Hunted And Claimed (Wayward Mates Series Book 7)

by Delta James

  His people laughed with him. This was their alpha—a wolf who made decisions and acted on them, not the shadow of the man that he had been for the past few weeks. There wasn’t a person present who doubted that Cameron would bring home his wayward mate.

  “Marco DeMedici has offered to let me work out of his villa in Italy. It’s a good jumping off point and you’ll be able to get to me if you need to. I am leaving Wolf Meadow and its people with you, Gabriel. I know both will be well cared for.”

  “I will guard our pack and our land with the last breath in my body,” replied Gabriel.

  Sam responded with the rest of the pack, “So say we all.”

  Cameron trotted up the stairs, packed a duffle, and headed back out.

  “There’s a chopper out in the front pasture,” said Gabe.

  “Easiest way to get to the private airstrip where Jean-Michel has his jet waiting for me. He’s put it and the pilot at my disposal.”

  Gabe chuckled. “Good friend to have.”

  “He is indeed, but I have the best pack any alpha ever ruled.”

  “You do indeed. I’ll keep this place and your people safe.”

  Cameron put his hand on his friend’s shoulder and shook his hand with the other.

  “I know you will. I’ll be back as soon as I am able.”

  Gabe turned serious. “Run her to ground, Cameron. Blister her butt and drag her ass home.”

  Cameron grinned at him. “That’s the plan, old friend.”

  Cameron boarded the chopper and waved at Gabe as they lifted off.

  * * *

  Riley was headed into Florence. Catherine had asked to meet with her. She had a board meeting this afternoon at one of museums where she and Marco were patrons. Riley slipped into the back room of one of the merchants on the Ponte Vecchio.

  “Ciao, Paulo!” she called.

  The young man came out from behind a stack of boxes.

  “Riley! Good to see you.”

  “Do you have my order?”

  “I do indeed,” he smiled.

  Riley could swear that she could see the cash signs light up in his eyes. They ought to, she thought, she was paying a fortune for five new false passports. She hated feeling like she was being taken advantage of, but Paulo was the best.

  He handed her the passports.

  “By the way, the price increase is not so much for the passports, but for the information that comes with them.”

  “What information is that?” Riley asked suspiciously, stealing a look around his shop.

  “There’s a man... an American... a cowboy they say. He’s flashing a picture of you around Milan. They say he’s offering a lot of money for information that leads him to you.”

  “Planning to collect?”

  “Never. The bond between forger and client is sacred.”

  Riley laughed. “I guess he isn’t offering enough. But that’s okay, Paulo, you do what you have to do. He’s a man with many obligations. When he doesn’t find me, he’ll go home.”

  “Any man who ever possessed you, Riley, would not stop until he had you again. Take care that he doesn’t find a way to trap you.”

  “Anyone who helps him may find out, as he will, that trapping me is more difficult than you could ever imagine and can have serious and deadly consequences. Ciao, Paulo. You won’t see me again.”

  Riley left his shop and changed the route she had planned to take to meet Catherine. The last thing she wanted to do was compromise Catherine. She would get to the meeting place first, secrete herself so she could keep watch, and then wait.

  Riley had been in place for more than two hours when Catherine entered the small private grotto off one of the best bistros in Florence. The chef/owner was someone they both knew and trusted. The stories of Catherine DeMedici’s beauty had not been exaggerated. Riley also noted that you could tell by the way she carried herself that she too was alpha. Aidan’s mate, Gia, had once remarked that it would take an alpha she-wolf to stand up to her brother, Marco.

  Riley moved silently out of her hiding spot. Catherine turned to her and walked toward her.

  “Riley Gentry, I presume?”

  “Guilty as charged. And you must be the celebrated Catherine DeMedici.”

  “Well, someone has to be and no one else seems to want the job. Although why that is, I’ve never been sure. There are an awful lot of perks.”

  “But then there’s Marco.”

