by Jana Leigh
Levi had been too young to remember any of this. It had been in the recent weeks he discovered all of this mess. At the time, he figured he would be a guard to one of the Chosen; he had been recognized by his Beta and Alpha for his abilities. Then Reggie came to town. Apparently, while he was chasing down the Rogue who had attacked their Alphas and New Council members when driving from the airport, his second mate had arrived. Ruby discovered that she was Reggie"s mate too. She had refused to leave his side because Reggie had been wounded in the attack.
According to his Alphas, Reggie had sustained a concussion and been shot several times, although not fatally, all the injuries had been enough to send him into a coma.
While Reggie had lain in a bed being taken care of by Ruby, he had been on the streets, trying to find the Rogues. When he returned to the Pack building, it had been amid another attack. This time, the Rogues had taken Reggie and Ruby.
They were still sorting through the mess, but so far, they discovered that Casey and Reggie"s parents had been working with the Rogues, and may have even been involved in Jo"s kidnapping. Nothing was really fitting together yet, Levi just hoped soon, they would be able to find his mates and figure all of this shit out.
Levi will still pissed about the delay. Darien, his Beta, took off last week to search for one of the Chosen. He found her just thirty minutes from Denver. The shit hit the fan and in that week, everything changed. They were moving the Council Pack to Milliken, and expanding the Denver Pack territories to include Milliken. Many of the families were going to be moving. Levi, of course being the mate of one of the Chosen would move too, if he ever found his mates.
Not to mention the fact the Alphas" mate, Cami, had given birth to triplets. Ruby would have loved that. She and Cami were thick as thieves. Cami told him on more than one occasion that he was a dumb ass. It had kinda become the consensus with the female members of the New Council. Something else he agreed with, he had been a dumb ass to ever think he could ignore the mating pull.
Chapter 2
“Where the hell am I?” Reggie muttered and tried to clear his head. It felt like he had been on a three-day drunken spree, and he was coming down. The last time his head pounded this bad he had been at a celebration party for Casey. Wait; there was something he should be remembering. Crap, had he gone home with a stranger?
“Sweetie, just relax, mother is here. I will take care of you, just like I have been.” Barbara crooned next to him.
Reggie"s eyes popped open, and he looked around. Things were coming back to him. He did not want to talk to his mother. She had lied to him his whole life. He had a twin sister, his best friend Casey had lived next door to them for years, and his parents never told them. It was a serious cluster fuck. The last thing he remembered was flying into Denver and driving to his new home with the Denver Pack. Quin was the Alpha of the Pack and had assured him that he would not have to talk to his parents until he was ready. So why was she in the same room with him now? Reggie closed his eyes again and tried to concentrate.
“Where am I?” Reggie repeated his question. He wanted to talk to Casey before he spoke to his mother. They had yet to actually process what had happened as children.
Until his twin agreed, he was not going to talk to his parents. He remembered talking to Casey and her mates about it. They were in the car, the car that exploded. Hang on, a car he was in exploded and now he was with his mother. This could not be good.
“Sweetie, we are just settling into our new place.” Barbara explained, sounding very tense, Reggie thought.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Reggie yelled, feeling very frustrated and kinda out of sorts. Nothing she was saying made any sense. Seriously, she was freaking him out a little. He heard the little sing-songy way she was speaking. She seemed like she was on the edge. Since finding out his mother hid his twin from him, this was the only way he spoke to her. She did not deserve his respect. A mother who would choose one child over the other was a disgrace.
When Reggie was small, he realized his mom was a little high-strung. She lectured him daily on Casey. She was a bad influence. She was going to tarnish his name, blah, blah, blah, was all he really heard. Reggie had been drawn to Casey from the moment he saw her. He could remember it, strangely enough. They had been small, two maybe three years old, and he saw the little girl playing in a mud puddle, and Reggie remembered how he felt pulled to her.
Casey was the only one who got him. She was the one who laughed when he came out of the closet, well kinda, he was a bisexual. His mother had freaked out; Reggie had almost not come out to his friend, because of her reaction. She had yelled, screamed, and even slapped him across the face. Reggie had been shocked; once she calmed down, she acted as if he had not even told her he was bisexual. She had refused to speak about it again.
“That other place was just not acceptable; they had no clue how special you were.” Barbara scoffed. “When you were young, I could see. You were born to be an Alpha. If it weren"t for that girl, you would have been the leader of the Pack finances; you would have been the one who got the promotion. Once the Pack saw what you had discovered, they would have kicked the Alpha out, and you would have taken his place.”
“Woman, are you on drugs?” Reggie bellowed. “I have never heard such a load of crap in my life. What the hell are you thinking?” Reggie knew what his mother was talking about. At the time, he had been proud of Casey. She had been the only accountant to see the irregularity in the Pack finances. She had worked for weeks before going to the Alpha and telling him what was going on. Reggie was a good accountant, he knew that.
Casey and Reggie had gone to school together. They had laughed when they realized that they had different strengths. Together they made the perfect accountant. When Casey saw the irregularities, she came to Reggie, he helped her work through the paperwork, but she had done all the work. She gave him credit, but apparently not enough for his mother.
