by Sabrina Rue
She was confused when he took her hand. Before she thought to react, he sliced her palm with his nail and then his own.
Clasping their palms together, he growled, “My heart and home are yours. My life is forfeit should I fail to protect you. I claim you as Mate and join you to my position in Pack. Your blood is my blood until I breathe my last breath.”
Harmony whispered, “I did not see that shit coming.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Hope staggered back a step but Talon didn’t release her hand. Barely audible, she demanded, “What have you done?”
“Claimed you. Claimed your children.”
“You can’t reverse it! Are you insane?”
Crowding her until she bumped against the wall behind her, he stared down into her face for a long moment. “Sixty years, Hope. Six decades of my life spent searching for my Mate.”
Knowing how slowly Weres aged didn’t lessen her shock.
“Do you think for one moment, just one, that I’d forsake the Mate meant for me because she only has two children to love and raise? That I’d allow you to slip through my fingers because you can’t have a fucking litter?”
His hand tightened around hers. “The first time your scent came to me, I knew who you were. I followed Alpha Harmony’s wishes to let you run but I killed and killed as I guarded your back. My first true glimpse of you, you were asleep in the cave. I could feel your exhaustion.”
Her eyes widened.
“When I smelled the sire of your children, rage filled me but I pushed it back, shoved it down, because he didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but getting you to safety so I could look into your eyes and tell you…long have I searched for you and at last you are found, Mate.”
A small gasp escaped her.
“I’ve held West Texas since I was twenty-nine years old. I grow my Pack. I provide strength and guidance to my Alpha. I work and run and live.” A slow smile spread over his face. “None of it ever felt as fulfilling as I knew it should until now.”
Blinking back tears, she stared into eyes even paler green than her own. He lifted his hand and cupped her head, smoothing his palm over her hair.
“You will have your children, Hope. You will be safe, able to sleep in a bed and cook and read books. You will never be afraid or hungry again.”
Lifting her hand, she placed it over the back of his. “I-I can’t do this now. My children…”
“I know. I can wait. I’ve learned patience.” One side of his mouth lifted. “Let the doctor help you. You can’t greet your daughter after so long if you’re bleeding on the inside.”
So many things went through her mind. Her hatred for Ryan, her earned distrust of male Weres, her pain, her fear.
She shoved it all down, drove it away from herself, and stared at the man in front of her who existed against all odds.
A Mate.
Something she thought would never be part of her life.
Her sister, her children, they’d been the only thoughts in her mind for years. She focused on surviving, enduring her Heats, and hoping the blood on her hands washed away one day.
Until the day she didn’t care if it washed away.
The day a man she hadn’t loved but had trusted tried to have her killed with her newborn son.
That day, her every thought was consumed by vengeance, by justice, by reuniting her family at any cost.
Now, everything was different. She remembered the things she’d wanted when Ryan appeared at the door of her secluded cabin. The peace, the protection, the simple life.
This man was the one meant to help her get it.
She pushed away her distrust, her fury, her pain, and looked into eyes that waited, unblinkingly, for her to accept him.
Talon was beautiful. He was steady, powerful, and would be a father to her twins.
More than all of that was the fact that her body wanted him. Outside of the chaos of her Heat, it was something Hope had never felt for a male, Were or not.
He remained silent, letting her think things out.
“You’ll wait until I have my children?”
“You have my vow.”
Nodding slowly, she whispered, “Thank you, Mate.”
His low growl made her heart race. “Medical attention first.”
“Alright.”
Gathering her close, he kissed her hair. She rested her forehead on his chest and they stood like that for a long time.
Finally, Harmony said, “That was way less crazy than it was for Ryker and Jax. No bloodshed. Fascinating.”
Laughing softly, Hope lifted her eyes and met her sister’s with a smile. “You live to be difficult.”
Her twin winked. “Absolutely. You need to shower off the deer piss. I swear to the gods, I can’t believe you still use that to cover your tracks.”
“Shut up.” Inhaling carefully, she looked past Talon’s broad shoulder to Redbird. The older woman had her hands clasped over her heart. “I’ll see your doctor when he arrives.”
Ryker’s mother said, “I can only imagine how proud your parents would be of how their daughters turned out.”
The words made Hope’s heart contract painfully.
Turning to the younger woman Hope suspected was related to Ryker, Redbird added, “You’ll have to channel her pain. Can you handle it, darling?”
No way was that happening.
“For my Alpha’s sister? Yeah, I can handle it.” She walked closer and Harmony put her arm around the girl’s shoulders.
“This is my Second. Ryker’s only sister, Desiree.”
Tilting her head, Hope grinned. “An empath. That makes total sense. She’ll keep you safe.”
“I’m not worried. Harmony is a killing machine and she’s training the rest of us.” Taking a deep breath, she explained, “I need to touch you, evaluate your pain.”
Hope shrunk away. “No. I can’t let you do that.” Desiree’s expression of confusion was duplicated on the faces of the other people in the room. “I’ll shower and dart myself after I question my prisoner. I don’t want you to feel it.”
