Evan’s Rescued Mate
Packwood Sanctuary Series
Claire Ashlynn
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
About the Author
Also by Claire Ashlynn
Prologue
Evan Draken
“What?! No, I don’t give a damn that he is the new Alpha! What he’s proposing, no demanding, goes against everything the mating bond stands for and it can cause a lot of pain and hardship for the clan!” Lucas paces back and forth in the living room of his cabin. I can feel the raw energy coming off of him. It’s putting my bear on edge.
“Man, don’t kill the messenger. It's what I heard from Danni. She was told starting immediately all females are to take no less than three mates to increase the clan’s numbers.” Jasper takes a step backward with his hands up. Drake just stands there shaking his head like he can’t get his head around what the new Alpha is wanting from us. I can tell that they are barely under control with the anger radiating through the room.
“Isn’t Danni already mated to John? He can’t break mating bonds, it doesn’t work that way.” I step into the conversation. I try to control my anger. My bear growls in my chest and I can feel him close to the skin.
“Well, apparently he’s going to try,” Jasper rolls his eyes.
There is a banging at the door, I turn to see who it is as Lucas stomps over and opens it. Bobby Rae, the new Alpha, is standing outside the door fuming. “What the hell is this?! A meeting I wasn’t invited to?” He walks in and turns on all four of us. He is pissed and is barely in control. He rolls his shoulders.
“When is a group of friends getting together an issue? We were just...” I start.
“You mean a group of my strongest clan enforcers getting together to plan an overthrow? Do you think I don't know what you are doing?” Bobby Rae stalks toward me. He looks crazed, rolling his shoulders again. I realize that he is struggling to control his bear.
Lucas cuts him off, holding his hands up with palms out, “Sir, we aren't discussing a takeover, we’re just figuring out the new laws you’ve set in place. Please tell me you are not serious about breaking mating bonds to make our women take more than one mate to increase the clan’s population?”
“What the fuck I do with the clan is my business and you have no right to question my authority! Our clan is too small, I want an increase by the next generation or we will go extinct. The women of my clan will do as they’re told or they’ll have to deal with the consequences!” His face is red and spittle is flying from his mouth by the time he is done with his speech.
“Fuck that!” Drake and I say at the same time. Lucas gives us a look that says chill out.
“That would destroy their spirit and make reproducing harder.” Lucas tries to reason with the Alpha.
Bobby Rae clenches and unclenches his fists, I can see that he’s battle for control over his animal. “You can either get on board with my decisions or you can leave.”
Jasper sputters, “You will banish us?”
Looking at the Alpha in disbelief, I involuntarily take a step forward. “What the hell? Did you even talk to the elders about this? This will tear our clan apart.”
“The elders will do as I say or I’ll disband them,” He growls and paces in front of us.
“Why are you projecting your insecurities on the clan? You know we can mate with humans and we will be fine.” Lucas implores one more time.
“Fuck, we won’t taint our pure blood by mudding it with humans!” Bobby Rae storms. Lucas looks at him with disgust.
“You speciest mother fucker! We’re part human as well as having an animal in our soul. You've gotta be kidding me! You’re right, I can't sit here and watch you destroy this clan. I’ve made my choice, I’m out.”
Lucas stalks toward his room to pack his things as the Alpha’s bear bursts from his body knocking the furniture against the wall. I jump back shocked that our Alpha would attack us. Lucas turns around and his bear bursts from his body, his clothes shredding with the shift. Lucas’s bear is bigger than the Alpha’s. He is snow white with no discoloration. The Alpha has more of an off white coloring with some undertones of light brown. Maybe that’s the Alpha’s real problem. Looks to me like he may have a brown bear or two in his lineage.
Bobby Rae takes a swipe at Lucas as he turns toward him. Lucas side steps and returns a swipe hitting his target right in the side making a long gash up the length of his ribs.
“Stop! What the hell!? We’ll leave. Just stop!” I yell at the top of my lungs in hopes that they’ll hear me over the roaring.
They both come out of their shift at almost the same time. Lucas is a little faster with Bobby Rae being hurt. I’m not worried. He will heal in a few hours. Bobby Rae stumbles but catches himself. Pointing at Lucas, “You’re banished!”
“I was on the way out. I can’t condone the breaking of bonds.” Lucas stalks naked to his room to pack not giving the Alpha a backward glance.
The Alpha turns on me and the other two in the room. “Well, are you going to be an issue?”
“Dude, don’t worry about me, I’m getting the fuck out of here. I’m with Lucas. You’re crazy if you think this will work.” I look him straight in the eyes with no sense of submission. Jasper and Drake nod their heads in agreement and head for the door. I storm out of the house and head to my place next door to pack not looking back to see what the others will do.
