“I’m in the ambulance with her now. She’s unconscious. She has a head injury that’s the worst of her trauma. She was attacked by a wolf shifter.”
A low snarl bubbled from Caine’s throat, possessiveness swelling in him already. She may be Gabe’s mate alone, but regardless, a shifter had hurt someone he was destined to love in some capacity, and his cat was furious.
“I can’t leave her at the hospital, and they’re not going to let me stay.”
“I’ll call Doc; he’ll clear it somehow for you to stay with her. Where are you? I need to see her.” Caine’s voice came out low and husky with his cat riding him hard to go to its mate. It didn’t need scent confirmation. It needed her.
“I’m in Sheridan, Wyoming. I’m working as a paramedic there. I just met her on a call. We’re heading to Sheridan Memorial Hospital.”
“We’ll be with you in an hour or so.” Caine ended the call abruptly. He had too much to do to explain everything to Gabriel over the phone. If his cat was right, he was about to meet his mate.
He’d seen the way his friends lives had changed when they’d finally found their mates. He was elated that he would now be experiencing that sort of bond with his own mate.
He also had to find and kill a wolf shifter.
What was it about the mates in Eminence? All of them seem to have trouble stalking them.
It didn’t matter. Caine knew that he’d never let anything hurt her again. Dressing swiftly he went to wake his brother and Rowan. Fuck. I didn’t even ask Gabe her name.
* * * *
Gabriel marveled at the miracle Doc Reed had performed. He’d somehow obtained permission for Gabriel to remain with Jordanna until he arrived to take over her care.
He was immensely thankful to be sitting beside his mate’s bed in the emergency room and holding her small, delicate hand. As the only shifter doctor around, Gabriel needed her to be transferred to Eminence under Doc’s care. Nowhere else would they understand about the mating bond.
He knew the mating musk was pouring from him. She’d feel its effects as soon as she woke. It would draw her to him, even though he was a total stranger. He hoped it would be enough to prevent her from sending him away. He didn’t think he was capable of leaving her.
He couldn’t begin to imagine how he’d explain the attraction she was going to feel. As a human she would undoubtedly be confused. He began to hope that Doc would know what to tell her, because he had no fucking idea how to approach a human mate.
The floor began to vibrate, accompanied by sound of boots hitting linoleum. His brother was here, and it sounded as though he’d brought half the pride with him. Gabriel still didn’t understand why Caine was coming—he could have just sent Doc.
Gabriel stood, but kept hold of Jordanna’s hand, as his brothers, Rowan, Doc, and Axel Wilder all stormed into the bay.
“Thank, God, Doc. I’m going crazy here. No one will tell me anything. Oh, and thank you for getting me permission to stay.”
Jason Reed, the town doctor who they all called Doc, was a massive man, standing over six and a half feet tall. “It’s good to see you again, Gabriel. I’ll go and find out what’s happening and arrange for your mate’s transfer to Eminence.”
He left the room as Caine, Drake, and Rowan all approached Jordanna. None of them spoke, but all of their eyes were showing their cats. They glowed with a bright amber light.
“Fuck, Gabe. She smells fantastic,” Drake said. He went to the opposite side of the bed and gently picked up Jordanna’s other hand. He held it to his mouth and kissed it reverently.
Caine stood beside him, and embraced him in a one-armed hug. He enclosed his and Jordanna’s joined hands with his. “You found her, Gabe. Our mate.”
His cousin Rowan came to stand next to Drake, his hand running over Jordanna’s blanketed leg. He took a deep breath in, and a low growl erupted from his lips. His canines descended to protrude from his upper lip. “No one will ever get close enough to harm her again. We’ll protect our mate.”
Gabriel looked at his family. He had no idea what was happening, but he knew his cat was not even slightly troubled by them all touching Jordanna. It should have been. He’d nearly torn the hand off the doctor who’d sutured her back.
“What’s happening?” he said. This was not making sense to him. Our mate.
Axel Wilder, the pride tracker, stepped farther into the room, and Gabriel hissed at him.
