by M F Adele
I couldn’t.
It wasn’t in me to overstep in a situation like this, even though I wanted—needed—to know that he was okay.
As he slowed his gait, I cautiously asked, “Do you want to stop for a minute or keep going? We’re pretty far outside the pack’s property.”
He snarled in frustration, but he stopped running only to begin pacing. Growling and huffing, he shook his massive head as agitation coursed through our bond.
I felt like shit for not being able to help him with his emotions. It was just so far out of my depth.
“I’m sorry your ex is a cunt,” didn't seem like an adequate enough response, but a pat on the shoulder was not what girlfriends were supposed to do, much less a mate.
I thought I’d probably already established the fact that I was a shitty person in general. Relationships definitely fell into that overall category.
On his next pass by me, I stretched my hand out, caressing the fur along his side. His lip curled up to show his teeth, but his body shivered. Two opposite reactions to show his feelings, though he was clearly still frustrated.
“Don’t bare your teeth at me out of anger,” I whispered. “You’re mad—I get it—but not at me. I’m not her.”
His head whipped in my direction, his paws stalling out as he stared at me through big, green eyes.
“I’ll give you another minute.”
I turned my back, taking a few steps away from him as I breathed through the intensity of his wolf’s emotions. A rough hand slid into my hair, twisting my head until I was facing him once more.
“I don’t want a minute, Barbie.” He shook his head. “You’re nothing like her.”
With each word he spoke, he backed me up until my shoulders hit the trunk of a tree. His hand tightened, angling my head as he consumed me.
His lips brushed mine, soft and sure, rapidly becoming more impassioned. The heady combination of his tongue tangling with mine and his facial hair scratching my skin was a potent aphrodisiac.
Briggs pushed his knee between my legs, his opposite hand teasing the insides of my thighs. I ground against him, silently begging for friction.
He grinned against my lips as he held me where he wanted, kissing me until I was breathless and needy.
His pupils dilated as he growled, running his nose along the length of my neck. He pulled away, inhaling deeply, and his wolf’s eyes shone brightly in the shadowed alcove of trees.
He spun me, swallowing up all the space around my body as he caged me in. The weight of him against my back pressed my chest into the tree. My core clenched, a wanton moan escaping me at his forceful display.
The bark of the tree came with a bite, pinching my flesh as he tugged at my hair. The head of his dick parted my lips, applying pressure to my channel before he sank in slowly.
He trailed his lips down my neck and over my shoulder as he whispered in my ear, “You’re driving me crazy. I can smell what I’m doing to you. I’m warning you now, hold on.”
With every thrust, the bark cut into me, deeper and harder. The slight pain stretched from the tops of my breasts to my cheek. I felt a drop of blood roll over the edge of my jaw and down my neck just as my pussy suddenly began to tighten, my orgasm sneaking up on me.
“Cum on my cock, Barbie,” Briggs rumbled. “I want to hear you whine my name.”
My pleasure amped higher at the honeyed tone of his voice.
“Briggs. Gods,” I pleaded, gasped, and everything after that was a jumble of syllables that made no sense to my ears but felt so right as they left my mouth.
His strokes stuttered, and I flexed my fingers as my claws dug into the bark. He growled his release as he throbbed inside me.
“Fuck,” I groaned.
He chuckled in satisfaction as he pulled away. I turned to face him as I stared down at my chest, and he smirked at me.
“The guys are gonna think we got into another fight. Looks like I won this one,” he commented.
I couldn’t disagree with that.
My body was a bit sore, and while the cuts were healing quickly, the bruises were slowly getting darker. I’d have to wash the streaks of blood away.
“Let's go. It’s going to be awkward if we bump into anyone out here. We’re too far off the pack’s property to explain why there’s blood on me and we're both running around naked in the dark.”
He grabbed my hand, tugging me to his chest. I gazed up at him, watching his eyes flicker as multiple responses crossed his mind.
“Demonic ritual gone wrong. I had to catch the sacrifice after she ran.”
I snorted at him but started walking just within the treeline, following the road back toward the lodge. One question circled my mind continuously, and I couldn’t stop it from spilling over my lips.
“Were you angry because you’re not over what you had with her or because she still gets to you?”
“I’ve moved on.” He grimaced. “It wasn’t really difficult once I got over the shock of being cheated on. I’m pissed at myself for being so stupid in the first place, though, for letting her get under my skin.”
I thought about his statement as we neared the edge of a small industrial park. And then, like an idiot, I blurted, “Did you love her?”
“No,” he answered, shaking his head vehemently.
“That was a stupid question to ask. It doesn’t change anything between us. I’m just trying to understand.”
“It’s okay, Barbie. I didn’t care about her at all. I barely tolerated her, and I can’t remember why I was with her to begin with. I can’t even recall spending time with her or anything that we did together. I very clearly remember when I wasn’t with her.
“The guys hated her, begged me to stay away from her, but I didn’t listen. When I finally ended things, I left town for a couple of weeks to reset. I felt off, but I couldn’t explain it,” he mentioned.
I frowned, feeling my brows furrow as I tilted my head. “That sounds a little too familiar. Are you sure there wasn’t some sort of spell involved?”
