Havoc's Mate (Badlands Territory Book 2)

by Lila Rose

She cackled. “I never thought the word sweet would be something to describe Havoc. And I bet you’d be the only one who got away with it.”

  Suddenly, I sobered. I wouldn’t be the only one. His mate would, and that was the main reason I hadn’t gone to bed with him like I wanted to. When the kissing got heavy, and boy it did, I put a stop to it, feeling like we needed more time. Not only that, it would be too easy to fall for Jackson Havoc. He treated me like I was everything he wanted. But it wouldn’t be the case when his mate came along.

  “What’s got you down, Cora? You look like someone shit on your pillow.”

  Blinking, I kept my gaze on the desk in front of me and shuffled some papers around. “Nothing.”

  “Cora, we’re friends, yes?”

  I lifted my eyes to meet hers. “Of course.”

  “And friends let each other know if something is on their mind. I might not have the answers, but I can at least try to help you.”

  Smiling softly, I shook my head. “Thank you, but this isn’t something you can help me with.”

  “Cora,” she whined, which had me laughing. Honestly, being around Kathy had me realizing shifters were just like any of us—besides the fact they transformed into an animal. But they loved, liked, were sad and annoying like anyone could be. Having Kathy around had made any worries I’d had about being around shifters vanish.

  They were my people. I seriously felt like I was where I was supposed to be.

  “What happens when Jackson finds his mate?” I put my attention on the computer screen and scrolled through things without really looking while I went on. “I mean, I know he’ll find his forever eventually, so really I should step back before we get into anything too serious. I don’t want to hold him back from anyone else. The… right person—shifter who was made to match him.”

  “Oh, Cora,” Kathy whispered.

  It was then I realized a few tears had escaped. I thought I’d held back my despair at the possibility of letting Jackson go. But I hadn’t.

  God, how it hurt.

  It felt like my body was sliced open from chest to belly and I was left with a gaping hole.

  Why did I feel this way?

  “Cora,” Kathy said. “There’s one thing you don’t know about shifters.”

  Licking my dry lips, I roughly wiped at my eyes and asked, “What’s that?”

  “For us, there is no one else but our mate. We don’t want or seek anyone else, even for one night, because we only belong to our mate.”

  I swung my gaze her way. “Then why would Jackson….”

  She smiled.

  Did she mean…?

  Was I his?

  Hope rushed into me, had me shaking my hands out in front of myself before fisting them and shaking them again. “I’m human,” I told her as if she didn’t know already.

  She laughed. “You are.”

  I slapped my hands to the desk and stood. “But…” I shook my head. “I can’t be…” When Kathy just kept smiling, I asked, “Are you serious?”

  “Very. He wouldn’t have approached you otherwise.”

  My eyes widened, my heart fluttered, and I wanted to scream and jump for damn joy. “Holy hell,” I whispered. Smiling, I planted my hands on my hips, only to have the smile washed away with a new thought. What happened if me being his mate was wrong somehow?

  “Don’t,” Kathy warned. “Whatever you just thought, you’re wrong. You were made for Havoc, like he was yours. Shit, it was probably how you came by this town in the first place. You were supposed to be here to meet your mate. And don’t stress over being human. There’s a heap of shifters who have human mates.”

  “Okay, all right,” I said, nodding as I started to pace. “That’s good to know I’m not the only human mate….” I stopped, faced Kathy, and asked, “Why am I so darn happy to be his mate? The thought of leaving him had me torn to pieces on the inside, and now I’m… heck, I’m giddy at the thought of forever with a man I’ve known for two weeks. This is crazy, right?”

  She laughed. “No, it’s not crazy at all. It’s how things work for us. As soon as I saw Alton, I knew he was my mate and ran and jumped into his arms, begging him to take me home.”

  An abrupt laugh fell from my mouth. I slapped my hand over it.

  “It’s okay. Laugh away. It’s out of this world unbelievable, but it happens for us, and ever since then, we’ve been happy. It’s like everything in the world feels right. You’ll have that once Havoc claims you.”