“I’ll be fine…”
“No. You won’t. You’re young and untouched by the horror of my life, of my sister’s life. I won’t have you tainted by it.”
Running her palm down Talon’s chest, Hope stepped out of his hold and asked, “Where’s the bathroom?”
“Come, darling,” Redbird answered with her arm extended.
Hope followed the older woman and when she was alone in the pretty room, she stared at her reflection above the sink.
Stripping away her clothes, she stared at the slight rounding of her stomach. The physical evidence of slow internal bleeding she’d endured since her children were born.
“At least you didn’t have to endure Heat on top of it.” Small favors. Three years of peace after childbirth was incredible.
Under the powerful spray, she scrubbed her body several times and felt weeks of grime slip from her skin and hair.
Harmony was sitting on the bathroom counter when she came out of the large stall. She tossed her a fluffy towel.
“You planning to run?” she asked without judgment.
“Not this time.”
Hope dried her body. Toweling her hair, she accepted the heavy comb her twin handed her and detangled her hair.
There were soft clothes folded on the counter and she knew they were Harmony’s. They’d shared clothes all their lives. Easy when you were identical from head to toe.
Hope dressed in silence and when she was done, she met matching green eyes. “I’m not like you, no matter how I’ve often wished I was. I ache to be still.”
“Let me explain something, sister mine. I’m glad you’re not like me. The gentleness belongs with you.” She winked. “You got an old man, girl.”
Grinning, Hope told her, “Shut your face.”
“Thankfully, he’s not decrepit. Still hot as fuck.” Hopping off the counter, she added, “The doctor will be here soon. Let’s go make nice with that
fucking traitor.”
“Harmony…”
“I won’t kill him until you have what you need.” She shrugged as she opened the door. “Then, I’m gonna make it slow.”
Their Mates stood in the hall and escorted them through the house to the top of the stairs leading to the basement.
Ryan was in one of the cells designed for females in Heat. He was groggy from the repeated doses of tranquilizer she’d hit him with but smiled when Hope entered the room.
Glancing past her, his smile slipped off his face when he saw Harmony. “I…where are we?”
“We rescued you both and brought you to Texas Pack,” Harmony said stoically. “My Mates are anxious to figure out how we can right the wrongs done to you and my family.”
He went still for a long moment before he tried to sit up. Hope wrapped her arm around his shoulders and helped him.
“Let me. You need to rest, Ryan.”
“We’re in Texas?” She nodded. He growled. “What about all the things they did to you and your family?”
The bruising had begun to fade from his face and both of his pale blue eyes were open.
The scent of his fear was heavy on the air.
“We’re going to work through all of that, Ryan. Don’t worry.” She kept her voice gentle. “You focus on getting better.”
He audibly swallowed and she kept the smile plastered on her face. Harmony sat across the room in total silence and stillness, watching him.
“It’s not easy to focus on healing in enemy territory, Hope. We shouldn’t be here.”
Lowering to the side of the bed, she held one of his hands in both of hers. “How quickly you’ve forgotten what Montana Pack did to you. They beat you, broke your bones. I risked everything to get you away from them so we could be together. So you’d be safe again.”
His hand tightened on hers. “Thank you for that. I know it was all a misunderstanding we can work out. That’s my Pack, Hope. It’s your Pack, too. Our place is there.”
Putting a tremble in her voice, she told him, “They exiled me, Ryan. They exiled my brother and my sisters. They don’t want me there and I don’t want to be there.”
She watched his eyes flick quickly past her to Harmony and back again. She knew what he planned to say before he said it.
“I know you’re close to your sister. I understand but…all of you were exiled because of her.”
“Why? I don’t understand.” Her voice was soft, innocent.
“Hope, honey…” He sighed dramatically and she wanted to rake her claws across his flesh. “Male Weres are territorial. You know that, sweetheart.”
Frowning, she pretended confusion. “Harmony isn’t male.”
He chuckled sarcastically. “Exactly.”
Tilting her head, she appeared to mull over his words. “They were afraid my sister would take the Pack? Why would she do that? She’s never gone after power or position.”
“Can we…” he looked at Harmony and back again, “have some privacy to discuss all this?”
“Ryan, anything you can say to me, you can say to my sister. She only cares about my safety.” Pausing, she added firmly, “And the safety of my children.”
The scent of his terror spiked and then he stroked his palm over her hand. “I’m so happy you escaped the males who snatched me from our cabin. I was so worried.”
“I woke up when they were about to kill my son. I named him Justice. You didn’t get a chance to know that.”
“They tried to kill our son? Why would they do that?”
“I don’t know. I couldn’t believe it myself. I thought they’d killed you and Juliette but I refused to give up hope. I shot them and ran with our son. You survived.”
Feigning happiness, she smiled hopefully. “I’m sure you would have protected my daughter with your life. Was she well before you were captured and taken back to Montana Pack?”
She handed him his cover story and he ran with it in relief.
“They jumped me when I went out on the porch with Juliette. She was crying and you needed to rest. They got between me and the house. I had to save her, Hope.” He said passionately, “I never would have left you otherwise, my Mate.”
