by Tami Payton
MATED
A FATED MATES SERIES
TAMI PAYTON
INTRO
I didn’t think my life could get any more complicated than it already was. Yeah, I guess that’s what I get for thinking.
Finding out my dad, who I thought was long gone, is alive and well? Finding out that I have a long-lost twin brother? Then finding out that we’re all wolf shifters? Yeah, that’s been my complicated and confusing life for the past few weeks. Turns out that Sam, my dad, is the Alpha of the Hallow Pack and after exploring my wolf, we find out that I’m an Alpha female. It’s a rare thing, but hey, it’s no surprise. Then there’s Mason, my brother’s best friend and Alpha to a neighboring Pack. We haven’t been able to stay away from each other. Turns out we’re each other’s mates, not only that, we’re Fated. Big problem. Being Fated puts a big target on both of us, it could kill us both. Being Fated if one mate dies, the other does as well. Yeah, in this case love does suck.
Well, then things get even more complicated. Someone thinks that I belong to them and that the Hallow pack has stolen me from them. That target I was talking about? Yeah, this is it. Suddenly we’re under attack, wolves come from everywhere and I’m their main focus. They’ve been sent for me and they’re not leaving without me. I wake up in a room and can’t get out, head pounding. The biggest and most shocking part of it all? The person that I see standing in front of me, isn’t the person that I would ever expect to see. I’ve been betrayed and my heart breaks. I’m held against my will with no way out. Shifting to my wolf won’t help me in here, I’m stuck until someone comes for me. The only question is, after all the people that have already betrayed me who can I trust now? It’s up to me to get myself out of here and I will. These assholes may think they’ve won, but the game is far from over. They’ve messed with the wrong girl. I’ve spent my whole life fighting; I’ll be damned if I will just roll over and submit to the Bastards.
MASON
She’s gone. I can hear her screaming for me in my head, I can hear the pain and fear in her voice. My heart and soul have ripped in two as I see her being carried away. They’re still coming at us and we can’t hold them off. They just keep coming, I’m trying to get to her, and I can’t. Micah has her, and I hear him laugh, her body has gone limp. I tear into another wolf as I try to get to her. They’ve fled further into the woods and I lose sight of them. NO! Cammie! I scream in my head. God, please let her hear me. I can’t lose her, seeing her body go limp like that. She has to be alive, just answer me baby. Mason, please. I take off, sighing in relief, she’s alive. Now I just have to find her. Then kill the Bastard that took her from me. Following the scents through the woods I take off. They can’t be that far ahead. I come to a stop when I realize that I’ve lost the trail. FUCK! They took off in a truck, I change back and take in the tracks in the dirt. I drop to my knees and my heart is in my stomach. “I will find you Cammie, I promise.” I whisper to myself. That Mother Fucker is gonna pay for taking my girl, everyone is gonna pay.
I head back to the field and find out that the other wolves have fled. I take in the sight before me and am relieved to see that everyone is ok. Sam and Cameron look at me and I shake my head. “FUCK!” Cameron yells. Sam lays his hand on his shoulder. “Cameron, we will get her back, I promise. Micah will not get away with this. He must be working with Gage, that’s the only thing that makes sense. Come on, let’s get back and get everyone looked out and make a plan.” Cameron looks at me and I nod. “Let’s go. I need to get myself together, because you can bet your ass, I’m gonna be getting my girl back soon. That Mother Fucker is gonna pay, they all are.” Sam and Cameron look at me and nod, they both know not to stand in my way right now. As we walk back to the compound I put in a call to my Beta, Jacob. I need to keep him updated. “Hey Jacob, I need you to have our enforcers prepped and ready. I want them ready to move out when I call.” My voice is clipped and in Alpha mode. “Sure, thing Mason. What happened?” I grip my phone. “Cammie’s been taken. As soon as we find her, we’re going to war. Wait for my call.” I hang up and head inside. Sam is talking to Zander; I have to stay away from him. He’s on my kill list, it’s his fucking wolf that’s started all of this.