  I ran my top teeth over my bottom lip before whispering, “Do you mean sex?”

  Her smile was gentle. “Yes.”

  “Things already feel right since the first time I saw him.”

  “Believe me when I say that’s the attraction, but after the first time together… wow.”

  Grinning like a fool, I told her, “I don’t think my heart will take it.” I joined in laughing with her.

  “Also, with sex you won’t need to worry about protection. We can’t get or give any sexually transmitted disease, and the men are able to scent when the woman’s in heat. Meaning fertile.”

  My face flamed to life. I mean, it was good to know, but I wasn’t used to talking about sex so candidly.

  Before I could reply, my phone rang, thankfully. “Havoc Pack Office, how can I help you?”

  “Cora, honey, your phone wasn’t on.”

  “Hey, Mom. Sorry about that. It went dead, and I forgot my charger.”

  “That’s okay, but can you be a dear and come home for a moment? I’ve had too many cookies, and I can’t seem to find the remote.”

  Shaking my head, I smiled. It wouldn’t be the first time she misplaced something. “Can it wait until I’ve finished work?”

  “No, Cora… sorry, but you know how I get when I miss my show.”

  I stilled. Yes, Mom hated missing her shows, but she would never call me at work to come home and find the remote. My belly twisted in fear… but I could be overthinking it, and Mom could just be too stoned. Maybe it was a bad batch, and she was paranoid?

  “All right, Mom, I’ll be there shortly.” To ease my own mind, I had to go.

  “Thank you, honey,” she said and ended the call.

  “Everything okay?” Kathy asked.

  My brows drawn low, because I wasn’t exactly sure if things were good, I said, “Yeah, it’s fine. I just need to go home for a moment. Do you have time to answer the phone here for a while?”

  She looked to the clock on the wall. “Yep, I have an hour before I start work. You go ahead.”

  “Thank you. You’re the best.”

  “While you’re there, you should tell your mom you’ll be busy tonight sleeping over at Havoc’s.”

  “Hmm,” I mumbled, searching for my purse. “Yeah, I might.”

  “Are you sure you’re okay?” When I looked to her, she was studying me and taking in a deep breath.

  I smiled, trying to relax more. I would hate to exaggerate, and it may be nothing. “Yes, sorry, just worried Mom’s left the stove on or something after a pot cookie.”

  “Do you want me to come with you?”

  Finally I found my bag under the desk. I must have kicked it there. “No, it’s all right. Besides, I really need you here more answering calls.”

  She pulled her phone out. “I’ll just call the guys.”

  “Don’t,” I cried. “You know they’re busy with that family and their missing pup.”

  She snorted. “Please. That pup is always in trouble. They’ve probably already found him.”

  “Kathy, I’ll be fine. I don’t want to disturb them. Okay?”

  She frowned. “Okay, but call me when you get there.”

  “Thank you, I will.” I quickly slipped out of the room before she changed her mind.

  At least if anything was wrong, Kathy would know and get help to us, but again, I was probably overreacting.

  Chapter Eight

  Havoc

  Walking into the house, I made my way toward the of
fice, wanting to see Cora, knowing she’d calm me down. Jeff was only fourteen, but he was a pup who was a pain in the ass. He’d been going off doing his own thing a few too many times. His parents were too kindhearted to bring him into line, and I hoped it was the last time I’d have to put fear into him. This shit had to stop. Especially since we’d caught him vandalizing some cars. Fuck me, it still pissed me off a pup in my pack would do shit like that, which was why I needed Cora. Just being around her, around my mate, helped my anger calm. I still couldn’t believe how damn lucky I was to have someone who was sweet, kind, funny, cute, and perfect for me. The time we spent together cemented the knowledge that she was mine more and more.

  Stepping through the doorway, I paused at seeing Kathy sitting at Cora’s desk.

  “You’re back. I told Cora you guys wouldn’t be long. Where’s Alton?”

  “Outside. Where’s Cora?”

  “You just missed her. She had to go home to do something for her mom.” She ran her hands down her thighs.

  “What?” I demanded.

  “How did you know I was going to say something?”

