wanted to smash stuff.

  Jarred froze, respecting my wishes. He knew me well enough to know how close I was to shifting right there in his office i
n front of all the customers in the store. I wanted to argue his point but knew I wasn’t helping myself one bit.

  “Just talk to Camilla, will you? She knows. She’s been through this. She can help you.” His eyes fluttered. “At least, I think.”

  “I asked you a question.”

  “No. You’ve just been bitching at me.”

  I tore a piece of paneling off the wall behind me. “Did you make a deal, Jarred? Me for your exit?”

  Jarred’s face went white. He opened his mouth then clamped it shut. God, he looked just like Dad. He had that same twitch near his eye when he got truly angry.

  “No,” he answered, the word a sharp staccato.

  “Whether you did or not, the answer is no. Do you understand? I do not want to mate with any of the Alphas of Wild Lake. Not now. Not ever.”

  Shock put color back in my brother’s cheeks. He took an unsteady step backward. He looked as if I’d just gut punched him. For a moment, I existed outside myself. This wasn’t the reaction I expected. We’d been here before. Jarred would yell, swear, sometimes break something like I just had. But, he never went quiet like this.

  Then, the hairs rose on the back of my neck and I knew why. We weren’t alone. In the heat of the moment, I hadn’t sensed the audience forming behind me. I did now, slowly, I turned. Peter Matthews stood in the corridor flanked by his entire pack. Roy, Grady, Stephen and Tony.

  Peter Matthews was one of the biggest Alphas I knew. He matched Jarred in height. But, where my brother was leaner, more athletic, Peter was thick like a tree trunk. His cold, blue eyes burned through me. Pure rage simmered through him and I felt his wolf just below the surface. Lust coursed through him just as strong. God help me, it heated my blood. Was Jarred right? Was this the Rise?

  “Then, we have a problem,” Peter said, his voice booming.

  “Peter, this is between my sister and me,” Jarred said. “Please go. We’ll talk later.”

  “No. I’d say this is more between your sister and me.”