“Gage has gone in hiding, no one has seen or heard from him.” Zander tells Sam and my anger is flaring. I’m leaning against the wall listening to their conversation. Sam runs his hands through his hair. “So, we need to start looking for him. Where do you think he would go? He has to of been the one that hired Micah. Everyone knows that Micah is a rough wolf for hire, he doesn’t care what the job is, it only matters what it pays. If Gage was determined to get Cammie, he would have gone to Micah.” Zander shakes his head. “I knew he was determined but I didn’t think he would go this far. I mean, to arrange to take an Alpha’s daughter? He’s really lost it.” That’s it, my wolf is ready to rip his throat out. I can’t stay quiet anymore. “Lost it? The Mother Fucker has more than lost it. This is your fault as well. You fucking knew that he was a loose cannon, knew that something was wrong with him. Now my fucking mate is out there somewhere out there with that psycho. You took his fucking word that she was his mate, without getting any evidence. What does that say about you being an Alpha? Right now, it’s telling me you’re a pretty damn shitty one.” I’m getting closer to him and my eyes are flashing gold, before I know it Cameron is in front of me. “Hey, come on. Mason, back up and calm down. We all want her back, so let’s calm down and figure out what to do. We can’t be at each other’s throats. We need to work together if we’re gonna get her back. Zander is one of our best shots at finding Gage, he will have an idea of where to find him.” He watches me to make sure I calm down. I breathe in and out, calming myself down. I nod at Cameron and walk outside, I need some air. I’m sitting on the steps when I feel Cameron sit next to me. “Hey man, it’s gonna be alright. We will get her back, I’m not gonna lose her after just finding her.” I sigh and nod. “I just. I need to find her Cameron. I need to hold her, I need to have her in my arms again. I never got the chance to tell her how I feel. I swear, if she’s hurt. I don’t know what I’m gonna do. I can’t lose her Cameron, I just can’t.” I hang my head. I can’t lose her, I won’t.
CAMMIE
My head is pounding, and the room is cold. I sit up and the room starts spinning. “What the fuck?” I need coffee and something for my head. I manage to open my eyes and notice I’m not in Kanas (yeah, welcome to Oz Cammie) anymore. I take in my surroundings and see that I’m sitting in a small cell type of room. I grab my head, it’s throbbing. My wrist feels heavy. I look at it and find some type of bracelet wrapped around it. What the hell is this? The events from today come back to me, or at least I think it was today. Who the hell knows how long I was out for? I walk to the door and start to bang on it. “Hello, let me the fuck out of here! Is anyone out there?” I’m hitting and kicking the door and don’t stop until I hear someone approach the door. “Will you shut the fuck up, it’s early.” The door opens and the guy standing there looks pissed, well join the club buddy. I roll my eyes and put my hands on my hips, “Yeah, well sorry to interrupt your beauty sleep. Where the hell am I? Why the hell am I here?” He laughs, “I can’t tell you that sweetheart, you’ll have to wait. Until then, get comfortable and shut up.” He closes the door in my face and walks away, leaving me alone again. I start to think back to what happened. I remember fighting the wolves by the lake. God, I hope everyone else is ok. I remember Cameron, Sam, and Mason showing up. Mason! I sit on the bed and try to sense Mason. Maybe I can reach him through that fucked up connection we have. I close my eyes and concentrate on him but can’t sense him at all and I want to cry, all I can feel is loss and alone. I hear voices and jump up. I will d
eal with this, I’m a fucking Alpha female for god sake. I can do this, I can handle whatever or whoever is on the other side of that door. I brace myself as the door opens and then freeze as two men approach. Well fuck. I wasn’t prepared for this. “Hello, Cammie. It’s time for you to come home.”
