A blood-curdling scream made Tanner’s fur stand on end.
Hannah’s in trouble.
Tanner’s heart stopped. Chills covered his body, head to toe. The cottage was still too far away. By the sound of the terror in Hannah’s scream, he’d never make it in time to save her.
Abruptly the world spun around him. Time seemed to stand still. Losing his footing, he stumbled about like a newborn deer.
Tanner blinked to clear his eyes as a strange glimmer passed over him. The forest around him flashed in and out of view. Maybe the blow to his head earlier had been harder than he’d thought. He looked down at his paws to see if he was imagining things. One second they were there; the next, they were gone.
One glance back to Tristian and Barbara, with their mouths agape and the look of pure astonishment on their faces told Tanner that something was very wrong. Whatever was happening was real and he was in deep shit.
“Tristian, what’s happening?” Barbara cried as she reached out to Tanner.
“I—I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Maybe if I shift back to human form, it will help. Desperation seeped through his pores. Whatever the fuck was going on had to stop. He had to save his mate. That had to be his priority, above all else.
His ears started to buzz and he felt like he was being sucked into a vacuum. Freezing cold air suddenly filled his lungs, only to escape back into the air as a rolling fog. Thick, fluffy snowflakes landed on his muzzle and covered the changing landscape around him.
The scene was oddly familiar—it was one that appeared to him every night in his dreams. Tanner looked to the Heavens and, sure enough, he spotted two gray shadows circling high above.
Crows.
A booming voice filled his ears.
“Now is the time.”
“The time for what?” Tanner listened for a response, but none was forthcoming. The landscape before him shifted once again. In the blink of an eye the barren snow-covered land melted away, and he found himself standing in a tiny dilapidated shack. The sweet smell of fresh strawberries filled his nose.
“Hannah!”
“Tanner! Watch out!” Hannah screamed, but it was too late. The rogue wolf holding her captive had changed back to human form, attacking Tanner at first sight.
Tanner flew backwards into a wooden support post, knocking the air from his lungs. A blow that hard would have been enough to force any other wolf back to human form, but not Tanner. The cheap shot only fueled his fury. Jumping to his feet, he snarled at the man, causing him to retreat cautiously.
“If you come any closer, I’ll slice her fucking throat,” the man threatened, pulling a long silver dagger from his hip as he inched closer to Hannah.
One single, stupid threat was all it took for Tanner’s berserker to break through the thin veil that kept him contained. He surged forward, high into the air, latching on to the man’s arm and tearing the limb from his body in one swift motion.
Shrieks filled the cabin as the man tried to run, but he slipped in a puddle of his own blood. He fumbled around, attempting to scoop up the silver dagger with his remaining hand. Finding the handle, he lunged at Tanner, but stumbled again, losing his footing. Falling to his knees, he looked up to see Tanner directly above him.
Without hesitation, Tanner ripped the man’s head from his body and tossed it to the ground. The savage death should have been enough to appease the berserker, but it wasn’t. It didn’t matter that every inch of Tanner’s body was covered in blood. The berserker demanded more.
“Tanner, come back to me,” Hannah pleaded.
He wanted to respond, by Odin, he did, but the berserker wasn’t quite ready to let go. Once unleashed, the beast demanded to be fed. Death and destruction went hand-in-hand with his berserker rage.
The cabin door flew open, crashing against the wall. Tanner turned to the intruders, snarling a vicious warning.
Barbara and Tristian skidded to a halt. Eyeing the bloody scene, Barbara gasped, “Jesus Christ. What happened in here? Where’s Hannah? Is she okay?”
A deep rumble was the only response Tanner offered.
“It’s all right, Tanner. They won’t hurt us. I need your help.” Hannah strained to free herself from the silver, only to cry out as a fresh wave of pain swept over her. “Please, it burns.”
Barbara tried rushing to her niece’s side only to stop dead in her tracks when a growl rose up from Tanner’s throat, cautioning her away.