“You’ve been gone quite a while, Gabe. A lot has happened,” Axel said soothingly, holding his palms out to him. “I’m mated now, as is Doc. We have a lot to tell you, buddy.”
Chapter 3
Drake gazed at the unconscious woman he’d now spend the rest of his life loving. She was stunning. Long, honey-blond hair, peaches-and-cream complexion, and the face of an angel. Her hand was small and fine-boned, but the contact was enough to inflame his entire body.
He brought her hand to his lips again and kissed it, inhaling the delicate honeysuckle and lavender scent that was his mate’s. It lit up his entire nervous system like he’d inhaled electricity. He was bound to this woman now. Forever.
Drake tore his eyes away from his beautiful mate to look at his brother. “You look good, Gabe. I’m glad you reached out to us.” He kissed his mate’s hand again. “Not just because you’ve found our mate.” He licked his lips and groaned at the taste of her, his cock hardening instantly.
“How is this possible?” Gabriel asked. “I can scent the mating musk coming from each of you. You’ve all started the bond.”
“My brothers and I all share a mate,” said Axel. “As do the Alpha and his brothers.”
Drake took in his confused expression and smiled warmly at his big brother. “It appears it’s not an uncommon event among shifters. A lot has happened in the last twelve months.”
“The Alpha has a cub, Gabe. He’s six weeks old now,” Rowan said, moving to Drake’s other side and stroking his hand down their mate’s face. “Axel’s going to be a dad in a few weeks, too.”
“I’ve been gone too long,” Gabriel said, looking down at where Caine’s hand still held both his and Jordanna’s. “Congratulations, Axel. I’m really happy for you and your brothers.”
“Thanks, Gabe. It’s really good to see you again.”
Drake had had enough of this mushy catch-up shit. “We can all have a group hug later, Gabe. What the hell happened here tonight?”
Gabriel told them what he knew of the attack on their mate, and the death of the other shifter. Luckily her cries for help had saved her life. His brothers looked as ready as he was to hunt down the wolf responsible.
“Axel’s here to try to pick up the wolf’s scent. He needs to have something of…” Drake looked down at his mate. “Fuck, we haven’t even asked you if you know her name.”
“Her name is Jordanna Morland, and she’s twenty-six years old. That’s all I know.”
“Jordanna. It’s beautiful, like her,” Caine said.
“I need to see if I can detect the wolf’s scent on Jordanna’s clothes,” Axel said.
Gabriel reached under the bed and handed Axel the sealed evidence bag containing Jordanna’s clothes. “The police haven’t been by to collect this yet.”
Axel opened the bag carefully and inhaled deeply for a few minutes before closing the bag and returning it to Gabriel.
“With all of the rain tonight, there’s little hope of finding his scent at the scene. I’ve got it though, definitely wolf shifter. I’ll recognize him if he comes near Eminence.”
“Thank you for everything Axel, safe trip home. We’ll see you soon,” Drake said.
“That you will. I imagine all of the mates are going to want to meet Jordanna as soon as she’s feeling up to visitors. Remember Finn’s edict.”
“We’ll be glad of the help,” Caine said with a grimace. “I have no fucking idea how to explain our world to her.”
Gabriel looked thoroughly confused by that statement, and Drake couldn’t blame
him. So much had changed in Eminence in the last twelve months alone, let alone the eight years he’d been gone.
“The Alpha and his brothers are all mated to a human and they didn’t explain the mating well,” Drake said. “She ended up running from them. Finn has since made it law that Shana, at least, be present to help explain shifters to any future human mates.”
“We made a bit of a mess of explaining it to our mate as well,” Doc said, coming to stand next to Jordanna’s bed. He chuckled, and Drake saw the look of shock on Gabriel’s face. Until recently, no one had heard Doc laugh since he was a boy. “Believe me, you’ll want all the help you can get.”
“You and your brothers are mated, too?” Gabriel asked. Doc nodded, a wide smile on his usually gruff face.