“No, I’m not. I don’t know how I’d be able to tell if there was, though.”
“I don’t think you could now, but it’s something that just popped into my mind. I know that’s walking the line of paranoia, but there’s no point in not thinking outside the box after all the shit that’s been going on. I have all these little conclusions that I keep coming up with, and none of them make any sense.”
“Like what?”
He put his arm out, stopping me from walking any further without telling him what I was thinking. Which was fine, but I’d rather be somewhere other than the edges of this creepy industrial park.
Somewhere without the potential of a passerby hearing us, and maybe not naked.
I summarized some of the main topics for him.
“Like how I could have brunch with Jack at The Blue Plate nearly every Saturday for over a year and not feel the tug of a mate bond to someone within the restaurant. By the way, that place went to shit when their head chef disappeared one day.
“How I’d visited CBP numerous times and never felt a mate nearby. Or how about the fact that not only does King Enterprises own the entire block across the street from the apartment that you guys lived in, but I also regularly used an office there.”
I shrugged. “I didn’t even connect the last one until Franklin asked me about it earlier. I’ve tried to ignore it, but it's eating a hole in my mind.”
“That’s… a lot to swallow at once, Barbie.”
Nodding, I bit at my lip. I knew it was an overwhelming thought, but the small connections wouldn’t stop popping into my head.
We were so close. It was like the Fates were trying to pull us together. Yet, there was something that had been keeping us apart.
“I know, but the more I think about it, the weirder it is. I felt the bond with York immediately when I saw him and the tug before I laid eyes on him. Vaughn’s father locked away the knowledge of having a bond with York, but I
still felt the need to be near him once we reunited, before he was taken.
“I felt the same thing with Vaughn the day before I met all of you, and that intensified once you guys were all together. But I was at the pharmaceutical company at the beginning of May, and in and out for months prior to that. I felt nothing, even though Vaughn was there too.”
Reflexively, he scrubbed at his beard in thought. “Why wouldn’t any of us feel it when we were all so close before? What changed between the beginning of May and the middle?”
“That’s what I’m getting at.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know, Barbie. I wasn’t there. I’m not the best person to be puzzling this shit out with either. We should talk to the guys, though. Palmer and Novak can figure it out.”
“Mmm, there are a few things that we need to talk about.”
“Take us through the Void. It’s time to figure all this shit out.”
I took his hand, threading my fingers between his as low murmurs reached my ears.
“Do you hear that?” I questioned, tugging him behind me as I silently moved closer to the noise. “It came from the road.”
He resisted slightly, shaking his head. “We’re in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night, Barbie. We’re naked. Are you sure you want to walk that way?”
“We’re in North Fork, Briggs. We’re the biggest predators out here.”
I tilted my head, closing my eyes to focus on whatever confrontation was happening. I didn’t need to see them to know that I’d heard the male voice before. It was one of the shifters that had questioned us about Novak.
I slid into Briggs’ mind, “Can you hear what they’re saying?”
“Yeah. I recognize both of the voices. The female is Katie.”
No sooner than his confession entered my mind, the woman snarled. “What do you mean by lost him?”
The man whimpered as he said, “We got him to the warehouse, and when we were carrying him inside, he woke up and attacked us.”
“So he’s still loose or you’ve caught him?” She sighed, speaking slowly. “Please tell me that you know where he is now?”
“We’re looking, but we’ve lost his trail. He hasn’t been located yet.”
“This is a fucking joke,” she growled. “That’s the second time that he’s escaped before he’s been brought in. Find him. And if you can’t catch him, then kill him.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
We heard retreating footsteps before she continued. “And for Devil’s sake, remember that he’s a fucking bear. He needs at least three times the dosage of a wolf.”
We faced each other, listening to car doors close and engines start up. I kept a careful eye on the road as we processed what we’d heard.
I had to fight with myself to move away from them, muttering, “We should follow them.”
“No, Barbie. We should go to Charlie and get the guys. We can hunt her down. It won’t be difficult to find out where she lives.”
I sighed, knowing he was right. I couldn’t do everything on my own, and I wasn’t willing to risk Briggs’ safety.
Mine was questionable; his was not.
He snorted. “It’s not just a matter of safety for either of us. It’s something that regular members of the pack are supposed to consult the Alpha about, if we can, and in this situation… We can. Not everyone is the Supreme Alpha’s daughter.”
“I didn’t pick my parents, and I know the rules,” I sassed.
“I choose to ignore them. I’d rather ask for forgiveness than permission in some scenarios. But I get it. We need to let Dad know. This is something that he’ll want to know about as soon as possible.”
“Is Sloane King going to follow a rule? That’s what it sounded like you said, but maybe my ears suddenly stopped working.”
“No. I’m just really worried that you’re going to be swept away and locked up in an ivory tower. You have that whole damsel in distress look going for you.”
He snorted, opening his mouth to reply to my smartass comment, and I grabbed his hand, pulling us through the Void. The chill washed over us as I pushed, bringing us into the cabin.
As soon as we stepped into the living room, Briggs remarked, “I am not some princess that needs saving.”