“Get it under control, boy. That’s my niece over there and she needs help.” Barbara’s voice was firm. One step at a time, she inched closer to Hannah. “I’m going to help her whether you like it or not.”
“Tanner, please!” Hannah cried again.
Hearing his mate in agony tore at his heart, and thankfully slowed the rage that burned through his veins. Struggling to gain control over the berserker, he sucked in a deep, controlled breath, filling his lungs with air. Closing his eyes, Tanner centered himself and his emotions, calling on the sacred majik he had been born with.
Agonizing pain exploded through his body as each bone made the slow transition from wolf to man. It was one of the worst and most painful ways to bring about a shift.
“That’s it, Tanner, come back to me.”
“Hannah.” Tanner stretched out a shaky hand in the direction of his mate before collapsing to the ground.
“Tanner!” Hannah screamed.
Chapter Fifteen
“Someone get this fucking silver off of me,” Hannah shouted, tired of feeling weak. Not being able to help her mate when he needed her drove her wolf to the brink of madness.
Barbara ran to her niece’s side. Using the corner of her sweater she tried to pull the chain free, but the silver had already embedded itself into Hannah’s skin.
“Hold still. I’ll have it off of you in a second.”
Hannah tried not to wince as her aunt worked desperately to remove the chain. Who would have thought such a small chain could cause so much pain?
“Damn it. It’s stuck.”
“Just get a firm grip and yank the damn thing off.” Hannah was losing what little patience she had left.
“Easy, baby girl. On the count of three. Now take a deep breath. One. Two…”
Hannah closed her eyes and held her breath.
“Three.”
The pain she had felt earlier was nothing compared to the pain that tore through her neck when Barbara yanked on the chain. If Hannah hadn’t known better, she would have thought Barbara was trying to slice through her throat with a rusty butter knife.
“Worst decision ever,” her wolf panted. “As a matter of fact, I think your decision-making privileges should be revoked for the next forty-eight hours. At least.”
“Shut up.”
The last thing she wanted to do was fight with her wolf. She was exhausted and in pain, and her mate needed her help.
“Take your time and catch your breath. Tristian is with Tanner. He’ll make sure he’s okay.”
Hannah nodded, glancing over at her mate as he slowly started to regain consciousness. She breathed a little easier seeing he was on the road to recovery.
“Where’s Hannah?” Tanner’s voice was raw and scratchy, as if someone had shoved a hot poker down his throat.
“She’s over there with her aunt. They’re only a few feet away. They just got the silver off her neck,” Tristian answered before Hannah had a chance.
“Motherfucker. I’d kill those bastards again if I could. Twice as hard.”
Hannah smiled at Tanner’s comment, knowing he would do anything in his power to protect her.
Once she’d regained her strength, she made her way to Tanner, kneeling beside him.
“Are you okay? They didn’t hurt you, did they?” Tanner’s raspy voice was music to her ears.
The tears started immediately. “One of them marked me as his mate. I—I tried to stop him, but he had silver around my neck. I couldn’t move,” Hannah
sobbed.
Barbara gasped in shock, and a stream of expletives flew from Tristian’s mouth.
“I know. I overheard the other assholes talking about it in the woods.” Tanner sat up, pulling Hannah close. “We’ll fix this.”
“How? My wolf said she’ll die if she doesn’t mate with the male who marked her.”
“My Alpha can break the bond and cancel out the mating mark. I’ve seen him do it.”
“Are you certain?” Barbara asked wearily. “I’ve never heard of such a power.”
“Positive,” Tanner reassured her. “We need to hit the road for Black Paw as soon as possible.”
***
Hannah said her goodbyes to her family while Tanner loaded a few suitcases stuffed with her belongings into the back of his truck. She wiped fresh tears from her face and hugged her mom one last time.
“I never thought I’d leave Blue Creek. Or you.”
“I’ll only be a phone call away. Besides, Black Paw isn’t that far. The drive is only a few hours. We can still see each other whenever we want.” Her mom hugged her tighter.