  “Because you get nervous and run your hands down your thighs.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell Alton that telltale move. Anyway, I, shit, okay, I have good news, which is Cora knows you two are mates.”

  “What?” I snarled, fisting my hands at my sides.

  Her hands came up and pressed at the air in front of her. “Don’t get angry. We were talking and, I don’t know how it came about, but she got upset thinking she would have to leave you when your mate came along. I mean upset, Havoc, tears in her eyes and all. It broke my heart seeing her that way, so I told her she was yours.”

  I ground my teeth together and bit out, “And?”

  She beamed. “She’s over-the-moon happy.”

  Christ.

  My chest expanded when my heart warmed.

  “She was?”

  “Yes, Alpha.”

  I grunted, my lips twitching. “Good.”

  “Ah… now for the confusing and maybe bad thing.”

  I glared at her. “What?” I barked.

  “Before she left, I scented fear and maybe confusion. I’m not sure what it was about, but it happened when she was on the phone to her mom and then after it.” I turned and walked out the door. “Where are you going?”

  “To check on my mate.”

  Kathy raced after me. “Wait, she was going to call when she got home.”

  “When did she leave?”

  “Maybe ten minutes ago.”

  I pulled the front door open with a bang. King, who was one of our enforcers, and Alton looked up.

  “What’s wrong?” Alton asked.

  “Cora went home. Something happened.”

  “No, I didn’t say something happened. I’m just not sure if Cora was worried over something or not.”

  “Go,” Alton said. “We’ll follow you.”

  He knew I would need to be by Cora’s side. I would need to make sure that nothing had upset her. Kathy was second-guessing herself, but she wouldn’t have brought up her concern if she thought it was nothing, and that scared me.

  My wolf howled inside me.

  Yes, we had to make sure our mate was fine.

  The drive was quick. I made sure of it. I stopped out the front of the house and saw Cora and Evelyn’s car, but there was another as well. Climbing out of the car, I sniffed at the air. If I had been in wolf form, my hackles would have risen. Instead, a low growl dropped from my mouth.

  Someone I didn’t know was in their house.

  Someone different.

  Someone who would pay because I could also scent that Cora and Evelyn were scared.

  I stalked to the front door and went to open it, but found it locked. I knocked. When no one answered, I pounded on the door.

  “Who is it?” Evelyn called out.

  “Havoc.”

  “Sorry, Havoc, but I can’t see you right now.”

  Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Alton, Kathy, and King slip from the surrounding woods and make their way toward the house. I motioned to King and Alton to go around the back. I held up my hand to Kathy, stilling her movements. I’d keep her from any danger.

  “Evelyn, I need that book you said I could borrow.”

  Movement and soft voices sounded from within, only I couldn’t make out what was being said. Fury seared into me, especially when I took another deep breath and scented my mate was even more scared.

  “Just a moment, Havoc,” Evelyn called.

  More movement, and then the front door was unlocked. A hand shoved the book out, and if I hadn’t taken it so fast, it would have dropped to the ground. The door slammed shut and locked again.

  “Sorry, I have to go,” Evelyn said, her voice shaking. It was worse than I thought.

  Dread blistered inside me.

  It was then I noticed a piece of paper sticking out of the book. I pulled it free and unfolded the note. My body hummed, my wolf howled, and I sneered down at the paper.

  Apparently, Cora’s ex thought he’d had a claim on my mate.

  I crumbled the paper in my fist and rolled my shoulders back. I would do anything, fucking anything to keep my mate safe.

  With a raised foot, I kicked the door in and stepped through, a low rumble coming from within. I trained my eyes on the man sitting on the couch next to my mate with a hand around her throat. Evelyn stood close to the couch. Her gaze flicked to them, me, and someone else she saw but no one else could.

  “Don’t fucking move,” he warned.

  “Leave, and we’ll spare your life,” I snarled.

  He snorted. His hand tightened, causing Cora to gurgle out a breath. “You listen to me, not the other way around.”

  I drew in the scent around me. Terror. Worry. Both rolled from my mate and her mother. My eyes changed from man to wolf when I understood who the man was in front of me.