I’m in shock. I don’t think I’ve ever been so shocked to where I can’t talk before. I look at the two people standing in the doorway and I shake my head, hoping I’m seeing things. Nope. It’s real. “Gage? What the fuck is going on? Why the fuck are you with this asshole and why the fuck am I here?” I point to the guy standing next to Gage, who is the same guy from the field. Micah laughs. “Oh man, this little reunion is great. Bet you never saw this one coming did ya, doll face?” I narrow my eyes at him as Gage turns and growls at him. Micah laughs again. “Don’t growl at me big boy, remember who holds all the cards in this game. She’s not yours yet.” I look at them both. What the fuck? “Um, does someone want to fucking clue me in?” Gage turns to me and smiles. “Well short stuff, it’s simple. I’m gonna bring you back home, with me. Where you belong. They never should have taken you in the first place. You were mine, always have been and always will be.” I stand there shocked once again. His? What the hell is he talking about? “Gage, you’re talking crazy. I mean, come on I went to stay with my dad and brother. No one took me.” He shakes his head and his fists ball up. “No. They stole you from me and you become part of their fucking Pack. You were supposed to be part of mine. You were supposed to be MINE! You are MINE!” I see his eyes change gold and my heart speeds up. Oh shit, he’s a wolf. How did I not see that the other day at the bar? Micah lays his hand on Gage’s shoulder. “Ok, that’s enough big boy. You’ve had your visit, time to give the Princess some time to think things over.” He starts to lead Gage out and I run towards the door, I need to get the fuck out of here. “No! Let me the fuck out of here you asshole’s!” Micah laughs. “Don’t worry Doll Face, I’ll be back. After all, we have to let Mason and them know you’re safe. This wouldn’t be any fun if both your lover boys weren’t participating in my game.” He grins and gives me a wink before he closes the door on me.
I pound on the door and scream until my throat is raw and my fists are sore. I have to figure out how to get out of here. Micah is playing some type of game and it’s not gonna be fun. From the sound of it he’s gonna be using me as a bargaining chip. I need to get to Mason, I can’t leave here with Gage. I shake my head, I can’t believe that was Gage. I mean, what happened to him? That wasn’t the Gage that I knew, the look that was in his eyes was so foreign. It was like he was a different person. What did he mean I was supposed to be his? Did he know what I was? How? I have so many questions and no answers. Ugh! My head is starting to hurt, even more than it already does. I sit on the bed in the corner, I have to come up with a plan. I know Gage, or at least I thought I did, I need to use what I know about him to find my way out of this. I’m still weak from whatever the hell it was that they injected me with, so I need to build my strength up before I can fight my way out. Then there’s this collar. What the hell is it? God, I’m not sure I want to know. I noticed Gage was wearing a similar bracelet when he was in here. Is that how Micah managed to keep him in line? Gage has a temper, ugh the thought of what these devices can do makes me cringe.
I’m lost in my thoughts of trying to escape when the door opens, and a guy the size of a mountain enters. “Boss man thought it would be a good idea to feed you. I guess if we’re gonna get anything for you, we gotta keep you alive.” I roll my eyes at him. “Well, it’s really nice of you to share, but then again you can afford to skip a couple meals.” I know I shouldn’t be a Bitch to the hand that’s feeding me, but I’m not to happy right now. So, fuck it. He growls at me and steps closer to me. “Look you little Bitch. If I had it my way, you’d already be dead. I don’t see the point in keeping you around. All you are is trouble.” With that he tosses my tray of food next to me, spilling it all over the bed and walks out. I sigh, well that didn’t go well. At least I know that Micah’s guys all don’t agree with him when it comes to me. That my work to my advantage when I’m ready to get the hell out of here. I know one thing for sure. I will be damned if I’m just gonna sit here and do nothing.
MASON
It’s been two days; two fucking days and we haven’t heard anything about Cammie. I’m going fucking crazy. Everyone is doing whatever they can to try and find her, Zander said he’s bringing in his best tracker to assist. Hopefully whoever it is will be able to help. “Hey man, how are you doing?” Cameron sits next to me. I shake my head. “I don’t know, I feel helpless. I mean, we’re just sitting around, doing nothing. We should be out there looking for her. Who knows what she’s going through right now? Is she safe? Are they feeding her? What’s she thinking since we haven’t found her yet?” I start pacing, my wolf getting irritated. Cameron sighs. “I know, I’ve been thinking the same thing. I’m worried about what she’s going through. We have to remember that Cammie’s tough, she can handle this. We will find her, Mason.” I look at him. “It’s not about her being tough, Cameron. She shouldn’t have been taken in the first place. She’s my fucking mate! It’s my job, my fucking duty to protect her and I fucking failed.” I hang my head in my hands. “I fucking failed her the first time that she needed me. What kind of mate am I? She was right to refuse me, I’m not worthy of her. When she gets back, I need to be the one that refuses her, not the other way around.” Cameron smacks me in the back of the head. “That’s bullshit! If that’s the case, then I’m not worthy of being her brother. There was nothing any of use could do to stop her being taken. We were outnumbered. We all tried to get to her and none of us could. Micah had it planned out and there was nothing that was gonna get in his way. You did everything that you could do to try to save her, we all did. The only thing we can do now is get her back, and we will. So, stop your pity party and let’s do this. Zander’s tracker should be here by now. Let’s go meet this wolf.” I nod and get up. “You’re right. Let’s go do this. I need my girl back home, where she belongs.”