“Now Reggie, just relax. I think the hit on the head did some damage. We only want what is best, and these wolves can give it to you.” The old woman said sternly.
“Which wolves, give me what?” Reggie demanded. He opened his eyes and really focused on where he was. “Where is Casey?”
“She is still with that Pack. They were never going to appreciate you. They were never going to see you for who you are. They did that when you were a baby. They referred to you as one of the „twins". You were so much more. Casey took too much of me. She demanded too much.” His mother said, and Reggie looked at her like she was crazy.
“She was a baby, duh.” Reggie said.
“Even then, she tried to take from you. The Council would never look at you like you were special. The spirits chose you, Reggie; you could have done it by yourself. You could have taken over the Council and made them listen. Coming out to the humans is a mistake. They would try to take what makes us special. I know you would have seen the light, you would have understood what needed to happen. Some wolves agreed, that is why they took Jo. They wanted to stop the Prophesy and create their own. I told them then, I could have helped you understand, I told them they could leave it to me, but they were too scared. Now, they know, you are special. You will be the one to be appointed Alpha. When Roarke and the Master beat Quin and the rest of them, he will create his own Council, one that you will lead.” She ranted.
“You have lost your ever loving mind. Where the fuck am I?” Reggie screamed and jumped up from the couch he had been lying on.
Reggie looked around frantically. He ran for a door and opened it. Lying on a bed tied to the bedpost, with a gag in her mouth, was a small woman. Reggie sniffed and froze.
Shit, it was one of his mates, and it was a girl. He looked at her and smiled, at least she was smaller than him. Reggie stood only five feet eleven inches, a little small for a wolf.
He had a thin frame, but he was all muscle. Some of the men from his old Pack called him a pretty boy, they had been correct. Reggie was modest, but he
knew he was good-looking. He did not have the hard and rugged look like most male wolves. No, Reggie could have been a male model; his facial features were smooth and beautiful. His blonde and wavy hair just added to his looks. When he was young, he knew he was attracted to men and women alike. It took him a longtime to come to terms with the fact that he was different. He may like vibrant bright colors, use hair gel, and have just the right amount of swing in his hips, but he was all male.
When one of his girlfriends made fun of him because he let slip he found a man handsome on a date, Reggie decided to swing a little more to the male species. Looking at his little mate, he now wondered why.
Reggie growled when he saw that she was looking at him frightened. Enraged that his mate had been tied up, Reggie ran into the room and ripped the restraints off. He pulled the gag from her mouth and checked her over briefly.
“Do you know who I am?” He whispered against her ear.
“Yes, they took us together; they just brought me back in here a few days ago.” Ruby said quietly. “My name is Ruby, and I am one of your mates.” Reggie growled thinking about what his poor little mate had endured while he slept. He was going to kill everyone who touched her, including his mother and father if they were in this shit deep. He needed information, and he needed it now. Reggie shook his head a little to clear the last of the fuzziness out of it.
“Let"s go.” He whispered and pulled her behind him.
Barbara was yelling at him to stop, but Reggie was not listening to her anymore. He had no clue what was going on, but he was not going to stay here one more minute. He hoped that once they got out of there, they would be able to find their way back to the Pack. Reggie just hoped they were still in Colorado.
“Mother, shut the fuck up!” Reggie screamed and went to the other door in the main room. When he swung it open, a large man stood in the doorway. He obviously was guarding the door. “Move.” Reggie ordered.
The large man growled and shook his head. “Stay inside. They will be with you soon.”
“Who am I supposed to be waiting for?” Reggie demanded in his most manly voice. He may dress a little flamboyantly, but he was still a strong male wolf.
“The Master, of course.” The man growled, leaned in, and slammed the door in Reggie"s face.
Reggie turned to look at his mother who was standing there glaring at him and frowned.
“Now Reggie, I would have expected this type of behavior from Casey, but you? I expected so much more from you.”
“Well, mother dear. I expected more from you also. I would think that you would have been excited about having my twin returned to us. But what did you do, you just let her live with Jeremy. You did not even acknowledge her as your daughter or my sister, fuck that she was my twin, my other half. You denied her, and me, the opportunity to become what we were destined to be!” Reggie screamed.
Ruby who had been silently standing next to Reggie stepped forward, took his hand, and squeezed. He felt her approval and support through their weak bond. Reggie growled.
He needed to bond with his mate; they needed to claim each other so the bond would strengthen. He did not know what the fuck was happening, but he did know that they stood a much better chance escaping if they were bonded. Communication would be easier if they could talk to each other without everyone hearing.
When mates bond, they can hear each other"s thoughts. At least that is what Casey told him. Reggie had never actually thought he would find his mate, so he never paid attention when the girls were talking.
“Why the fuck are we here?” He growled at the woman who raised him. Crap, he didn"t really know anything about her. She had raised him, and was still a stranger; the woman who took care of him when he was little was a figment of his imagination.
“Reggie, I did this all for you. The Master says that you will be given your rightful place as Alpha in the Council. He is setting up all the plans as we speak. As soon as the others are out of the way, the rest of the Packs will have no choice but to follow us. We will have all the power.” His mother said and smiled at him with a crazy look in her eyes.
