“Yes, it does.”
“Why don’t you poke around in my head? I have nothing to hide.”
Mina’s eyes widened. “You would let me do that?”
Rafe shrugged. “You’re my mate. Of course I would.”
With their fingers still entwined, Mina slowly sent the tendril out, gauging Rafe’s response as she started to see his inner most thoughts. The first thing she thought of was the pack. How were members treated? Was he demeaning and cruel like Griffin? Suddenly, the images appeared before her. Mentally, she flipped through them as if she were channel surfing.
Each image confirmed that he treated his pack members with respect and felt love for all of them, young, old, even the weak and sickly. Mina skimmed through years of thoughts in a matter of minutes. She flew with him to his past, then zipped forward to the first time he scented her. Awareness danced through her body when she felt the overwhelming need he had to claim her as his mate. A grin spread across her face as she watched when he tried to fight fate. The fight was short lived as satisfaction washed over her when the image of him claiming her raced through her mind.
Wanting to know what his plans were for her, she asked the silent question of what he envisioned their life would be like. Immediately, his images of their future sprang to life. Mina saw herself out on nightly runs with Rafe. Laughing with him, joking with him, kissing him, loving him. She felt the warmth in his heart that was destined for her, forever.
Satisfied with what she found, Mina closed the connection and stared in disbelief at her mate. She had only just met him, but felt as if she’d known him for a lifetime after what they had just shared.
Should I ease his fears and allow him to see why I ran from Twisted Tail? The thought alone gave her the heebie-jeebies.
“Thank you for allowing me to see that. I needed it.”
“I want you to try and relax here. I don’t like seeing you in fear all the time. I want my mate to be happy and confident. I know it’s going to take time before you trust me and the others in the pack, but I want you to know they are good people. They work hard and love even harder. We are all a family in this pack, and each person is just as important as the next.
“How did you heal me?”
“My mom explained how I could use our connection in my wolf form to heal your wounds.”
“Was it painful?”
“Nothing I couldn’t handle and my wolf healed me immediately. It just took all of the energy I had. As a matter of fact, I’m still not feeling one hundred percent better. Are you?”
“I’m still pretty sore, but definitely better than I was before.” Mina took a deep breath, wanting one more question answered. Though she feared for the answer. “Why did you heal me?”
“I hated seeing you in pain. I wanted to take it all away. Hearing you, each time you moved, cry out from the broken ribs nearly broke my heart.”
And that was the exact moment the tears that had been threatening finally broke free. Am I finally free to live without fear of being beaten for speaking my mind or protecting someone weaker than me? It seemed too good to be true. She found out very early in life that everything had a price. What would be the price for her freedom from Twisted Tail?
Rafe startled her when he lovingly brushed away the tears. Mina had never believed in love at first sight, and she never gave a thought to finding a true mate. She knew her mother never found her true mate, but instead had a false mate forced upon her.
“What troubles you?” Rafe’s voice was calm. Mina could feel only concern in his voice. Did he genuinely care about her worries?
“Everything troubles me.” Mina breathed a few calming breaths, trying to clear her mind of the alarm she felt for herself and her family.
“Care to elaborate?” Rafe nudged Mina to continue the conversation.
“When I ran from Griffin, I had every intention of finding a way to free my mom and sisters from Twisted Tail. Now that I’m gone, Griffin will target them, knowing he can hurt me through them.” Mina twisted a long strand of her hair around her finger as the worry crept back in.
Mina watched as Rafe slowly rubbed his forehead. He appeared to be deep in thought. Several minutes seemed to pass by before either of them spoke.
“Do you think Griffin will come after you?”
“I do. I tried to run once before, but I didn’t get very far. He warned me. No matter where I tried to hide, he’d hunt me down. His promise was that he’d force me to watch my family getting skinned alive, then he’d kill me slowly.”
“Wow. He sounds like a real upstanding kinda guy.”
