“We were there for days and then Ulric ordered us transported somewhere else. I overheard him saying he would use us to keep the men he’d taken from our pack from deserting. But on our way to the other location, another group fought Ulric’s men and took us. That’s when we went to the safe house.”
“Were you comfortable there?”
“Yes, it was just very boring, and I missed home. They taught us how to fight, but we could never go outside for more long. And they were always telling us what to do in case someone found the safe house. Lucas played cards with me, though, and kept telling me it would be okay.”
Brooke’s eyes darted to the man Mikayla assumed was Lucas. She realized with a jolt that he wasn’t so grown up himself, despite his wide stance and his warrior’s body language. She’d bet he wasn’t a day over sixteen, which surprised her. Young men like that should be at home with their families not risking their lives. “Why did they bring you here, Brooke?”
“They said they could finally take us home. They said it was safe, but on the way here, we were attacked. There were four men leading us, and I don’t know how many, eight or nine attacked. We had to fight. Lucas had to fight, and I thought he would die.” Brooke’s eyes teared up and she wrung her hands. “I thought we would all die.”
“Were you hurt?” Mikayla didn’t see any obvious signs of damage. If she’d been hurt, she’d healed already.
She shook her head. “I got some scratches and bruises, but they took one of us, a female name Sabbie. When it was all over, two of the men leading us and four of the attackers were dead.” Brooke looked her in the eye then, her face growing flushed. “I was glad.”
The girl was silent for a moment, looking down at her hands. When she looked up again, there was a fierceness in her eyes that chased away some of the vulnerability. “I was happy Ulric’s men had died and angry I hadn’t killed any of them myself. A few of us ganged up on one of them, but I was too scared. I couldn’t kill him. I don’t like to see killing, but this time was different. I hated them, and I’m glad they’re gone.”
“That’s understandable. All of it. I’ve never killed anyone either, but there are a few wolves I wouldn’t mind sending out of this world.” Ulric was at the top of her list.
“I just want to go home and be safe. I want all of this to end. They said we had to stay here for a few days and then they’d be able to take us. Most of us are from the same area.”
“Good. I know you’ve been through a lot, but it’s something to look forward to—seeing your home and your family again.” Mikayla didn’t intend to add that getting back home didn’t necessarily mean she’d be safe. She could only hope Ulric and his men wouldn’t double-dip from the same pot.
Mikayla stood up, not even wanting to consider that possibility. “Well, Brooke, are you hungry? My friend Liz is preparing breakfast. Why don’t we go see if we can help her?” Now that she’d stopped crying, Brooke just looked embarrassed and she hoped giving her something to do would help. She already liked the girl and wanted to do what she could to make her feel better.
Brooke’s face brightened at the mention of food. “I’m so hungry. I could eat a whole deer by myself.”
Mikayla smiled and gave Brooke a hand up, hoping they weren’t actually having deer for breakfast. If that was the case, she would give the girl her portion.
* * * *
By the time Mikayla and Brooke had made it to the kitchen, Liz was finished cooking breakfast for the group, so they’d helped pass out plates and dish out food before seeing to their own breakfast. When Mikayla finally sat for her own meal, many had already devoured their food, but she joined Liz and Brooke. As it turned out, deer was on the menu for breakfast, too, as were scrambled eggs. She was hungrier than she’d thought, though, and ended up cleaning her plate. Besides, in light of the things the women around her had suffered, it didn’t seem right to worry about something so trivial as a craving for bacon and grits. It seemed that most of the women lived a rather rough life, with somewhat poor packs and sometimes harsh living conditions. Compared to them, she lived a pampered life back in River’s Bend.
Hunter was busy during breakfast and for quite a while after, but he made a point of updating her every now and then. It was always just a quick word or two and a kiss, but it never failed to get her heart going. She was proud of him. While some of the other men sat around, he was actively involved in making the new arrivals comfortable. She watched him as he worked the newly crowded main room, asking questions and trying to meet needs. He’d found cushions for the ones that claimed to be too sore from travel and fighting to sit on the floor, gathered blankets for the ones who couldn’t keep their eyes open, and located a fresh deck of cards and a couple of magazines for Brooke, who had calmed down during breakfast but seemed in need of ways to stay busy.
