Once Upon A Midnight

by Stephanie Rowe

  “Can you look at me, Mina?”

  Haunting ice-blue eyes filled with unshed tears met his request, nearly breaking his heart. Had her young life been filled with such terror to leave her eyes scarred to the world and those around her?

  “I know you don’t know me, and therefore, don’t trust me. But I need you to hear me out and trust in what I show you. Can you do that for me?” Rafe placed his hand against hers, squeezing her fingers affectionately.

  A single tear slipped from her eye.

  Chapter Eight

  Girl, you have got to get a grip. If he wanted you dead, he would have killed you by now. Mina took a deep breath and nodded, forcing herself to remain calm. Rafe said he wanted to show her something. She couldn’t imagine what.

  Mina flinched as images flooded her mind. She gasped when she tried to put up her shield against the intrusion but found it missing. Had Rafe completed the mental part of the mating bond while she slept? Oh Goddess, now what am I going to do?

  “Relax, Mina. Don’t fight it. Let the images flow through your mind.”

  “It could be a trick. How do I know that you’re not just showing me what you want me to see?”

  Rafe stemmed the flow of images, seeing it would get him nowhere. “I didn’t think of it like that. I’m sorry. I wanted to show you that Black Paw is nothing like Twisted Tail. That I’m nothing like Griffin Engle. I guess forcing you to see it kind of defeats the purpose, doesn’t it?”

  “Yeah, 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 tendrils out, gauging Rafe’s response as she started to see his innermost thoughts. Silently, she asked the first question that popped into her mind, “How are the pack members treated? Are you respectful to them?”

  What she really wanted to see was if Rafe was anything like Griffin, demeaning and cruel.

  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 infirm. Most surprising was that each member of Black Paw played an important part in the success of the overall community.

  Mina continued to skim through years of thoughts in a matter of minutes. She flew with him to his past, catching bits and pieces of his life, before zipping forward to the first time he scented her.

  Awareness danced through her body when she felt the overwhelming need he had to mark her as his mate. Jealousy coursed through her when Rafe caught a glimpse of other males looking in her direction. The restraint it took for Rafe to keep his wolf on a firm leash was heroic at best. The fact that he controlled his beast and kept him from ripping out the throats from said males was an epic achievement.

  Grinning, she watched with fascination as her mate, strong and fierce, lost the battle when he tried to fight the Fates.

  The battle was most likely the shortest ever to be recorded in history.

  Satisfaction washed over her when the image of him marking her raced through her mind. Mina recalled the moment. She had been weak, tired, frightened. The whole experience seemed terrifying. Now, seeing the marking through Rafe’s mind—holy hell! She almost wished he could mark her again so she could enjoy the experience as much as he did.

  Focus, Mina, focus! We’ve got more digging to do while the flood gates are open. Mina had to remind herself to keep exploring, dig for as many answers as possible before Rafe shut her viewing session down.

  Wanting to know what his plans were for her, she asked, “What do you see when you think of me as your mate? What do you see in our future?”

  Immediately, 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. He would be her best friend, her confidante, her lover, her protector—anything—everything. Whatever she needed, he would be. 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 what life was like at Twisted Tail? The thought alone gave her the heebie-jeebies. She opted to wait for the buzzkill her memories would induce.

  “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 and even better wolves. 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.”

  “I saw how you treated the pack. You care about each and every one of them.” It wasn’t a question, but more of a testament to what she witnessed in his thoughts. “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Sure.” Rafe twined his fingers with hers.

  “How did you heal me?”

  Rafe’s thumb slowly moved back and forth in a circle, caressing Mina’s tiny hand. “My mom explained how I could use our connection in my wolf form to heal your wounds.”

  “Was it painful for you?” Mina leaned her head back against the couch. For the first time in a very long time, she felt safe, full, relaxed. Rafe’s touch felt soothing, the hypnotic motion calmed her even more.

  “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, crying out from the broken ribs nearly shattered my heart. I had our pack doctor stop by to take a look at you as well.”

  Mina wasn’t sure how to respond to Rafe. No one had ever gone to that much trouble just for her. And that was the exact moment the tears that threatened finally broke free.

  Will I finally be able to live without the 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, but laced with concern that Mina immediately picked up on. Did he genuinely care about her worries?

  “Everything troubles me.” Mina sucked in 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 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 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. He promised that he’d force me to watch while he skinn
ed my family 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 about getting your mom and sisters to safety. Do you have any other immediate family who we need to be concerned about?”

  “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?” Mina jumped to her feet.

  Could it really be? Does Eric still live? Is he here?

  Elation filled Mina at the thought of being reunited with her brother.