“I don"t have the desire or the need to have this conversation with you. As far as I am concerned, we are through. Now, my mate and I will be in the bedroom when whoever shows up.” Reggie stated firmly and ignored his mother"s gasp. He pulled Ruby behind him and walked into the room that he had just released her from. Closing and locking the door, Reggie turned and smiled gently at his mate.
He looked at her for the first time; she had long, blonde, curly hair, and stood only about five feet tall. She had a pixie face and reminded him of an angel. Damn, if she were not his mate he would have been jealous of her looks, since he was her mate, it turned him on. This was the first time since his high school girlfriend that he felt his cock rise just from looking at a female, thank the Gods. It would really suck if she was his mate, and he couldn"t get it up.
“So, I am sorry that I do not remember meeting you. I am Reggie Tarken, well Reggie something since obviously my whole life is a lie. I also have to apologize for the fact that I think you are here because of me. My dumb ass mother obviously has lost a screw.” Reggie smiled.
“It"s okay.” Ruby whispered shyly and looked down. “I took care of you when you were shot. I never left your bedside, well until they kidnapped us. They forced me to leave you, but I did not like it. They kept me in a different room for a longtime, drugged; I woke up a few times, so I know we have been here for a while. I just don"t know how long. The last time, I bit one of them.”
Reggie chuckled and looked at the girl a little closer. He knew she was young, but he would not have been able to scent her, unless she was matured. He remembered what Casey had told him, and knew she was only one of his mates. At least, she was a fighter.
“Do you know our other mate?” Reggie asked softly.
Ruby nodded her head, continued to look down, and whispered. “Yes, his name is Levi, and he is an Enforcer with the Denver Pack. I have known he was my mate since a month before my birthday, when I was first able to scent my mate. The sad part is that he doesn"t want me though. I gave him plenty of opportunities to claim me. He just ignored me. The last time I saw him, I told him if he did not want me, then I would leave him alone. He just stood there and nodded. So, yeah, I know our other mate, but we may be on our own. We have been gone a long time. I lost count a while ago; he probably has found someone else now that I am not there reminding him every day that I was his mate.”
Reggie frowned and looked down at his little mate. He felt sorry that their other mate had rejected her, there had to be more to that story. Oh well, they were together now, they would be able to do this without their other mate, at least he hoped. Why would anyone not want to claim this little wolf? Five minutes in her, presence and he knew she would have him wrapped around her finger soon. She was irresistible.
“Let"s not worry about that now. We will deal with him later, together. Did you say months? FUCKIN" A, Casey must be having a shit fit. For now, we need to think about how we get the hell out of here. I know this is not really romantic or anything, but I think we have a better chance getting out of here if we have claimed each other. We will be able to communicate with each other without them hearing. Also, they will not be able to split us up.” Reggie explained and would have laughed out loud if the situation would not have been so dire when Ruby looked up at him in surprise.
“What?” She squeaked. He wanted to claim her right now, but it looked like he was going to have to talk. Damn it, Reggie did not have a domineering personality. He knew when he found his mate that he would be a bottom. That was just a fact of life. Sucking in his breath, he knew for his mate, he was going to have to pull on his big girl panties, or should he say his big boy panties?
“Ruby, we need to claim each other. I know the gift we have been given. You are my mate, there is no changing that, and I would not want to even if I could. You are beautiful and sexy, and in case you have not noticed, y
ou make me horny. Now, I will tell you for full disclosure purposes, that I am bisexual. I have in the past few years, only been with men. There is a reason for this, I have not been attracted to any woman in years, and no I am not lying.” Reggie said when he saw she was going to argue. “Let me finish. If I could do this differently, I would give you all that you deserve, moonlight and roses, and all of that. Unfortunately, I do not think that they will let me out of the apartment to go to the store, so we are stuck with what we have.”
“Um, well, I guess when you put it like that.” Ruby said nervously. “So, uh, what do we do?”
Reggie almost laughed if he would not have felt so bad for his new mate. She was asking him? Did he not just say that he had been with men for the last few years? Not that he didn"t know what to do, but since he had only been with one female, he did not think he was an expert. She was looking to him for guidance though, that made him feel like more of a man than he had in years. Taking a deep breath, he smiled at his mate, took her hand, and led her to the bed he had just untied her from.
“Well, you know that claiming usually entails having sex, right?” He said gently not wanting to scare her too much. “Did they do anything to you? Touch you in anyway?”
“I don"t think so; they just kept me tied up. I still have on the same clothes, and in case you can"t tell, I smell a little funky. The drug they were giving me made me really fuzzy, but I remember them getting me up to go to the bathroom and cleaning up a little. I think I would have remembered if they touched me, I am not worried about that, duh, but your mom is in the next room, that is kinda gross.” Ruby shivered.
“I don"t care if the Queen of Sheba is in the next room. We have to do this in order to get the fuck out of here. Besides, I can tell you right now that I want you, no matter what, I just don"t want to scare you.” Reggie said and pushed the long, blonde bangs back from her face, so he could look at her. Gods, she was beautiful.