Eventually, Gavin straggled over, sitting with his arm around Liz. He couldn’t seem to be within a few feet of her without having to touch her. Despite Mikayla’s concerns that Liz was calling the panther her mate, she couldn’t help smiling at how in love they seemed. She also couldn’t help smiling at the way Brooke kept stealing glances at Lucas. Nor at the way her whole body seemed to relax when he came over and asked her to play cards. Pup love never lasted, not with fate involved, but she found it adorable anyway.
Mikayla watched Gavin thoughtfully. Though she didn’t find him as attractive as Hunter and Jack, he seemed smart in addition to being handsome. She could easily see what Liz saw in him. “So, Gavin, how did you come to be a part of this group?” If Liz was serious about him, Mikayla might as well get to know him. “The safe houses, I mean.”
Gavin cleared his throat. “Well, I was out hunting one night. Liz has told me your clan doesn’t really hunt any more, but my kind still does. While I was out, I heard shuffling and crying up ahead, which turned out to be a she-wolf by herself out on the woods. She was naked and crying, curled up on the ground. She’d escaped the Crimson Moon Pack and had been traveling for days to get back to her pack. But when she got there, she discovered they were all dead, those who hadn’t run or joined Ulric, that is. She’d doubled back, planning to go to a neighboring pack’s territory and ask for help. Unfortunately, she found that they’d left their lands some time before she arrived. Though she caught their scent, it was old. She was hungry and afraid, and had just collapsed, unable to go on.”
Liz, tightened her hold on him and he looked down at her and smiled before continuing. “So I took her back to my home. We don’t really live in packs, but some of us maintain close bonds, and my family took her in. She could have been accepted there, but she missed having a pack. So, we searched and finally found one to take her in. Along the way, we’d found a few more dislocated females. I couldn’t take them all back to my family, so I got the idea to start this safe house and run a sort of underground with Gabe. Shane and Dylan, the hawk shifters you met, got wind of what we were doing. They are longtime family friends, believe it or not. They got permission from their kettle leaders to join in.”
“And the wolves? Noah and the rest?”
“You already know Jack and Hunter’s story?”
“Yes.”
“Well, Noah was the alpha of his pack. When we returned a group of taken women to his pack, he stepped down as leader to join us. His mate…his mate had been killed during a battle with the Crimson Moon Pack. Apparently, she tried to protect a young male and was killed to prove a point.”
“My God,” Mikayla gasped. Losing a mate was almost as bad as dying yourself. No wonder Noah held himself apart from the rest of the group. He radiated strength and silence, but she had yet to see him even come close to a smile. Now she knew why.
“He doesn’t like to talk of it, but he has become a powerful ally in what we are trying to do here.”
Mikayla nodded. “I have to tell you, I’m amazed at all of this.” She waved a hand to indicate the shelter. “You’re doing a wonderful thing. And working together…it’s unusual.”
“Are their other types of shifters? At the other safe houses?”
“There are some,” Hunter said. “We’ve had to be careful about who knows of the safe houses, though. Many wolf packs know. It’s impossible to hide it when we’re returning their women, but we keep the locations a secret from the packs. Only those that join us know.”
“And the women.”
“Yes, the women,” Gavin said. “They could lead an enemy here, but it’s a risk we have to take, and prepare for. So far, we haven’t had any leaks. As for the other shifters, we do have a few other panthers and even a couple of bears.”
Liz met Mikayla’s eyes. “The biggest worry is that Ulric will circle back to one of the packs he’s previously terrorized and torture one of the women into telling him who helped her.”
