Fated Mates: The Alpha Shifter Boxed Set (12 Book Bundle) (Insatiable Reads)

by Hunter, Adriana

  Whatever came next, it involved us and that big enchanted boulder.

  “Stay with me,” I said, fighting off the drowsiness and staring into his eyes. “No matter what.”

  “Of course I will! A man doesn't let his love, his mate, down. I'd rather have you than rule over a thousand bear clans.”

  My heart swelled. I kissed him, emotions burbling over, his rich essence still making its warm impression in my womb.

  “I love you too, Nick.”

  I kissed him. He kissed me back. My hand brushed his erection, returning to its beautiful readiness.

  He rolled on top of me, opening my legs again. I smiled, begged a little, and took him deep.

  Anything to prolong the return to harsh reality.

  Here, I had him all to myself. And I didn't like to share.

  V: Born to Rule (Nick)

  “You can't do this, Lyla. It's too dangerous!”

  The curvy impetuous woman sitting on the bed in front of me just wouldn't take no for an answer. Gods, I loved her, stubborn or not.

  And that's why I was running smack into her determined heart, like hitting a wall, when I was hellbent on never putting her in harm's way again.

  “You can't just keep me up here while you're fighting for your life. Who gave you this idea, Nick? Who!”

  We both knew the answer to that. It was late one night, just a couple weeks ago, not long after we returned from the forest where I'd seen my destiny in a blood red promise.

  “You did, love. It's up to me to execute it.”

  She nodded. Her cheeks were flushed with a rosy redness I'd seen before, the same dark red that came when she was going off in rage or ecstasy.

  If it weren't for the serious discussion, it would've made me smile.

  “And it's up to me to help you. That's what a real partner does. I've read the chronicle – all twelve-hundred pages! You should read about the way some females saved their kings and brought peace to their clans.”

  A low growl formed in my throat. I kept it in, even though it was a pain.

  “You are my mate, Lyla. My true love, my fated mate, a gift from the Gods.” I closed the distance between us and sat next to her. “But you're not a bear. Remember that.”

  Her eyes flashed darkly. Damn it, I didn't want to hurt her, but she had to be reminded of the truth.

  “Yeah. You've made that very fucking clear.”

  I reached for her shoulder, but she turned away from me. I pushed anyway, wrapping my arm around her, squeezing with a sigh.

  Please! This is difficult enough.

  “Your plan is wonderful. Better than anything I could've come up with. You know me – I like to come in with claws drawn – or else guns blazing.”

  “Doesn't sound wonderful if you don't trust it enough to make me part of it...”

  “I can't stand to see you hurt again. If they captured you, or worse...it would be the end of me. You know that, don't you? Lyla?” My hand brushed her cheek.

  Slowly, she turned to face me, tears in her eyes. My beautiful, stubborn mate hated when I was right.

  In this instance, so did I.

  “Whatever. We don't know if it'll even work,” she admitted. “It just sounds stupid. Why should any of these bears recognize what that bright red glow means if they've never seen it before?”

  “They will,” I growled, though I was really as unsure as she was. “We didn't know if the old page you found at the library had any truth to it either until we went out in the woods for a test. It worked. Call it magic, call it science, but there's something in the stone that tells the truth about my blood. Your research was right before. Now we need to trust it again.”

  “What if I hang back? I'll carry something for protection. Please, someone's got to be there, at least to phone the police if something goes wrong.”

  I snorted. The police...like a human sheriff ever gave a damn what happened on bear land!

  “If there was ever an internal issue that needed to be sorted out by the clan, it's this one. You know that. Look, I know you're not going to give up easy...”

  “No fucking way,” Lyla insisted, crossing her arms.

  “Then I'll let you come. We'll stay in radio contact the whole time. And you're not getting out of the car. If anyone finds you or there's the least hint of trouble, you run. Start the engine, break the connection, and don't look back. You'll do what you have to when you're safe and far away.”

  “Fine.”

  “None of my kin are gonna be happy to see me after the way I left. Hell, Branson has probably told everybody you brainwashed me into killing Victor...they'll all be hostile.”

  It hurt just to think about it. I forced a hard, bitter lump down my throat.

  No time for tears. And definitely no room for showing weakness in front of her.

  When she wrapped her arms around me, I nearly lost it. I held in the overwhelming storm, looking past her, looking through her, wondering why the hell the Gods had chosen me for this ridiculous tragedy.

  Amusement. This is playing out like a sick comedy.