  “Oh, trust me, he is the biggest perk of all,” Catherine said, laughing.

  Riley found herself immediately warming to Catherine. She was everything a mistress to a great pack should be with a side of danger and mischief.

  “The girls you’ve sent to us,” Catherine continued, “are all thriving. Even the most recent bunch are well on their way to recovery. I tell you it makes me proud to be a she-wolf to see the resiliency of spirit our kind possesses. It gives me hope that my sister will also be healed.”

  Riley laid her hand on Catherine’s arm. “We will find her. And we will make all those who have had a hand in what’s been done to her pay.”

  Catherine nodded. “Some already have. Of course, I’m not supposed to know this, but Marco has been fairly ruthless when dealing with those who have had a hand in it. He’s also let it be known that he will pay an exorbitant amount for my sister’s return.”

  Catherine shook her head.

  “Why wouldn’t he tell you that?” asked Riley, who had never understood why the men of their kind chose to filter the information their women received.

  “I used to get so angry at him for that. But truly they want us to have as happy and carefree lives as possible. Most of the good ones see it as part of their need to protect. You know, just leave the ladies in the drawing room sipping sherry and crocheting while the men go outside to drink whiskey, have a cigar, and talk of unpleasant things. Your Cameron is one of them.”

  “He’s not my Cameron,” said Riley quietly but with great emphasis.

  Catherine giggled. “Oh, but he is. And the sooner you accept that, the easier your life will be. Don’t try to fool yourself, Riley. I understand your need to save these women. And I, for one, am deeply grateful and admire your tenacity and skill. But Cameron is using the villa as a base of operations and he’s closing in on you.”

  “He won’t find me. And sooner or later, he’ll decide I’m too much trouble and seek another.”

  Catherine shook her head. “No, he won’t. You don’t believe in fated mates, do you?”

  “No, I don’t. I think there are people you are drawn to, but a predetermined mate? No.”

  “Haven’t you felt, not heard, but felt it when he called to you?”

  Riley said nothing, but the familiar despair clutched at her insides.

  “That electricity that seems to skitter over your skin and then take up residence in your bones? I can tell you have. It won’t get better, only worse. In the end, you will yield to it. Ava says it’s the fatal flaw in a she-wolf’s DNA... in the end we always succumb to it. I think she may be right.”

  Riley looked up at her and for the briefest moment let her mask of disdain and indifference slip to reveal the despondency that had become her constant companion. Catherine closed the gap between them and embraced her.

  “I can’t. If I do, some of them may not make it.”

  “Some of them may not make it even if you don’t,” Catherine said softly. “My sister among them. I know how you feel. One of those women is my baby sister. I hang on to the fact that there is a small, but growing network of packs who are moving not just to free those who have been enslaved, but to shut down their ability to enslave them in the first place. I believe with my whole heart that we will put an end to this and that those who have been responsible will die.”

  Riley looked at her with curiosity.

  “Not be brought to justice?” she asked.

  Catherine shook her head. “Justice is a fine and noble thing and I applaud those who seek it. I want reve
nge. I want them dead. My goal is a lot easier to achieve. You know that’s one of the things Marco admires about you... you don’t let anyone else do the killing for you. You just slit their throats and be done with it.”

  “It’s an effective way to silence and kill. I try very hard to be the last thing they see on this earth. I want them to know it was a woman who killed them.”

  “I wondered about that last part. Good for you and good riddance to them.”

  “Maybe Marco can convince Cameron he should go home and find a more acceptable woman to warm his bed and care for his pack.”

  Catherine laughed. “Oh, he tried. Shocked the hell out of me. Marco is a big believer in fated mates. You do know that’s how your brother got Gia. He convinced Marco she was fated to be his. And Marco teases Gia about it unendingly.”

  “But if he believes, why would he try to convince Cameron otherwise?”