“Being mated suits you, Doc,” Rowan said, walking up to give Doc a one-armed embrace. “I hope fatherhood suits you just as well.”
“You as well?” Gabriel said. “Congratulations, Jason.”
Doc took Gabriel’s outstretched hand and shook it. “Thank you. Bethany will be happier when her morning sickness eases.”
Doc sobered and looked at Jordanna. “Her head injury has caused some swelling in her brain. The effects of which are going to remain unclear until she wakes. We need to get her to Eminence.”
Gabriel and Doc left to organize for an ambulance to transfer Jordanna as soon as possible. Drake felt reassured that with four trained paramedics on hand, as well as Doc Reed, Jordanna would be safe throughout the journey.
He and Caine, along with their cousin Rowan, had joined the paramedics after returning from the service. They’d wanted to help save lives for a while after seeing so much death.
“I can’t believe we’re getting Gabriel back as well as a mate,” Caine said. “It seems she was meant to bring us all together.”
“You’ve changed already, Caine. You’re much more feminine in your thinking,” Rowan said with a laugh.
“Fuck off.”
Drake watched as they each kissed one of Jordanna’s cheeks. She moaned softly, and gripped his hand tightly. He could see her eyes moving beneath her closed lids. Her breathing became rapid and her heart rate spiked, making the alarms on the monitor sound.
“We’ve got you, my darling mate.” Drake bent and kissed her softly on the lips. “You’re safe now. You’ll always be safe now.”
“Nothing can hurt you, Jordanna,” Rowan said, stroking his hand down her arm.
Her breathing slowed and her grip on his hand relaxed. “Whatever she saw clearly terrified her.” He took a deep breath and his cat bristled at the taste of her fear in the air.
Gabriel ran back into the room and looked at the monitors.
“Is she all right?”
“She’s starting to wake up and she’s scared,” Rowan said, continuing to caress Jordanna’s arm.
“That fucking wolf nearly tore the other victim’s head clean off. I’m not surprised she’s scared,” Gabriel said, running his hand through his long hair in obvious frustration. “After witnessing that, it’s not going to make our job of explaining shifters very easy.”
Drake shuddered at the thought of poor Jordanna witnessing such a horrific attack. He hadn’t considered how much more difficult that was going to make their task of explaining the existence of shifters.
“We’ll just have to trust in the pull of the mating bond,” he said.
“I don’t need it. I’m so adorable she’ll be helpless to resist me,” Rowan said, kissing Jordanna on the lips.
“I’ve really missed you, Rowan,” Gabriel said, his lip twitching into a half smile. “I was away so long I forgot how adorable you were.”
* * * *
Rowan picked Jordanna up gently from the hospital bed in preparation for her transfer to the gurney. Gabriel transferred the intravenous infusion and disconnected the leads to the monitors. Holding Jordanna in his arms had his cat purring. She felt wonderful. His heart swelled and his cock followed suit.
When Caine had woken him to tell him Gabriel had found his mate, his cat had come alive in an instant. It had wanted to get to its mate, but Rowan had tried to remain calm and not lay too much hope that she would also be his. He hadn’t wanted to consider what he’d do if she was not his mate. The thought that he’d have to leave his adoptive brothers had simply been too painful.
He’d been raised by James and Anne Prentiss since his parents had died tragically in a rockslide when he was four years old. James was his uncle, and he and his wife had raised Rowan as their own. He’d always felt loved and cherished as a part of their family.
Even though he was a brother to them in every way except genetics, he’d been less than optimistic that he would share their mate. She had now bound him irrevocably to his brothers, and he loved her already for such a gift.
When he’d first walked into the hospital he’d scented her sweet aroma and knew she was his. The scent had rocked him to his core. It had called to both his cat and man, binding them and making him feel centered and whole. She’d made him a mate and a brother just by her existence. She was a miracle and he thanked God that fate had made her for him and his brothers.
She was tall for a human female, but weighed hardly anything. He could easily feel her ribs and spine against his arms. Her skin was creamy white, her hair long and silky as it flowed over his arm. He didn’t want to ever let her go. He stood in place, happily drowning in her scent.
