by Helen Scott
Her Fated Mates
House of Wolves and Magic Book Two
Helen Scott
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Also By Helen Scott
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Copyright
1
Nina
The pack was after us. No, not just one, but two packs. We were officially on the run. Where we were going, I had no idea, but I trusted my mates to keep us safe. After all, that was what mates did for each other. The bond drove the desire to please and care for each other in a way I never could have imagined.
I flinched involuntarily and my heart sped in my chest when a car door slammed somewhere behind us. The quick tempo reminded me of being hunted, like the thundering of feet as the pack ran toward us. Even though we had only just pulled up outside Roman’s apartment, I could feel them coming after us, just like I’d felt my old pack doing the same thing when I first left.
How were we going to survive being hunted by two different packs? It was just the three of us, and I had no doubt that Jax would still be looking for me. Now with Roman and Micah’s pack looking for us as well, we were doubly screwed.
Micah and I shared a look after Roman disappeared through the front door of his apartment building, the reflective glass cutting him off from our watchful eyes. It wasn’t that I expected someone to be waiting for him in his apartment, but I also didn’t want to let the illusion of safety prevent us from being prepared. It wasn’t that long ago that I thought I’d been safe in my old apartment, and look where that had gotten me.
My gaze flicked upward, tracking the windows of the building until I landed on what I thought was Roman’s apartment. With every second that passed, my heart rate ratcheted up and my chest tightened as I waited with baited breath for the curtains to twitch and reveal Roman’s handsome face, letting us know that he was okay and the apartment was secure. Not that he was actually going to do that, since we’d never agreed on it. I hadn’t even thought to suggest it until he was halfway to the apartment door. Why hadn’t I made him stop and asked him to signal when he was safe?
The flimsy white material wasn’t sheer enough to see if someone was standing by it, but I remembered the way it let the light in, the soft glow that emanated from the window as I’d woken up the first time after Roman had hit me with his car, not to mention the way everything seemed brighter and safer with him around.
I hadn’t felt safe since I was a kid, and even then, the only reason I had felt safe was because of my ignorance to my old pack’s ways. Now, even though two packs were hunting me, hunting us, I felt safer than I had in a long time. It wasn’t just because of Roman either, but Micah as well.
A wolf’s mating bond was unlike anything else. The intimate connection was more than I had ever expected or realized. I knew that Roman was okay, even though he hadn’t signaled to us that he was, since the bond told me everything I needed to know.
It told me of his quiet confidence, of his surety that we would figure something out, of his loyalty to me and to Micah. It told me everything without either of us saying a thing.
My bond with Micah was the same. It was why my body was singing with nerves. He was on edge, expecting an attack at any moment, and most of all, he wanted to hide. I didn’t blame him. I wanted us to hide as well, not just to be safe but to be alone. We had barely had a chance to solidify the bond between us, and my wolf demanded more, even from her cage within my mind.
What would Roman and Micah say when they found out how long it had been since I’d shifted? When I told them I wasn’t even sure I could shift anymore? It had been so long and I’d kept my wolf so locked down, so buried, that the part of me that connected with her seemed unreachable.
My teeth scraped over the delicate skin of my lower lip as I began biting it, Micah’s stress amplifying my own concerns. The bond was almost acting like a feedback loop, one I wasn’t sure how to get us out of. I couldn’t go through life constantly feeling Roman and Micah’s emotions. Although, come to think of it, I wasn’t feeling Roman as much as Micah. Strange.
I’d have to ask him about that when he got back. For now though, I settled on trying to reassure Micah, to make him feel my calmness through the bond. After all, I’d been hunted a lot longer than either of these two, so I knew what it was like to expect an attack that never came.
Over the years, my body had become a finely honed threat detection system. It was the only reason I’d let Roman go in alone—if I’d sensed any kind of threat, we would have gone together and faced it together as mated couples do. Although with the three of us, were we a triad? A thruple? I had no idea what to call us, but labels weren’t important.
When Roman burst through the door of the apartment building carrying way too many bags, Micah and I jumped out to help him, each grabbing one and shoving them in the trunk before slamming it shut. The whole car shook from the effort Roman put behind it, and I was honestly a little surprised that he hadn’t dented it with the white-knuckle grip he had on it.
As we clambered back into our seats, Roman said, “I’ve found us a place to hunker down for a while so we can figure out our next move.”
“You have?” Micah sounded shocked that such a thing was possible.
Roman smoothly slid the car into drive and pulled away from the curb. Nothing suspicious here, folks. Go about your day. It was only when we got out of the parking lot and onto the main road that he gunned it.