“Cream of the crop.” Hearing Rafe joke about the situation brought a small smile to her face, though it wasn’t enough to take the fear from her eyes.
“I want to talk to my second-in-command and see what we can do as far as getting your mom and sisters to safety. Do you have any brothers?”
“I have one older brother, Eric, but my dad forced him out of the pack when he was a teen. The others, he—” Mina broke off into a sob, unable to finish her sentence.
“Son of a bitch. You’re Eric Harlowe’s sister!”
“You know Eric? Is he here?”
“Yes, he’s here. My dad found him beaten and left for dead years ago. I should have known when I saw the silver collar around your neck. Eric had a very similar one when he was found and brought to Black Paw.”
Mina stared in disbelief. “Is he doing okay? I mean, did he heal okay?”
“Yeah, he’s good. He and his mate just gave birth to their third baby.”
“I wonder if he would remember me. It’s been so long since I’ve seen him. I was eleven when it happened. I blamed myself for the longest time. Eric tried to stick up for me so our dad wouldn’t punish me when he came home drunk one night. It was the last night I saw my brother.”
“It was sheer luck that my dad found him when he did. But I assure you, he’s well. I can take you to see him in the morning if you’d like.”
“I’d love it.” The smile plastered across Mina’s face was genuine and for the first time in a very long time, it reached her beautiful ice-blue eyes.
Chapter Nine
Rafe tucked Mina into bed, his bed, with the promise he would sleep on the floor. Instead of catching a few hours of sleep, he paced back and forth at the foot of the bed. Their conversation played through his head, on repeat, as he brainstormed ways to get the rest of her family to safety.
The thought of running half-assed into Twisted Tail left a bad taste in his mouth. Knowing Griffin, he was sure to set a trap for anyone who tried to rescue the females.
He would do everything in his power to make his mate happy and to see her reunited with her loved ones.
Pulling his cellphone from his pocket, his fingers flew over the touchscreen, shooting several messages to Lucas regarding the evening’s developments. He wanted everyone to be on alert for an invasion from Twisted Tail. It would be easy enough for them to track her as it was. The scent of her blood was still relatively fresh, it would lead Griffin and his Twisted Tail thugs right to his back door…and if that fucker came knocking, Rafe would not be responsible for the damage he inflicted.
Lucas sent a quick message back: Doubling the number of men on patrol and sending four to guard your house.
The reply from Lucas was reassuring. Rafe breathed a little easier knowing if trouble showed up, they were prepared. Rafe fell into the nearest chair, thankful he had moved one of his favorite recliners to the bedroom long ago. A few hours of sleep would do him good, maybe give him a clearer mind to think through everything that had happened.
***
Five hours of sleep was nowhere near long enough for Rafe or Mina, but it was better than nothing. One quick shift to their wolf forms and energy would rush through them, recharging their bodies for the remainder of the day. It wasn’t a practice any wolf did on a regular basis, but desperate times called for desperate measures. They just needed to make sure they ate enough today t
o replenish what they had borrowed from their wolves.
“Why don’t you go ahead and get showered. Mom said she would pick up some clothes for you and drop them off until we can get some shopping done.”
“Thanks.”
Rafe showed her where she could find everything she needed before making his way to the kitchen to start brunch. He no sooner grabbed the sausage from the freezer when there was a knock at the back door.
Lucas stood at the door in nothing more than a pair of jeans, flanked by Tanner and Eddie, who were similarly clothed. They were Rafe’s top go-to men for anything he needed. Their loyalty and support had been unwavering when it came to pack security. Black Paw had enjoyed a long stretch of peace within and outside of the community, thanks in part to the diligence of the three that stood before him.
“What’s up?” Rafe left the door open and returned to the stove. The men followed Rafe into the kitchen, their noses on full alert. The last one in pushed the door closed behind him, standing guard at the door.
“We caught the scent of a few scouts from Twisted Tail early this morning. When they saw our numbers, they ran with their tails between their legs.”