  “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 suddenly felt faint. Rafe eased her back down to the couch. “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’m an auntie? Eric is alive and safe and...” Tears flooded Mina’s eyes once more.

  This time they were tears of joy and astonishment.

  “I wonder if he’ll 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 time I saw my brother.”

  “Of course he’ll remember you. Why wouldn’t he?”

  Mina leaned into Rafe and wrapped her arms tight around his neck. “Thank you so much.”

  “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. While he would love nothing more than to crawl under the covers beside her, he knew she needed time.

  Time to adjust to the idea of being his destined mate. Time to regain her strength now that her wounds were healed. He wasn’t the type to force himself on anyone. Besides, there would be plenty of opportunities in the not so distant future. He knew his new mate was just as intrigued with the possibilities as he was.

  Instead of catching a few hours of sleep, Rafe paced back and forth at the foot of the bed. His eyes drifted to his mate as he took in her delicate features. Her face relaxed with sleep, the tension and apprehension drained, leaving a radiant glow. A light dusting of freckles covered her pert little nose and cheeks. Rafe longed to kiss each tiny freckle, yet he managed to restrain his urge to touch her. His wolf huffed at Rafe’s refusal.

  Soon.

  The silent reassurance did little to appease the wolf. Rafe’s human agenda annoyed the beast with the necessities of courtship semantics.

  Ideas and logic that held no meaning for a wolf in the wild. Rafe’s wolf may have won the battle to mark their mate, but the mating ceremony would take place on Rafe’s timetable, not his wolf’s.

  Rafe ignored his wolf, quickly cutting off his thoughts as the conversation from earlier played through his head on repeat. Mina’s fear for her family once again pulsed through his veins. Genuine fear leaving him nearly paralyzed. It was nothing he had ever felt before. There had to be a way of freeing them from Twisted Tail without putting her in danger.

  Come on, Rafe. Think! Ideas sprang up in his mind. Brainstorming each as they came in quick succession. He weighed the pros and cons of each separately. There wasn’t a snowball’s chance in Hell that he would leave his mate’s mother or sisters in the hands of a psycho.

  The thought of running half-assed into Twisted Tail left a bad taste in his mouth. Getting them out unscathed would take strategy and a general feel for the layout of the property. From Mina’s description of Griffin, Rafe worried that anyone who tried to rescue the females would be walking into a trap.

  His wolf snarled deep inside of his chest, relishing the idea of tearing the heart out of the bastard who abused his mate. His wolf had a one-track mind. He would do everything in his power to make his mate happy. Seeing her reunited with her loved ones quickly became Rafe’s number one priority.

  Pulling his cellphone from his pocket, Rafe’s 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 Mina as it was. The scent of her blood was relatively fresh, it would lead Griffin and his Twisted Tail mutts 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. Mass amounts of food would be required throughout the day to replenish the energy they borrowed from their wolves.

  “Why don’t you go ahead and get showered. My mom said she would pick up some clothes for you and drop them off this morning. Kind of a temporary solution until we can get some shopping done.”

  “Thanks.”

  Rafe led Mina to the master bathroom and 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 a knock sounded at the back door.

  Lucas stood at the door in nothing more than a pair of jeans and boots, 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 were 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 who stood before him.

  Rafe nodded his greeting to the trio. “What’s up?” The men followed Rafe into the kitchen, their noses on full alert. The last one in, pushed the door closed behind him, waiting for instructions from his Alpha.

  Lucas cleared his throat. “We caught the scent of a few Twisted Tail scouts early this morning.”

  “When they saw our numbers, the pussies ran with their tails between their legs.” Eddie smirked, his naturally cocky attitude rising to the top.

  “How ‘bout that.” Rafe shook his head. Leave it to Eddie to be perfectly blunt. “Did you get anything else from them?” Rafe placed the sausage in the skillet before grabbing two more packages from the freezer.

  “Other than the fact that it smelled like months since they’d showered or ran through a stream, nothing.” Lucas’s disappointment was obvious.

  Rafe knew Lucas liked to be prepared, but until they found out what or who they were dealing with, they would remain on high alert.

  “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 those bastards when they show up.” Eddi
e flexed his fingers before palming a clenched fist.

  “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’ve heard, 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 digging for information about Mina’s family. I should have some news from them by this evening.”

  “Are they in any danger of exposing themselves for passing information to us?” The notion concerned Rafe. He didn’t like the idea of others putting themselves in jeopardy 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. Even though he’d left his mark on her, they hadn’t completed the mating ceremony. Having three unmated males in 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 to the group. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  Tanner, the perpetual flirt, immediately grabbed Mina’s hand, only to jump away as Rafe lunged for his throat in half-shift, a terrifying snarl escaping his mouth.