Once we were moving at well over the speed limit, Roman said, “I have a friend who’s letting us borrow his cabin. It’s out of the way, but we’ll need to hike to get to it.”
“Is it a long drive?” I asked, unsure how I felt about trusting his friend.
“No, it’s just on the edge of the national park.”
The idea of the woods surrounding us made me nervous, but my wolf perked up inside my mind, like she could already scent the pine trees and deer. She was itching to get out there and hunt. I hadn’t shifted in years, and it had been even longer since I’d hunted—since before my parents were executed.
I shoved the thoughts away.
I wasn’t going to taint this with my grief over their deaths or my guilt about my brother.
We were all quiet and tense as we drove to the edge of the city. No one wanted to make conversation, too busy watching for potential attacks. I had no idea if their pack could track us somehow. I’d never been on the run from a pack like theirs before, just my old one, which was more rough and tumble than theirs.
That wasn’t to say Jax wasn’t a threat. He definitely was. I just didn’t think he’d ever do something like plant a tracker on a car, whereas I could totally see Roman and Micah’s pack doing that.
“Would your pack put a tracker on your car?” I blurted out as we pulled into one of the parking lots for the park.
Roman looked at me like I’d spoken in tongues.
“Can they track your phones?” I asked as a follow up, just to really cement the fact that he thought I was crazy.
“No,” Micah said, shaking his head. “They’ve never invested in anything like that. At least, not to my knowledge.”
“I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.” Roman’s tone was grim as he killed the engine.
From where I sat in the front passenger seat, all I could see was the sky and the woods. There were no other cars, nothing around, just a small wood sign with the trail name carved on it at the trailhead and a couple sections of wooden fencing that seemed to be trying to hold nature back, as if that were possible.
“I should tell you, we’re taking the long way around,” Roman said as he popped his door open and got out.
Well, didn’t that sound lovely.
I pulled on the handle of my own door and pushed out of my seat, closing it with a shove behind me before I walked to the trunk of the car. It was no surprise that Roman had packed mostly practical stuff. Some of the things I thought were bags initially were actually sleeping bags and foam rolls, making me wonder just how rustic the cabin was going to be.
Micah slipped one of the bags over his shoulders, and I realized it was a big rucksack, the kind wilderness junkies use where there’s a spot built in for the sleeping bag. The brown nylon material appeared to be waterproof, if the waxy finish was anything to go by, which was great if we were in the woods for any length of time.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d looked at a weather forecast. There could be a huge storm heading our way and I’d have no idea, but at least our stuff wouldn’t get soaked if there was. The weather was more than a little unpredictable this time of year.
“So are you going to tell us what the long way around is?” I asked as I hefted my own pack onto my shoulders.
“It’s a two-day hike through the woods to get to the cabin.” Roman grimaced slightly at the thought, as though this wasn’t his idea of fun.
I simply nodded as I continued to situate my pack and grab the other bag that I thought I could carry. Out of the three of us, he was the most put together, the one who wore suits and had matching cufflinks and things like that. I was used to being scrappy, making do with what I had, so it wasn’t a bother to me. I wasn’t sure what Micah thought of this though. Was he ready for two days in the woods with his new mates?
When I looked over at Micah, he wore grim determination on his face, and the youthful shifter I’d been getting to know in his townhouse appeared to be long gone. My heart surged with love for him, and his eyes darted to me.
I offered him a smile as I clipped the pack around my waist.
“Feel free to strip if you get too hot, sugar,” Micah said, and his teasing voice was there but the mood didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“You think I want ticks in my lady bits? No, thank you. If that happens, then neither of you will be getting any action any time soon,” I replied with a pout. Of course I wasn’t serious. If they started kissing me and touching me, then I had no doubt that I’d give in, and not just because I craved physical contact like a drug. I loved them and never wanted to use sex as a weapon against them, ticks or no.
“Do you have a biohazard suit anywhere in there?” Micah asked Roman as he nodded at the trunk. “Apparently, we need to wrap our girl up to protect her from ticks.”
Roman snorted. “It’s not the Tardis, there’s only so much it can hold.”
“Nerd,” I said between coughs.
“Come on, this nerd is the only one who knows where we’re going.” Roman reached in and grabbed the last bag, swinging it over his shoulder before he turned and set off toward the trailhead.
We followed like good little pups.
The hike seemed to veer off from the trail a few hours in, and if it wasn’t so damn hard to make sure that I wasn’t tripping over something and falling on my face or getting hit by tree branches or shrubs and vines, then I probably would’ve tried to hold a conversation with them. As it was, we were all fighting to get through the trees and weeds.