Struggling internally, she battled her Wolf for dominance. The simple creature who was her oldest companion wanted nothing more than to rip and tear at the weak male in front of her.
Get your shit together. You can’t kill him…yet.
CHAPTER FIVE
Choking down her rage, masking her emotion, Hope performed for him. “Of course! I understand why you ran. You had to keep her safe.” She reached out to rake her fingers through his hair and pretended not to see his flinch.
“We survived. I think you provided enough distraction that it helped me. I can’t wait for you to see how much Justice has grown. He cries for his sister, his twin.”
He couldn’t completely hide the irritation in his voice. “You were always underestimated as a fighter, Hope. I’m glad. I prayed you and our son were safe.”
“Did you contact your family for help?” Hope had good memories with Ryan’s parents. She was shocked they hadn’t stood up for the Kassis children after their father’s death.
“Mom and Dad, my brothers, were killed by rogues, Hope.”
“More rogues? In Father’s time, no rogues dared to cross into Montana Pack lands in such a way. Gregor must be weak.”
The clench of his jaw was only there for an instant.
Carefully, he said, “Gregor is a strong Alpha, Hope. Whoever was after you wanted to kill all of us. I have to assume Texas Pack is behind everything.” He shook his head. “There’s no limit to what they’ll do to wipe out Slade’s line.”
Hope leaned back to keep her Wolf from gouging out his eyes. “My father was a strong Alpha who always put his Pack first. He was friends with the current Texas Alpha’s father. Why would they try to hurt us?”
“They must want to take over Montana Pack. It’s the only explanation that makes sense.”
“Is it?” She allowed disbelief to bleed into her voice. “It seems the least sensible to me. Texas Pack is strong in members, lands, and money. Montana Pack is nothing compared to them.”
A growl started in his throat but he cut it off.
She continued. “Montana has few females…other than those from my own family, of course. Their holdings are nothing in comparison to Texas. What could they possibly want?” She sighed heavily. “None of it makes much sense.”
Ryan’s frustration that Hope didn’t fall all over his Bogeyman of Texas Pack theory was obvious.
“Sweetheart, you’ve always been a tiny bit paranoid. When we were together, things were so good but still you wondered about things that didn’t require an explanation.”
Her smile was brittle. “Like the way you found me when I was entering my Heat like a knight in shining armor? Or the fact that I never believed us to be Mates?”
“Hope…”
“Or was it my surprise that you managed to hide me in the same place for months until I delivered my children when I’d never been able to hide for more than a few days at one time?”
Standing abruptly, she paced to the other side of the room and stared at a lovely oil painting on the wall for almost a minute.
Turning back, she spread out her arms with a small laugh.
He misinterpreted her change in attitude. “That’s all in our past and now we can start fresh.” Most of the stress evaporated from him and he returned her smile.
Returning to sit beside him, she leaned close and said seductively, “I was going to do things differently. I was going to pretend to care about you, as you once did me but I’ve changed my mind. I just don’t have that much pretense left in my body, Ryan.”
Canines prominent and eyes glowing, she snarled, “All those things did require an explanation.” He edged a few inches away from her. “I was young, scared, and so very stupid. Entering a Heat I couldn’t control and worried about hunters claiming me aga
inst my will.”
“It doesn’t matter, Hope…”
Snapping her teeth in his face, she said softly, “Shut your lying mouth. I’m not the frightened girl who opened the door of that cabin, Ryan. I’m a different person entirely.”
Hope knew Talon stood just outside the cell door with her sister’s Mates but didn’t acknowledge them.
Suddenly, she leapt onto the bed and crouched over his body, her claws raised. “I’m going to give you a chance to tell me everything. You should take the chance I offer.”
The smell of his fear inflamed her Wolf.
“Why are you being like this, Hope?” he whined. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”
“I want to tear you to pieces, Ryan. I want to hear you scream as your blood rushes over my teeth. That’s what I want when it comes to you, traitor.”
He tried to sit up and she slammed her hand in the center of his chest. “I will have my daughter. My sister wants her niece. Pray she’s still safe and healthy or we’ll keep you alive for years to draw out your torture.”
“You’re crazy!”
Faster than a human eye could follow, Hope made several parallel cuts along his throat. Not deep enough to kill him but terror leapt into his eyes and his scent.
Before he could scream, she slapped her hand over his mouth. “I don’t want to hear any noise from you unless it’s telling me everything I want to know.”
His eyes moved past her to the huge man in the doorway.
She laughed. “Are you looking at Talon to help you? I promise he’s the last man who’d take pity on you. He’s the regional Alpha of West Texas.”
Ryan’s eyes were enormous in his face.
“My sister’s Mates are in the hall. The Alpha and Second of Texas Pack. You’re lucky I’m doing the questioning, Ryan. Harmony can be unpredictable on the best of days.”
“What do you want? I didn’t do anything! I don’t know anything! Hope, you have to believe me…”
“Wrong. I believed you once before and you left me to be raped and murdered. You gave orders to kill my son. A babe barely five minutes into the world. You’re an animal but it isn’t a Wolf. You’re a rat.”