  “Because, Machiavellian bastard that he is, he needed Cameron to believe it not just in an intellectual sort of way but deep in his gut. I fear my mate has done you no favors in convincing yours that regardless of how long it takes, he needs to find you and take you back to Texas. It didn’t take much convincing. Apparently, the Wolf Meadow pack has the same long and storied history of reluctant mates being brought to heel by their loving alphas as the DeMedici.”

  “I fear poor Cameron will not get his happy ending.”

  “And I fear you are fooling yourself. Don’t think I don’t support you and will do everything in my power to help, but you need to understand, Cameron won’t just go away or find another.”

  “I pray you are wrong. I will never be mistress to the Wolf Meadow pack and if Cameron can’t see that truth, then he will be the last of his line. As you pointed out, Catherine, I’ve become a killer.”

  “No, Riley, not a killer. An avenger. A righter of wrongs. One who exacts the correct retribution for those who have been so ill-used. When we are able to tell those women that those who turned and bred them without their consent have been killed, there is a peace that comes over them. Knowing that those who tortured them will never torture another is often the first step in finding their way back.” Catherine’s face was serene, but her eyes were like shards of ice. “When she is older, yours is the story I will tell my daughter.”

  Silent tears started to roll down Riley’s cheeks. Catherine stepped forward, cradling Riley’s face, and wiped them away with her thumbs.

  “You can come home, Riley. He’s waiting for you. And all his anger and bluster will begin to subside the instant he sees you safe and sound.”

  “You think he’ll just welcome me back into his arms, sweep me off to America to live happily ever after?”

  Catherine laughed. “Oh, hell, no. He’s going to welt your ass and claim you in no uncertain terms.”

  “And he wonders why I’m not thrilled with the prospect of being his mate?”

  “No, he’s smart enough to know that you’re smart enough to know that he’s going to punish you for this. But he loves you, truly. That same look of despair I saw on your face earlier... the one you try to hide? It is with him at all times. My Marco, arrogant bastard that he is, reminds him that once he has you underneath him, on your back with a welted ass and his knot buried deep inside you, that all will be right with his world.”

  Riley giggled. “Remind me if ever I have a chance to thank your Marco for all his help.”

  “I’ll do that.”

  “As enlightening as this has been, I don’t think you asked to meet to tell me I should throw myself into Cameron’s arms and beg for mercy.”

  Catherine snorted. “Hardly. I did want you to know Cameron was here in Europe and he is closing in on you. He found the man who made your passports so you may well want to ditch all of them and start over.”

  “Shit. That’s a boatload of money down a rat hole.”

  “I figured as much. I got the name of a man from Ava. He’s in Wales and you’ll have to go to him. Bethan at Calon Onest can help.”

  Catherine handed her a thick envelope. Riley opened it and gasped.

  “It’s enough money to get you to Wales and to Bethan. There are two passports. They won’t hold up to scrutiny for long, but should help get you to the United Kingdom. Once you’ve established new identities, Ava suggests setting up new Swiss accounts in several different names and then transferring all your assets into them. That way you can switch back and forth more easily. Bethan will be able to get you in touch with Ava and they may have started working on your passports. You need to move swiftly. I was followed; I think but I lost them before I came here.”

  “How can I repay...”

  “You don’t owe anyone anything. All I ask is that if you come across information leading you to Shannon, I want to be part of going after her.”

  Riley nodded. “You have my word.”

  The two women hugged and said their goodbyes. Riley watched Catherine leave before making her way back onto the street. She was shocked to look back and see a limousine waiting at the corner. A tall, broad-shouldered man got out and from the way Catherine reacted, Riley was sure it was Marco.

  If Marco’s appearance shocked her, Cameron’s exit from the limo knocked the wind out of her. She couldn’t help but to stare and was surprised when Cameron lifted his head, scented the air around him, and looked right at her.