“It won’t be the same.”
“You go with your mate and get your lives sorted out. We’ll figure it out from there.” She let go of Hannah, giving her a teary smile. “I love you, and your family will always be here for you.”
“Thanks, Mom. One last thing… can you call and check on Faith for me? She seemed pretty distracted at the ceremony.”
“I’ll take care of it. You better hit the road.”
Hannah slept most of the way to Black Paw. Emotional and physical exhaustion pulled her under as soon as they crossed the county line. Tanner held her close, needing to feel the heat of her body pressed against him. He’d pulled over at a truck stop halfway through the drive to fuel up and grab a drink.
The short break also gave him time to call Rafe and explain everything that had happened at Blue Creek. Rafe gave him explicit instructions to bring Hannah directly to his house, no matter what time they got into town.
Being on the road gave Tanner time to think about all the strange things that had happened at Blue Creek. His powers seemed to be completely out of whack. He still couldn’t hear any of Hannah’s thoughts—and then there was the elephant in the room. How in the hell had he managed to teleport? He’d never heard of any wolf with that ability. No stories, no legends—nothing.
He needed to talk to Rafe about it, but he’d chickened out on the phone. It was a conversation he’d rather save for an old-fashioned one-on-one sit-down.
A few hours later, Tanner pulled into Rafe’s driveway and put his truck in park. “Hannah. We’re here.” He nudged her gently to wake her up.
Hannah stretched and rubbed her eyes. “Already? We just left Blue Creek, didn’t we?”
“You slept the whole way.” Tanner said with a soft smile.
“Oh, God. I’m so sorry. I felt like I just needed to close my eyes for a few minutes. I never meant to sleep through the whole trip. Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“You seemed like you needed the rest. Besides, you have the cutest little snore. You sounded like a baby squirrel.”
“Nice. That makes me feel so sexy.” Hannah rolled her eyes at the comparison.
“Let’s get this over with, shall we?”
Hannah’s arms shook with worry. Tanner knew she had her doubts, but he didn’t. He knew Rafe would be able to break any connection she had to the fucker who did this to her. Once that was done, he would be able to rightfully claim his mate.
And this time, he wasn’t waiting for permission.
The front door of the house opened. Rafe stepped out to meet them and offered his hand in greeting. “Tanner, it’s good to see you. I just sent Erin a text asking her to come over. I want her to check out you and your mate.”
Tanner shook Rafe’s hand. “This is Hannah. Hannah, this is Rafe.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you,” Hannah greeted Tanner’s Alpha.
“We really don’t need to disturb Erin. We’ll be fine. It’s nothing our wolves can’t handle.” Tanner didn’t want to bother Erin. The woman came running day or night for pack-related medical emergencies, but their situation was hardly an emergency.
“I’d rather be safe than sorry. It will only take her a few minutes to examine your mate. I want to make sure there’s nothing serious going on. In the meantime, why don’t you come inside and I’ll take a look at the forced mating mark.”
Tanner and Hannah followed Rafe through the house and into the den.
“Let’s do this in here so we don’t wake Mina up. She hasn’t been getting enough sleep lately.”
“Yes, I have been. Just because I’m pregnant with twins doesn’t mean I need three times the sleep.” A woman, Hannah assumed to be Mina stepped into the room with a tray of coffee and water. “I swear, the man would wrap me in bubble-wrap if he could. Would you like a drink?” She set the tray on the coffee table.
Tanner stood, giving her a quick hug only to smirk when he heard a low rumble reverberate from Rafe’s chest. “Easy, Rafe. It’s a simple greeting. Nothing more.”
Mina turned to Hannah. “You must be Hannah. I’m Mina. It’s so nice to meet you.”
“Hi.” Hannah stood to give Mina a quick hug.
“I should have warned you, Mina is a hugger. So are her mom and sisters,” Tanner joked.