* * *
Drake and I pull up to the front of a dilapidated building that looks like it could be a large three story cabin. There are missing shingles from the roof and the porch looks like it has seen better days. Lucas and Jasper pull up beside us in Lucas’ Bronco. In the distance I can see several smaller cabins on each side of the main house. This will take us a while but it could definitely be home with a little spit and shine. A place that can be a sanctuary.
Chapter One
Evan
“Wake up, Asshole!” Drake shouts, pounding on the door of my cabin. “We’re going to be late!”
I roll over and stare out the window, looking out at the morning sky, that’s just starting to brighten to pink and orange. “All right, keep your shirt on, I’m coming,” I mumble when Drake starts pounding on my door again. Yelling seems redundant since we can hear each other perfectly through the walls of my cabin. That’s just one of the perks of being a shifter.
Sitting up, I stretch and stand to go to the bathroom to get ready. My body feels off. The hair on the back of my neck is standing up on end. What the hell? Must be a storm coming in later or something. As I walk into the large master bathroom that I customized to fit my needs, I strip out of my sleep pants. I spared no expense when designing my bathroom, with a double-headed walk-in shower and jacuzzi tub, it’s one of the only sinful pleasures I’ve allowed myself since leaving my old clan. When I’m done using the toilet, I go to the sink and splash cold water on my face and run some through my hair to tame the bed head I have going on. I had the bathroom mirror moved up during the remodel due to my size. At six foot four, I’m tall and well built, I’d have to be to fit a large polar bear in my soul.
I grab a pair of uniform khakis and slip them on as I head through the bedroom.
“Let's go, already!” comes another shout from my friend. He has to be yelling, of course, to be
a dick. There is no need for all that yelling.
With a silent curse and growl, I stalk to the door and swing it open wide. “What’s the fucking hurry?”
“Boss says we need to head up to the towers early. Something about small groups of backpackers from the college, going climbing all through the state park this weekend. Maybe you should have checked your phone,” Drake says.
“Oh fuck, let me grab my gear,” I mutter and turn to head to the spare room of my two bedroom cabin, where I store my search and rescue uniform and extra gear. Getting dressed and outfitted in my uniform quickly, I grab my backpack and my phone on the way out. I tuck my charger into my pack and turn my phone on. I turned it off last night before going to bed not wanting to be bothered by the rest of my clan. Drake and I climb into the big jeep parked out front with the Mt. Rainier National Park Search and Rescue logo on the side and head up to the clan house. Drake parked it next to my 1977 Ford F-250 Highboy pickup truck. It’s my pride and joy and it took me a year to restore it. I add a few new touches, like a new AC and sound system.
It’s unusually chilly for August in the small town of Packwood, which is nestled at the base of Mount Rainier in Washington state. At night, the temperatures can get in the low fifties, but during the day it is usually in the balmy seventies. As a polar bear shifter, the cold weather doesn’t affect me as it would humans and my bear loves it. Our body runs at a higher temperature than normal humans, but today feels cooler than normal.
“What’s up with the weather? Do we have a storm coming in later?” I ask looking at Drake.
“Actually, it does have a nip to the air. Not sure about the weather, I just rolled out of bed like you,” he shrugs.
Turning right onto the main road, we take the small dirt road leading up to the main lodge that we’ve turned into a main clan house. It’s where our small clan of misfits meet and gather to do monthly runs. I stare out at the passing trees and cabins as Drake drives. There are three more cabins on this side of the main lodge. It’s where Lucas, Drake, and Jasper live. Structurally they look the same but have distinctive differences that we’ve all added to make them our own. Some have wrap around porches like mine and others with just a front and back porch. Most are two bedrooms and two bathrooms with open floor concepts for the kitchen, living room, and dining room.
My mind starts to wander off. Thinking about the past can be a bad thing, a very bad thing. My clan mates and I came down from Alaska a few years back after a falling out with our new Alpha. Bobby Rae wanted our small clan to breed with each other and forgo our destined mates for the sake of ensuring our people lived on. Being polar bear shifters, there are very few in population, but there are even fewer female polar bear shifters. Bobby Rae was forcing the females to breed with several males, even if they were already mated, turning them into baby factories.
With Lucas in the lead, Drake, Jasper, and I found an old run down winter lodge with eight cabins near it and four in the backcountry a few miles up the road that sits on three thousand acres of land. The property nestles up next to Mt. Rainer and is surrounded by government-protected land. The winter lodge has become a sort of sanctuary for misplaced souls since we’ve moved in. There are four of us, polar bear shifters and four wolf shifters. I’m not too sure of their story, but Lucas knows more than he lets on. They live in the cabins on the other side of the lodge.
The great citizens of Packwood, Washington were very welcoming. It helped that seventy-five percent of the population is one type of shifter or another. The world knowing about shifters help as well. It meant less hiding. There, of course, are things that the world doesn't know about, but that depends on the type of shifter and how willing they are to share.