  Marco grabbed Catherine’s arm and held her back as several men got out of the car and joined Cameron as he started toward her in hot pursuit. Riley bolted down an alleyway and began to lead them through a maze of small streets and seedy alleys. The longer she ran, the harder they chased and the more deplorable the areas of Florence she led them into.

  Riley could sense that Cameron was closing in on her and forced herself to find another gear that could give her more speed. She was running along the dock area and saw a tourist boat pulling away to start its tour. Riley gathered all of her strength and put on a burst of speed that allowed her to launch herself off of the dock and onto the boat, interrupting the tour guide.

  “Sorry,” she said sheepishly. “I was running late but really wanted to catch this tour.”

  The tour guide and the other tourists stared at her. It took the guide a moment to find her composure but she was able to do so as Riley took a seat. As the guide’s patter began, Riley started to relax until she felt the faintest touch of an alpha wave and felt Cameron’s call to her.

  Riley clutched the bench on which she was seated. It was the only thing she could think to do to keep herself from diving off the boat into the canal and making her way back to Cameron. Riley knew that he’d find the stops on the tour and be waiting for her. She planned to find either another boat or a dock to jump to before then.

  Catherine was right. She needed to get out of Italy and to Wales but would need to do so without having to use a passport if possible. That meant no airlines or other commercial means of transportation. Stolen boats, cars, and on foot would be the only way to do it.

  Chapter Twelve

  It had been weeks and no word of Riley’s whereabouts had been found. He’d thought he had her when he had the first stop for that damn tour boat surrounded. She would not escape him again. But as the boat approached, Cameron could feel she wasn’t on it. Damn her. As he’d said to Gabe, she was too clever by half.

  One of the tourists had shared that as they had passed close to a private dock, Riley had leapt to the dock and run to its end before disappearing out of sight. Cameron was able to find the location, but she was long gone. He confirmed that she had been able to return to the street and hail a cab. But her trail ended at the place the cabbie had let her off.

  Cameron entered the DeMedici villa to be greeted by not only Marco, but Aidan as well.

  “I take it by the look on your face and the fact that you don’t have my sister slung over your shoulder that she was able to evade your capture,” said Aidan.

  “I’m sorry, Aidan. She managed to slip through my fingers again.”
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  Marco laughed. “Because Riley is very slippery, wouldn’t you say, Aidan?”

  “Indeed. And unfortunately, I think she is being aided by some fairly slippery she-wolves. Mine and Marco’s mates among them.”

  Cameron looked at them in confusion.

  Marco explained, “We’ve felt for some time that Riley had to have some kind of support network. If for no other reason than she was able to get a lot of the same information we were. That led us back to looking at our own network. It would seem that the beloved mates of the alphas within our Coalition have been systematically sharing the information we gathered with Riley. They have also used it in other ways.”

  “But why? They don’t have some kind of network themselves. They network amongst their own packs for the most part.”

  “It would seem, mon ami,” came the familiar voice of Jean-Michel, “that we underestimated the strength of the ties that bound those of Bae Diogel together. And they have, we believe, expanded their network to include Griffin’s mate, Madeline, and Declan’s mate, Ava, as well as Marco’s and Aidan’s mates.”

  Jean-Michel and Cameron embraced before Jean-Michel continued. “My apologies to both of you,” he said, nodding to Marco and Aidan.

  “No apologies needed,” said Marco. “I believe you are correct in your assumption that we underestimated them. I am sure that is a mistake none of us will make again.”

  “Although I’m glad to see both of you, what are you doing here? Aidan, if you’ve come to try to tell me you’ve changed your mind about Riley and me...” said Cameron.

  “Oh, good lord, no,” laughed Aidan. “I am convinced more than ever that she is your fated mate and if she’s ever to be brought to heel it will be by you.”

  “We were on to them a couple of days ago. I didn’t want to distract you until we knew for sure that it affected Riley. Catherine’s meeting with Riley confirmed that. Catherine, by the way, will not be joining us for dinner.”