“That would be me.” Vaughn chuckled from behind us. “Prince looking for his dark knight. Dark knightess? Is that a thing?”
Novak tilted his head, squinting his eyes at me. “What the fuck happened to you?”
Glancing down, I studied the yellowish spots on my skin from the healing bruises. I shrugged, snapping my fingers as I called clothes to my hand for Briggs and myself.
“I got in a fight with a tree.”
Stone snorted. “You have bruises from your cheek to your knees.”
“It was a big tree.”
Briggs snatched his jeans from my hand. “Later. Talk shit later. We need to get dressed, and then we need to find Charlie. There’s a bear somewhere that Katie is after. She’s definitely behind the drug movement here. We gotta go.”
“Woah. Take a chill pill.” Palmer patted the air with his left hand as he massaged his temples with his right. “Start at the beginning. But for the love of the gods, whisper it, would ye?”
I wiggled into a pair of black tights and pulled on a white t-shirt. Briggs struggled through getting his pants up as I skimmed the surface of yet another issue.
“Katie and one of the guys that came to the house asking questions about Novak. He told her that they—we don’t know who they are—lost a bear, and she was pissed about it. Whoever the bear is, he’s in trouble.”
Dad barged in before we could get into any of the details; not that we had many. He had his phone in his hand as a woman hyperventilated on the other end.
He muted the call as he grimaced at me, rushing through his words.
“This is that help I was asking for, Pretty Lady. I think it has to do with the missing shifters. This is the second call I’ve received from Cooper and Darcy; the first one was right before I went to the Underworld. I had a similar call come through before that, and I didn’t respond quickly enough.
“I wanted you to go with me, but I think it’d be best if I stayed here and waited for you guys to bring them to the lodge. I’ll get everything set up for Cooper and his family, but they need a safe way to travel. Bring them through the Void or drive them; just don’t leave them alone.”
Briggs and I glanced at each other. “Of course, Dad. Whatever they need, it’s theirs. We’ll go get them, but is Cooper, by chance… a bear?”
“He is. He’s also been one of my officers for decades. You’ve met him several times, Sloane.”
Novak furrowed his brows as the woman’s breathing grew heavier over the speakerphone. “I just reached out and asked Blaire to head to the store. She and Grim are going to pick up some things for them.”
“Great, great,” Dad repeated several times, seeming lost as he stared at his phone. “Thank you.”
He unmuted his phone and began talking again. “Listen to me, Darcy. I’m going to send Sloane and her mates. They’ll help Cooper and make sure you two and the cubs are safe. They’re going to bring you guys to me.”
“Please, don’t let anything happen to him. I’m so scared, Alpha. We’re all scared, and Coop is out there by himself.”
The woman screamed, and I could faintly make out the sound of windows being busted.
“Darcy, listen to my voice. I need you to breathe. I know you’re scared and worried, but you need to stay calm for your cubs. They’ll be there in four minutes or less.”
“O-okay. We’re in the small cubby inside the closet of the back bedroom.”
“Don’t worry about packing clothes or anything. We’ll get that stuff when you get here. I’ll stay on the phone with you, but don’t come out until you hear Sloane.”
I pulled my hair up as I began picking through my dad’s mind. Everything else would have to wait.
“Show me what the plac
e looks like. I’ll call you when we get there.”
13
Sloane
Friday, June 5th
Early Morning
We were doing an awful lot of traveling through the Void, but it was the quickest way to get to Cooper and Darcy.
The moment we stepped out of frigid winds of the Void and into the humid darkness surrounding the small home, growling and fighting filled the air.
“Fuck,” I mumbled. “We need to separate the bears. One of them is Cooper.”
There were six other shifters prowling around him in a semi-circle as he guarded the front of his house. His mate and his cubs were inside, so we needed to tread carefully until he knew we were here to help him.
“I’ll make sure no one is inside,” Briggs muttered.
“I’ll go with you and take the bear’s family to Charlie,” Palmer said, and I nodded my head.
“Go. We’ve got this.”
As Briggs and Palmer disappeared around the side of the house, the rest of us split up.
The only thing we could do was jump into the action.
Vaughn placed his hand on York’s shoulder, misting them into the middle of the circling animals. The intrusion divided their attention, pulling all but the bears away from Cooper.
Stone and Novak prowled behind, helping to pick off the distracted few, while I went straight for the grizzlies.
One of them stayed closer to me than the other two, so I assumed that was Cooper. I reached out mentally, skimming their minds, but the static was too thick to hear through.
“Cooper?”
My eyes darted to the bear that I thought was who I should be protecting. His heavy head nodded the slightest bit before he roared.
And one of the other bears barreled into me, knocking me flat on my back. With a large paw in the center of my chest, he flexed his claws. They dug through skin and muscle to scrape against bone.
Vaughn was there in seconds, giving me no time to react. He was on the bear’s back, his face splattered with blood as he shouted, “This isn’t Cooper, right?”
He slammed an icicle into the bear’s throat before it had fully formed in his hand. The ice was still attached to his palm, and he continued to form the magic until the stake popped out the other side of the bear’s neck.