“How ‘bout that. Did you get anything else from them?” Rafe placed the sausage in the skillet before grabbing two more packages from the freezer.
“Nothing. As soon as they spotted us, they took off.”
“We haven’t seen the last of them. They know Mina’s here and they’ll be coming for her,” Rafe warned.
“We’ll be ready for them when they show up.”
“I’m sure we will be. I want everyone, the entire pack, prepared. Twisted Tail is coming. It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. When I say ‘entire pack’ that also means women and children. From what I hear, Griffin likes to take his anger out on those he believes to be weak, helpless. The last thing I want is for him to go after one of our females or their young.”
Lucas nodded. “I have a few people on the inside trying to find out information about Mina’s family. I expect to hear back from them by this evening, with an update.”
“Are they in any danger of exposing themselves for passing information to us?” The thought concerned Rafe. He didn’t like the idea of others putting themselves in danger for him, especially if he couldn’t help protect them or their families in return.
“I honestly don’t know.” Lucas rubbed his chin in worry.
“How many are we talking about if things go south for them?”
Lucas did the mental calculations. “Two families. A pair of brothers, their wives, and kids. They’ve been looking for a way out of Twisted Tail for a while now, but apparently, Griffin issued a decree that anyone caught trying to leave the pack is to be killed on sight.”
“He’s taking all the personal freedoms away from his pack members.” Rafe shook his head in disbelief.
Mina padded into the kitchen.
Rafe tried not to growl like he wanted to when Mina entered the room. Though he’d left his mark on her, they hadn’t completed the mating ceremony. Having three males in such close proximity to her went against the very nature of their mating bond. Every warning bell in his psyche went off screaming, Danger danger.
With great mental anguish, Rafe dialed back his Alpha in order to make introductions. “Mina, this is Lucas. He’s my second-in-command. On his left is Tanner and Eddie is on his right.”
Mina offered a slight smile for the group. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Eddie, the ever friendly one, immediately grabbed Mina’s hand, only to jump away as Rafe lunged for his throat in half shift, a terrifying snarl escaping his mouth.
“Easy, boss.” Lucas slid between Rafe and Eddie. “He didn’t mean any harm. You know he shakes everyone’s hand.”
Begrudgingly, Rafe shook it off and ushered Mina to the other side of the kitchen, away from his crew and safely behind the island.
“Why hasn’t anyone challenged Griffin?” Rafe pulled a carton of eggs from the fridge and began cracking them into a large glass bowl.
“Because it’s never a fair fight,” Mina answered.
“What do you mean?” Rafe handed Mina a loaf of bread and pointed to the toaster.
“The last time Griffin was challenged was five years ago. The challenger was a young, cocky jerk who had worked under Griffin’s command for years before wanting more power. He thought he had what it took to win the challenge.” Mina popped four slices of bread into the toaster and pushed the lever down. “Anyway, both men showed up to the challenge in human form and Griffin shot his opponent before he had a chance to shift. One silver bullet through the head. The other through the heart. After that, he gave a speech about how it was his pack and warned that anyone who dared to challenge him would meet the same fate.”
“Please tell me you’re joking?” Lucas questioned.
“Why has none of this information ever made it back to the Counsel?” Rafe poured the eggs into a large cast iron pan. It was all he could do to keep his cool in front of Mina. The last thing he wanted to do was go off on another tangent and scare her like he did last night.
“We were told the Counsel disbanded years ago. That the packs had voted against a ruling entity. Griffin threw a huge celebration.”
Four stunned faces met Mina’s gaze when she glanced up. “Did I say something wrong?”
Rafe didn’t even know where to begin, so he started with the most obvious. “The Counsel is very much in existence. They’ve been around for more than five hundred years, and they aren’t going away anytime soon.”
Lucas, Tanner, and Eddie nodded in agreement.