A large bump from a pothole jars me from my thoughts. “How many people are they thinking have booked permits to camp this weekend?”
“Lucas says that at the last count yesterday, there were twelve reservations from a college class down in Longview, five individuals and then three pairs. So about twenty-three total.” Drake answers.
“Shit! That is all we need, a bunch of wannabe hikers from a college up on the mountain farting around. Did the beta team stock the SAR tower?” I groan already pissed about my upcoming shift. The last thing I want to do is run around the mountain trying to find lost hikers that aren’t prepared to begin with. “I don’t want to get up there and have to turn around and go back down the mountain to get essentials to restock the rescue tower…” I know I sound pissy but I’m not feeling it today.
“Dude, just chill! They’re not rookies fresh from the academy.” Drake says shaking his head. “They know what they are doing, just like our team. What’s with you today? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the damn bed?”
“Don’t know, I’m feeling off today. It’s weird.” I shrug. “Maybe it's the weather, or I’m coming down with something.”
He gives me a concerned look but doesn't say anything. We both know shifters don’t get sick like humans do.
Drake pulls up next to an identical jeep parked in front of the main lodge. It is a three-story log cabin, with five bedroom suites on the upper two floors. The bottom floor consists of an industrial kitchen, a large dining area with a massive oak table and chairs that sit close to twenty. There is an office, a large library and a living room with a stone fireplace. The four of us did all the renovations together when we came down from Alaska and bought the place. As our clan grew with other shifters, they jumped in on the project to make the run-down resort into a home. We stayed in the main house until we could get our individual cabins ready, helping each other as we finished.
Drake rolls down the window as two very large men come out of the front door of the lodge. “Whassup, bossman?” He asks.
“You're late,” states Lucas, the slightly taller of the two.
“Sleeping beauty here didn’t want to wake up,” Drake grumbles.
“Sorry, Lucas, won’t happen again. Morning, Jasper,” I say to the man standing next to our Alpha. Jasper nods his head in acknowledgment, then he and Lucas get in the jeep next to ours and we all make our way up the mountain road for our thirty-six-hour shift.
Chapter Two
Layla Olive
“Wakey, wakey, eggs and bakey…” Allie coos in her very annoying voice like only my bestie slash roommate can. Something tickles my nose. I swat it away then turn over to go back to sleep.
“I said time to get up!” Crack! The little bitch smacks my ass. Did I say best friend, more like a literal pain in the ass, “Come on Layla, we are going to be late. You know Professor Casen doesn't like it when we show up after she starts her lecture,” my tiny best friend whines while smacking me on my ass again.
Rearing up real fast with a scowl on my face, I groan “Okay, Allie, I’m up. Give me like ten minutes and we can go. I packed last night, so I’m good on that. Geez, did you have to smack my ass?” I stand up and rub my sore bottom while giving her a sour look.
“Yup!” She giggles. Jumping up and down clapping her hands with way too much enthusiasm for this early in the morning, Allie heads to her room to grab her camping pack.
I go to our shared bathroom to brush my teeth and take care of other needs. When I’m done, I braid my long sandy blonde hair into two plaits. Looking in the mirror with a sigh, I give my chunky body a once over. I get it. I have curves but in the right places. I’ll never be a size two but at a nice size twelve, I can carry it well. Rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, I realize it's way too early for this crap.
Eight minutes later, I’m ready to go and walking out the door with Allie on my tail. The ride over to campus is short, about five minutes from the two bedroom apartment that we are renting.
“So, why did we sign up for this class again?” Allie asks, struggling with her overpacked pack. Man, can she change her tune when the going gets rough. I shake my head with an endearing smile.
“Because I want to become a field medic with the forestry department and it was the only extracur
ricular that was related to my field of study,” I tell Allie for the hundredth time. “Why did you sign up with me, if you don't like the outdoors?”
Allie has been bugging me about this ever since the Professor made the class build a structure out of the surrounding woods on a day trip to the forest. During the scavenge for raw materials she ran into a nest of seed ticks. She and bugs apparently don’t mix well.
“Cause I thought it would be an easy A for my extracurricular and there are some hot guys that signed up for the class,” Allie replies sheepishly.
I roll my eyes and park my small Nissan Frontier in student parking. As we walk up to the group of people hanging around a nice small car, we notice that it's the professor and the rest of the students.
“Ok, I see that we are all here. You will be breaking up into small groups of four and you will be given a map of the park. On the map, I have set up a route for you to take. At the end of each day, you will have a goal point to reach. At each point will be a box with something in it. You are to collect each item and camp at that spot. On the third day, you will return to the ranger station where I will be waiting. Your goal is to survive three days and two nights out in the state park together. You pass this course if you return with the two items. I don't want to hear any whining or complaining. You knew what you were signing up for, so get to it.” Professor says.
Allie mumbles something about not really knowing what she signed up for under her breath.
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