“We advise the alphas to set up better defenses or take their packs to a more hidden location,” Hunter said. “As far as we know, though, he doesn’t typically strike in the same place twice. We keep the women with us for a couple of weeks to give his pack time to move on, but then we have to take them home. We don’t have enough room to keep them in our shelters for the long term, not if we want to continue rescuing more women.”
The conversation trailed off then, moving on to talk of a hunt for more food. Mikayla listened with amusement as Gavin explained his distrust of grocery stores. They didn’t have much money, but even if they’d had dollars in abundance, it seemed Gavin would argue for fresh food for the group and the shelter’s residents.
Hunter stroked Mikayla’s hair, and soon she only half heard the conversation. The man had the magic touch, and she had almost drifted to sleep when she realized he was no longer talking to Liz or Gavin. He’d asked her a question, which she hadn’t heard at all.
“Sorry? What?”
“I said, why don’t we go out for a run?”
“Can we? I mean, Jack’s not back yet, is he?”
“Not yet, but I can get one of the other men to stand lookout.”
Mikayla was already getting to her feet. She hated being cooped up. “What are we waiting for?”
* * * *
Hunter got Gabe and Dylan to stand lookout while they had their run. This basically meant patrolling the outskirts of the land and sending up an alert in the event that any strange scents were detected. Dylan took the sky while Gabe covered the ground. Usually, it was two men on lookout while one or more females got some exercise, but there was no way he would leave his mate’s side. He wanted to run with her too badly.
They walked through the stinking house, which smelled even worse than usual since Noah had brought home a few more dead animals to help hide the scents of the newcomers. Mikayla let out an explosive breath when they finally stepped outside, and he took her hand to lead her toward the tree line, nodding back to Gabe, who was already on the job.
“Ready?” he asked.
She shed her clothes almost as eagerly as he did, shifting into a beautiful gray-and-white wolf. His heart felt like it would burst with her beauty. She was as perfect in this form as she was in her human body. And her scent. It was headier when his wolf had free reign. He bumped heads with her, filled his lungs with her scent, then took off, barking at her to follow.
Hunter knew she had to feel confined in the shelter. It had been hard on him when he’d first started working with the underground. He put on a burst of speed, so she could really stretch her legs. She caught up with him sooner than he would have imagined possible for a female, her teeth snapping at his tail.
He caught one word from her thoughts. Almost. She was playing with him? Another snap at his tail, accompanied by a laughter-filled almost mine surged into his mind.
He jumped back at her, then changed direction, circling around behind her to chase her instead. She ran like the wind, clearly enjoying herself, managing to just barely keep her tail out of his grip. They ran to the edge of a pond and Hunter knew the game was over. He had her now. She couldn’t outpace him if she changed directions to go around the pond, and he’d bet every single one of his claws she wasn’t going through that deep water. It had been freezing cold when he’d washed up in it last night.
Mine. He lunged forward, planning to tackle her and take her by the scruff of her neck, but he missed, stumbling to a four-footed halt in utter surprise. His eyes widened at the sight of his mate splashing in the frigid water and the sound of her voice in his head.
Can’t. Can’t catch me, she thought.
She’d surprised him. And fuck, did he like it. He jumped in after her, making a huge splash. Hunter chased her in circles in the water, growling and barking, loving the sound of her growling and barking back at him. He loved it even more when the chase ended and she shifted back, right there in the water, coming over with dripping hair, laughter in her voice, and a pair of the hardest nipples he’d ever seen.
“Shit! It’s way too cold.” Her smile was huge. “But I needed to get out of there for a while.”
Hunter couldn’t speak. She was breathtaking as it was, but when she smiled at him like that, when she looked so carefree and happy, he felt something swell in his chest. He quickly shifted back and closed the distance between them, pressing his lips against that gorgeous smile.
She giggled but wound her arms around his neck, parting his lips for the kiss he’d intended to be slow, gentle. Except it wasn’t. The moment his tongue met hers, his wolf growled with excitement. He reached up and took her head in his hands, holding her steady for the kiss that plundered her mouth. It was when he heard her moan into his kiss that he realized what trouble he was in. They weren’t human, at least not completely, but the cold did affect them. This was no place for what she made him want.