  Dinner.

  My teeth lengthened, and I watched with satisfaction when the man paled.

  “Sean, just leave,” Evelyn tried. “Please.”

  “I’ll leave,” Sean said. “But I’m taking Cora with me.”

  We all glanced toward the sound of footsteps in the kitchen. Sean stood, dragging Cora up with him when he realized he was surrounded by predators. Cora struggled, clutched at his hands, and when I saw tears welling, I wanted to rip this motherfucker to pieces.

  “Bad move, beaver,” Alton said with a laugh. “You have your hands on my alpha’s mate.”

  “Beaver?” Evelyn asked. “As in a shifter?”

  “Yes,” I hissed.

  Sean’s eyes widened, and he gulped. The sound of his fast-beating heart and the panic clinging to him satisfied my wolf. The beaver shook his head. “No, she can’t be. She’s mine. Mine!” He shook Cora, and my wolf beat at me inside, wanting out. Then I heard him mutter, “She looks just like her.”

  Ignoring his words, I demanded darkly, “Take your fucking hands off her.” Another growl rolled out of me.

  “No. Leave. Leave or I’ll… I’ll kill her.” He shook Cora by the neck.

  King whistled, shaking his head. “Now you’ve gone and done it.”

  I leaned forward, arms spread, my face morphed, shifted. Bones popped and reshaped, all within seconds.

  “Stop! Stop or I’ll snap her neck,” Sean screamed.

  But he wouldn’t. If he truly thought she was his mate, he wouldn’t end her life.

  Unless… unless he’d had a mate and had lost her. One who looked like Cora. It explained his comment and obsession with her. Shifters either went crazy after losing a mate or died. No matter the reason, I needed to do something.

  Protect.

  In wolf form, I lunged. My jaw clamped around his arm, and I bit clean through. His shriek hurt my ears, but I relished in the pain I inflicted. Alton had Cora out of the way, so I bit down again, this time on his shoulder, and dragged him from the house through the open, broken fr
ont door.

  He would pay in pain for touching my mate, for scaring her and her mother. He would die knowing the woman he thought was his mate would go on with me.

  I would be hers.

  I would claim her, mark her, and make her mine.

  Mine!

  There was no stopping my wolf. We wanted to bathe in Sean’s blood for what he did, since there was no doubt he’d tormented my mate previously.

  Our prey begged, pleaded, but I huffed out a laugh as I dove for him again when he tried to crawl away. I bit, tore, and ripped the motherfucker apart… until scraps were left behind.

  With a final look, I turned, shifted to my human form, and made my way back into the house, past King, who stood on the front porch witnessing my vengeance. I nodded as I stalked by and went into the living room where Cora sat on the couch with her mom and Kathy.

  She stood with her hands pressed against her chest. “Are you okay?” She ran her gaze over me and flushed. “You’re naked… but you look okay…. I mean, you look more than okay besides the blood, of course.” The blush spread down her neck. Any other time, I would have taken delight in appreciating the flush of pink, but I vibrated with the need to touch her.

  “Come here,” I ordered. I needed her in my arms.

  She nodded, and before she made her way over, she grabbed a blanket off the back of a chair.

  “Isn’t our daughter lucky, Mike?” Evelyn commented. She huffed. “I’m not talking about his penis, Mike. Jesus.”

  Cora closed her eyes for a moment at her mom’s words. I just found them funny. But I wasn’t in the mood to laugh, to smile. No, I just wanted my mate in my arms, knowing she was safe. As soon as she stopped in front of me, I pulled her close and wound my arms around her, burying my nose in her neck and taking in a deep breath. A low growl sounded from within. I could still scent him on her.

  “I’m okay. I’m fine. You killed him. He’s gone,” Cora whispered, and next, I felt a blanket getting wrapped around my waist.

  I pulled back, met her gaze, and raised a brow.

  She shrugged, her hands gently rubbing up and down my sides. “Can’t have Mom looking at any more of you.”

  I snorted.

  Evelyn groaned. “I wasn’t looking. Shut up, Mike.”