“She’s too fucking thin. Has she been sick?”
“She doesn’t scent as being unwell,” Gabriel said. “But she doesn’t look as though she’s been looking after herself. Are you going to hold her all night or put her on the gurney, brother?”
Rowan smiled widely at Gabriel. “I like holding her. She feels amazing.”
“I can imagine. But we have to get her home before people start to wonder what we’re all doing here with her.”
“True enough.” Rowan reluctantly laid her on the gurney but kept a hold on one of her hands. They had her in the ambulance and were on the road within a few minutes.
The back of the ambulance was cramped with three giant shifters and the gurney. Rowan and Gabriel accompanied a scowling Doc, but they were not put off by his bad mood. They were just happy to be with Jordanna.
“I could have managed by myself,” Doc said for the tenth time, as he shifted a little to try to get more comfortable.
“Would you have left Bethany alone with someone?” The only response Rowan got from Doc was a low snarl. “My point exactly.”
“So you’re mated too, Jason?” Gabriel said. Jason relaxed as he talked to Gabriel about his Bethany. Gabriel had always been a peacemaker.
Rowan tuned them out and focused on the miracle of finding his own mate. The journey to Eminence would soon be over and they would be putting her in their bed.
They’d renovated a huge old house on their parent’s property and had lived there together for the past eight years since leaving the army. Six months ago, after three of the pride’s families had discovered they shared a mate, they had redesigned the upstairs to incorporate a huge master suite.
They’d enjoyed sharing sexual partners in the past and had hoped to be lucky enough to share a mate. The room had yet to be used. They’d saved it for her.
Gabriel being home to share in their mating was a joyful bonus. They’d all missed him terribly and had looked forward to the day he’d feel he could come home again. They understood his feelings of guilt, but knew them to be unwarranted. Unfortunately, he’d had to come to that realization himself before he could hope to move on from the trauma they’d all suffered in that fateful battle.
Chapter 4
Jordanna screamed and tried to get up. She had to get away from the wolf. Away from the man who had become a wolf.
“It’s all right, Jordanna. There’s no danger now. You’re safe.”
The voice was calm and soothing. She jumped when a warm hand gently stroked her cheek. Turning her head toward the voice and blinki
ng wildly she tried to see where she was, but it was just too dark.
“Where am I?’ Her voice came out croaky and hoarse. Her head pounded painfully. She brought her hands up to either side of her skull and rubbed at her head in an attempt to ease the pain.
“My name is Doctor Jason Reed,” said another voice. “You are safe, Jordanna. You’re in Eminence, Colorado. How are you feeling?”
“Colorado?” That made no sense, and why were they keeping her in the dark like this?
“My name is Gabriel Prentiss. I’m a paramedic from Sheridan. I took you to hospital when you were injured. We’ve brought you here for your own safety while you recover. Please, can you tell us how you’re feeling? Are you in pain?”
That was a third person speaking. Despite the pain, she moved her head in the direction he had spoken. She could still see nothing in the dark room.
“You have the most beautiful eyes, darling. They’re the color of honey.”
This was a different person, speaking. She struggled to sit up and cried out as her back burned.
“Let us help, Jordanna, you have a lot of stitches in your back.” Hands gripped her gently behind her upper arms and pulled her upright. She heard the rustling of linen and then she was released. She found herself reclining against soft pillows, the burning in her back eased a little.
That had also been someone new. How many people are here with me? “Has there been some sort of power cut at this hospital? It’s so dark.”
“Excuse me, Drake. I need to examine Jordanna.”
“What’s happening, Doc?” Whoever that was, they sounded like they were in a great deal of pain.
“Jordanna, I’m Doctor Reed. Please call me Jason. I need to shine this light in your eyes. Is that okay?”
“That’s fine, Jason. It’s so dark in here.” Growling erupted all around her and she was instantly back on that wet street with a giant wolf stalking her.
Jordanna [Eminence Shifters 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 2