When the light started fading, Roman said, “I think we should make camp for the night. There should be a slight clearing up ahead since there’s a river just there.”
“A river we have to cross?” I asked.
“Think of it as a morning swim.”
“I’d rather have my morning run and fight, but I guess I can do a swim instead. You’ll have to deal with me being naked though.” I shot him a wink as we walked, which almost made both of us trip over a root. I wanted to think that for Roman, it was because he momentarily pictured me naked and got distracted. I could’ve been wrong, but I hoped not.
The light had faded fast as we made our way to the river, and as we broke through the tree line, I realized that it was late evening. I gazed around the area where we would be spending the night. There wasn’t exactly a clearing, but there was probably enough space for us to lie down and sleep.
In fact, the area was quite beautiful with the waning light making the ripples in the river look like diamonds. The other side looked like it would be difficult to get to, but that was a problem for future Nina. Right now, we needed to make camp, and Roman was wasting no time doing just that.
“Micah, can you set this up and build a fire? I’m going to go hunting. Nina, would you join me?” Roman asked, extending his hand to me like he was asking for a dance not a hunting trip.
“Maybe I should stay and help set up?” I asked, terrified that he would ask me to shift and hunt as a wolf.
Hurt flashed across Roman’s face for a split second before he smoothed it out again.
Micah saved the day by saying, “I think this is really a one-person job. I mean, I’ve been starting fires since I was a kid. I even got this awesome everlasting match thing for my birthday last year.” He dug in his pocket before pulling out his keys. One of the keychains was something that looked like a rounded lighter with a strip down the side. Within a matter of seconds, he had unscrewed the top and had a match lit, but it was metal so it wouldn’t burn his fingers. I had no idea how something like that worked, but it was about to come in very handy.
I turned to Roman and said, “Let’s go find some food.”
We tramped off away from the camp a little ways, and when we were completely alone, Roman stopped and looked at me. “Why didn’t you want to hunt? Did you not want to come with me, or was it something else? I felt your fear through our bond.”
I swallowed thickly. This was the conversation I’d been dreading, so I tried to play it off. “I’m just tired and wanted to sit down.”
Roman squinted at me in the darkness. “Bullshit.”
“Can we just find some food and talk about this later?” I pleaded as I swatted at a mosquito.
“No. I want to know what’s going on. As your mate, I have that right.”
He thought he was entitled to know everything about me? Wrong. “You have the right to nothing. Yes, we’re mates, but that doesn’t mean you know me or what I’ve been through. We only met a few days ago, for crying out loud. I’m sorry I’m not comfortable spilling my secrets just yet.”
“I just want to know what’s scaring you so I can fix it.” Roman sighed, and this time, he was the one swatting at mosquitoes.
“We’re getting eaten alive out here.” I slapped at my arm, and even in the dim light, I could see the splat of blood that the now deceased mosquito had left behind. That was going to itch like crazy later.
“You know they wouldn’t be able to bite us if we shift,” Roman said.
I could feel his eyes on me, gauging my reaction. “Fine,” I huffed. “I’m scared because I have two mates. Who does that? How does that happen? It has to mean something, doesn’t it?”
“Are you sure that’s why you’re scared right now?” Roman asked, clearly seeing through my bluff.
“Yep.” Fuck fuckity fuck. This was not how I thought this would go—standin
g in the woods, telling him that I couldn’t shift.
“Nina.” Roman’s voice was overflowing with worry even with just one word. His hand came up and cupped the side of my face, and I felt some of the tension dissipate as my eyes drifted shut and I leaned into his touch. No one had ever felt like home before, and yet that was what he and Micah both felt like. How could my paranoid, mistrustful heart make peace with these men being in my life? I had to trust them eventually, or this was never going to work and all I would do was cause the three of us pain.
When I didn’t respond to my name, he continued, “You can trust me. I’m yours, as are all my secrets. There is nothing that I’m unwilling to share with you. Whatever you want to know, whatever you want me to talk about that would make you feel more comfortable telling me what’s wrong, just say the word, and I will.”
He was so sincere, so genuine, that it made my heart hurt in the best way possible. He truly was willing to give me everything about himself if I just asked. It was that knowledge, the fact that nothing about him was intentionally hidden from me, that made my bottom lip tremble.
My stomach twisted in a knot, and the words vomited out of me before I could stop them.
“I can’t shift anymore.”
2
Roman
She couldn’t shift? How did something like that happen? Shifting was an innate ability, in some instances, as natural and automatic as breathing. To not have that ability would be like not being able to blink.
I honestly didn’t know how she hadn’t gone mad.