Groaning, he released her hair, bringing his other hand down to grip her ass. He loved its fullness and wanted to bury his head there. Well, both of his heads. He lifted her against him, gratified as he felt her smooth, wet legs wrap around his back. She was holding onto him, trusting him to hold her, and he suddenly felt like the largest man who’d ever lived. He could do anything, would do anything for this woman in his arms. “I want you, Mikayla.”
She squirmed against him, her pussy pushing against his abdomen. “I want you, too, Hunter.” She leaned back to look in his eyes and he adjusted his hold to keep a firm grip on her slippery body. “But…it’s just too damn cold.” A shiver punctuated her words.
It was just as well. His cock would perform much more reliably in a less frigid setting. He pressed his forehead against hers. “You had to get in the water,” he teased.
She laughed. “I was having fun, but I can only take the cold for so long.”
He kissed her neck, wanting to trace the goose bumps there with his tongue. He’d fuck her on top of an iceberg, but he couldn’t lie and say he’d be comfortable doing it. “Shift back. We’ll hurry home.”
* * * *
Mikayla didn’t know what had gotten into her, jumping into that cold water like that. She hadn’t done such a thing since she was a pup, and her mother had half laughed, half scolded her for it. She hadn’t been a fan of the cold then either, but sometimes the desire for fun overruled her common sense. It had been fun chasing through the woods with Hunter and things had heated up in the pond. Her body had surprised her by responding despite the cold.
They’d sprinted back through the woods, and that helped warm her up some. By the time she was pulling her clothes back on and wrapping her jacket around her, she was only mildly shivering, though still damp. Hunter clasped her hand in his, and led her back toward the house. It was only then that she remembered Gabe and Dylan. They’d kept their distance. Even then, she didn’t see them. “What about the others?”
“They’ll come in when they’
re ready. Now that they don’t need to be lookouts for us, they can go get their own exercise. Maybe even hunt.”
Of course. They would need more food, what with all the new arrivals. “I wonder if Jack is back yet.” No sooner were the words out of her mouth than she caught his scent.
Hunter cocked his head to the left. “There he is now.”
Sure enough, she looked up to see the huge wolf crossing the frigid grass to the house. She once again admired how powerful he looked in his wolf form but had to laugh when she saw a vivid purple backpack hanging from his jaws. The contrast between the lethal-looking wolf and the very girly backpack was nothing short of comical.
He dropped the backpack at her feet, effectively putting a halt to her laughter when he shifted in front of her, revealing the defined muscles she remembered all too well. Her body was in a constant state of low-level arousal, just waiting to be ignited whenever she was near them. When he pulled her against his naked body, it didn’t matter that she was fully clothed. Her breathing quickened. But when he lowered his mouth to hers and took her lips in a possessive kiss, she grew wet for him. Lost in her own senses, she could easily understand why the mated often acted so crazy. Her fingers found his hair, and she buried them in the thick layers, using them as an anchor as he took her breath away.
Mikayla was gratified to feel Hunter’s heat as he pressed tightly against her from behind, his erection making itself known. He kissed her neck and she moaned deep in her throat. This was what she needed, both of them, again. Suddenly she didn’t care about her damp, frigid body. They would keep her warm. At the moment, she couldn’t even bring herself to care that someone might come along and see them. All she cared about was the feel of Jack’s lips and the way Hunter moved her hair aside to nibble at the side of her neck.
But then Hunter had to ruin it. “We should probably take this inside.”
No one moved to comply at first, not even Hunter. Jack sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, running his tongue along it and making her shiver for an entirely different reason. He provoked another moan from her, this time by pulling back and saying the words she didn’t want to hear. “Hunter’s right.”
Fated for Mikayla [Wolves of River's Bend 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 9