We get to the hall and I hear Zander and Sam talking, my ears perk up at one of the voices inside. My wolf is on alert at the voice. What the hell is she doing here? I walk in and sure enough Jenny is standing next to Zander and he’s filling her in on everything. “She was taken two days ago and there’s been no contact as of yet.” Jenny nods. “How far has the trail.” I growl. “What is she doing here?” Sam looks at me as does Zander. “Ah, you’re here. Mason, I assume you know Jenny? She’s one of the best trackers there is. She’s here to help.” I roll my eyes, yeah, sure she is. “Mason, I know how much Cammie means to you. I really want to help you. Please, let me help.” She looks at me and she seems sincere. I shake my head and sigh. I don’t trust her, but I guess we need all the help we can get. Sam pats my shoulder. “It’s ok Mason, we will watch over it carefully.” He knows the whole deal that went down with her. I nod, thankful that he’s got her on watch. “Ok, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get started. Jenny, we can start out in the field. They left in a truck after the carried her through the woods. The tracks of the truck are still there. We’ve covered them so they didn’t fade or get washed away. I want you out there so you can get whatever you can.” She nods. “You got it.” She heads out, Eric follows her, so she knows where she’s going.
“Ok, with all of our resources pulled together we should be able to find something. Micah is out there, and he’s got our girl somewhere.” Sam looks at everyone and is confident that we’re gonna find her. We’ve got everyone from all of our Pack’s pulling together, so it’s a lot of resources. She’s the daughter of the Alpha of the Hallow Pack, so yeah, she’s a big deal. She’s the mate of the Alpha of the Gentry Pack, that right there gives her top priority. Zander’s Pack is helping due to the fact that it is his wolf that went rogue and is responsible for her being taken. We should have this covered. “Has there been any updates from anyone?” Cameron asks. Sam
shakes his head and my stomach clenches. “Not as of yet, we’re still waiting to hear back from Jacob. He hasn’t checked in yet, he said he’d check back in around noon or so.” I nod. “Yeah, I spoke to him, there wasn’t anything new.” Before any of us can say anything else our phones all go off at the same time. I hold my breathe as I check the message from the unknown number. I look up at Sam as I open the video. “That Son of a Bitch. I’m gonna fucking kill him.”
GAGE
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. She was always supposed to be mine, even before she changed. I had her first, damn it! Fucking Cameron and Mason, those fucking assholes ruined everything. I knew the moment I saw her she was special. She was a feisty little firecracker and I was gonna have her. She didn’t have any traits of being a wolf when she was younger, but that was fine with me. I loved her anyway. I protected her from her worthless mother and her dickhead boyfriends. My short stuff grew up in hell, I took her in and made sure she knew how to protect herself. I never let anyone hurt her, I made sure that if anyone tried, they paid, dearly. When she got older, I started to notice the changes in her and hoped there was a chance she was one of the few that were hidden. The last time I saw her she was sick with the flu, I didn’t want to leave her. I had to head South to Florida, to see my Alpha and the Pack for the monthly run. I even talked to Zander about bringing her into the Pack, he was ok with it. I was over the fucking moon, until I got the call from my Aunt telling me she was gone. Then I got the voicemail from her with her story. My wolf went frantic, I needed to find her. I started just driving around and when I settled in at the bar by Cameron’s territory I was defeated. I had lost her and was ready to give up. When she walked in, I knew right away, I also knew right away what she was. I t was like my prayers had been answered. We talked like we hadn’t been a part, until they walked in. I knew the moment they did because she tensed up. Sam, Alpha to the Hallow Pack, his son Cameron, and Mason, Alpha to the Gentry Pack. They walked in and staked some type of claim on MY girl. I mean, who the hell do they think they are?