“You hush. It’s better than the alpha-male crap you guys do.” Mina winked at Hannah. “These men, I tell you. Some days the testosterone around here is too much to handle.”
Rafe sat down on the coffee table facing Hannah. “Let’s see this mark of yours.”
Hannah pulled her hair to the side, showing him the nasty bite Mac had left on her neck.
Mina gasped at the sight of Hannah’s bloody, torn neck.
“Motherfucker. Why did he do that? As far as I’m concerned, there’s never a reason for something like this to happen.” Rafe was outraged at the sight. “Please tell me you killed him.”
Tanner shook his head. “No. The Wolfes’ are dealing with him.”
“It’s probably for the best. It will be easier to break the bond if he’s still alive. When the mate is dead, it’s a little trickier. Now, Hannah, I want you to clear your mind and relax. Okay?”
“Okay.” Hannah nodded.
Rafe placed his hands on the side of her head and closed his eyes. “There it is. This should be really easy. You might feel a little light-headed. Ready?”
“More than ready.”
“Here goes.” Rafe sent a surge of power into Hannah’s mind. The tendrils of power latched onto the forced mating connection, cleanly severing it. “All done.” Rafe pulled back from Hannah and patted her knee. “See, easy as pie.”
Hannah twisted her head around and drew in a deep breath. “It’s gone. I’m no longer connected to that scum.”
Tanner wasn’t sure if he should laugh or growl when Hannah launched herself at Rafe, wrapping him in the tightest hug possible.
“Thank you so much.”
“You’re very welcome.”
“Looks like I showed up just in time,” Erin said as she knocked on the door frame of the den.
“Perfect timing, as usual. Let’s give Erin a minute alone with Hannah.” Rafe motioned for Mina and Tanner to step out of the room.
“I’d rather not,” Tanner protested.
“I’ll be fine. I’ll be there in a minute,” Hannah said, calming her mate.
Tanner huffed before following Rafe and Mina out of the room.
“Hi, I’m Erin. Rafe said you were bitten by a rogue wolf?”
“Yeah. It doesn’t feel so good. I’m not sure what you’ll be able to do about it though. I thought for sure shifting would heal the wound, just like any other. But it didn’t.”
“Mating marks are never healed by shifting,” Erin explained. “Let me take a look and see what’s going on with it. It shouldn’t be hurting you.”
Ha
nnah turned her head to the side, showing the carnage Mac had left.
“Sweet Freyja. What the fuck?”
“Exactly.”
“This is going to seem a bit odd.” Erin pulled a tiny vial from her purse. “I want you to drink this and close your eyes.”
“Okay.” Hannah took the vial and downed it before closing her eyes as she was asked.
Erin’s hand hovered just above the wound. An azure glow emanated from her fingertips. Tiny sparks danced from her hand onto Hannah’s neck, closing the ragged skin. When all was said and done, only a light pink outline remained.
“What was that? It felt all tingly.”
Erin winked. “I have a special majik of my own.”
Chapter Sixteen
They barely made it in the door of his apartment before the sweet taste of honey and cinnamon flooded Hannah’s senses, and left her body trembling with desire. She may have been around the block a few times, enough to know the difference between a good kiss and a bad kiss… but never before had a kiss blown her mind or turned her on so completely. She also realized that a kiss had never tasted so good, had never left her so needy in her entire life. She wondered how she had become so addicted to her mate’s kisses in such a short amount of time.
Weak at the knees, Hannah held on for dear life as Tanner continued to make love to her mouth, his tongue darting inside and finding hers before caressing it and pulling back out. Goosebumps breaking over her skin, she moaned into his mouth, begging for more.
Her hips rocked against him, an automatic pleasure-seeking response. Gods, how she needed to feel him deep inside of her.
Tanner’s kiss didn’t slow when he ripped the tank top from her body, exposing her generous breasts. He caressed and squeezed, gently tugging on each of her hardened nipples with his fingers.
Hannah’s head fell back, her long locks sweeping over her back as he nipped at her ear and then down her neck.
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