“Well, that changes things. Doesn’t it?” Mina twisted a strand of hair through her fingers.
“Yeah, it does.” Rafe turned off the skillet and grabbed a stack of plates.
The kitchen remained quiet with all parties deep in thought as Rafe dished out plates of food, starting with his mate and then to the others.
It wasn’t until they sat down to eat that Lucas broke the silence. “Wow.”
Chapter Ten
After the meal, Lucas and the others stuck around for their morning meeting with Rafe. Mina had so many questions for him but didn’t know where to begin. As it was, she would have to wait for a time when they were alone.
With each passing minute she spent in his company, the more she began to relax. His cabin was warm and toasty, unlike her parents’ house where there was little to no heat, even during the coldest winter months. Mina kicked her feet up on the couch and relaxed with a happy, full belly for the first time ever.
It could have been minutes that passed or even hours before Rafe came storming into the room. Mina jumped from the couch, unsure of his current mood. Having seen him angry, she didn’t think he was angry, but instead agitated.
His nostrils flared as he looked her up and down. If she didn’t know better, her first guess would have been that he wanted to eat her for dinner. She jumped when his approach was anything but slow or cautious.
One second he was half way across the room, the very next she found herself wrapped in his arms. His lips crashed down on hers, surprising her. When she opened her mouth to protest, his tongue brushed against hers, sending shivers down her spine.
Rafe’s fingers twisted through her hair, holding her close as the kiss intensified. A sudden surge of heat washed over her body, sending her mind into a fog. Mina’s body quickly came alive under Rafe’s calculated seduction. His calloused hands seemed to be everywhere at once, ripping the clothes from her body. She moaned softly when he broke away to divest himself of his clothes.
Mina thought she’d died and gone to Heaven when bare skin met bare skin. Her hands boldly roamed over the muscled expanse of Rafe’s back and shoulders. When his lips landed on her neck and his hand parted her legs, she nearly saw stars dancing before her. A slave to the sensations that coursed through her, Mina could do little more than moan her approval as her core flooded with heat.
�
�Mina, wake up.”
The words barely filtered through her foggy mind. She didn’t want the pleasure to stop. Wantonly, she grabbed Rafe by the neck, pulling him on top of her.
“Gods, woman. You’re killing me. Wake up, Mina.”
Twisting her hips, she bucked under Rafe, moaning when she felt his hardness pressing against her in all the right places. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him close for another kiss. It didn’t matter that she had never done any of this before. She had to have him.
Mina’s eyes flickered open before dreamily closing again. OMG, realization crushed her, as did Rafe’s weight. Her eyes popped open to see a fully clothed Rafe smirking down at her. Panicking, she pushed with all her might, sending Rafe stumbling to the floor.
“Oh God! I’m so sorry. What was that?” Bolting from the couch, Mina stared down at Rafe, who stretched out on the floor. Her gaze greedily swept over him as she imagined all the naughty things she thought they did only moments ago in her dreams. The outline of his erection clearly visible through his tight jeans. A blush crept over her face when she noticed the grin on his face that was much larger than the Cheshire cat’s.
Rafe jumped to his feet, pulling Mina into a warm embrace. “There’s absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about. I am your true mate, Mina.”
“I’ve never had a dream like that before. It felt so real, so—” Embarrassment won out as Mina quickly snapped her mouth shut.
“I’ve heard of this kind of thing happening from time to time when there is a lag between when the mating mark is given and the actual mating ceremony takes places.”
“You mean I’m going to have more of these…crazy dreams?” Mina’s eyes widened in surprise. Surely he must be joking!
“Yes, and each one will be more intense than the last…until we complete the mating ceremony. This would probably be a good time to mention that I see the dreams through our connection. I smell your arousal.”
Alphas Unwrapped: 21 New Steamy Paranormal Tales of Shifters, Vampires, Werewolves, Dragons, Witches, Angels, Demons, Fey, and More Page 60