  Maybe the spirit world has grown tired of happy endings for the last couple thousand years. Everything she's told me about our history on this continent is just one long tragedy.

  It really wasn't personal. Bears had suffered for a long time, and maybe I was just the latest act in a terrible production that began long before I was born.

  My arms found hers, held her tight, holding on to gather the senses I needed more badly now than any other time in my life.

  “This will work,” I told her. “Don't worry. Nothing's happening to me until I see Branson and the rest of those assholes dead. The Klamath Bear Clan won't be ruled by scum-fuck Elders any longer.”

  “Nothing's going to happen to you at all,” she insisted, drawing me in for a quick, comforting kiss. “You'll run them out. Then we can plot the rest of our future without looking over our shoulders or abandoning your kind. Our future...that's what counts.”

  Our future.

  I repeated it in my head. The single phrase held more promise than the blood red glow in the sphere announcing my legitimate bloodline. It excited me a hell of a lot more than being a bear king too.

  “Okay. Let's go through the checklist one more time, and make sure the car is all prepped to go.”

  “Checking out so soon?” Old Tuts smiled his empty grin, a Cheshire cat who'd lost his teeth.

  “Been about...a solid month? I wouldn't exactly call that soon,” I said. I reached into my pocket, fishing for my wallet, hoping to pay up our last bill and be on our way.

  We had a long drive ahead. Then, if all went well, a hard night of vengeance.

  “Very well, young bear.” He took the cash from me and fiddled with some keys on the old computer.

  The ancient printer ground to life, slowly spitting out a receipt. I shuffled, feeling the tense bristle building beneath my skin, the need to get the longest day of my life over with.

  “Here you are. Hope to see you back one day. It's been a long time since this lodge hosted a King.” Tuts nodded as I looked up, fire in my eyes.

  “Thank you,” I said simply, crumpling the receipt into my pocket.

  “Good luck to you. Remember to be true to the old ways, and the spirits will smile on you tonight. Do not let your anger get the best of you.”

  “I'll keep that in mind.”

  I turned abruptly, pushing through the neat glass doors. Lyla was already waiting in the car, most of our luggage carefully tucked away.

  The old Indian freaked me out, but I couldn't deny the uncanny wisdom in his words.

  Okay, old man. I'll remember what you said. If you're my oracle, then I really need some magic...

  On the drive out, we passed a calm deer standing at the edge of the lodge's big trees. When I looked in the mirror after passing, I swore there was a young Indian woman there instead.

  I didn't know if I'd been given good luck by a family of strange half-bloods or lower g
ods. Right now, I needed all the well wishes I could get from above and below.

  “You wait here. I'll have this little mic clipped to my coat and I'll be in contact the whole time. Keep your phone off unless you need it. Just in case.”

  “Oh, Nick. Take care of yourself!” Lyla reached across the dashboard and embraced me.

  I held her, silently praying it wouldn't be for the last time.

  The drive should've taken a lot out of me. It took hours to blast clean through to Klamath land with only a couple brief stops to rest. But I was more ready to get out, walk, and fight than ever before.

  “Here,” she whispered, passing the destiny stone to me. “Come back to me in one piece.”

  “I will, beautiful. Wouldn't dream of leaving you out here alone.”

  I stuffed the heavy sphere into the small bag I'd prepared. Then it was out into the night, dodging between trees, calling up my grizzly senses to smell for any sign of night patrols.

  It had been more than a month since we'd disappeared. Long enough to let any extra guards get lazy.

  Less than a mile to the village center, I found Beamer, drunk and slumped against a tree. He didn't even bother to put away the handgun resting on his lap.

  I smiled, slipped right past him, and reached down carefully over his shoulder. What would it hurt to disarm him and give myself one less threat?

  I doubted the rest of this would be so easy.

  The drive had taken us all day through early frost in the mountains and intermittent rainstorms across the West. I knew most of the bears would be in their cabins, winding down for the day if they weren't already asleep.

  The grizzly statue towered above the tallest roofs, an old gathering point where my forefathers must've spoken to the people long before the Executive Office was built. This bear was propped up on two legs, mouth open in a defensive roar, his front paws stretched upward, flexing claws to the Gods above.

  I slipped in unseen, gunning my legs to cover the distance to the statue. When I reached the big wooden claws at the base, I looked up, wondering how easy it would be to scale.

  If I was going to do this, then it had to be in this form. Grizzly bears weren't built for climbing to lofty heights, and shifters were no exception.

  A little rope. A small scaling hook to make progress, inching my way up the old pliable wooden exterior. I climbed the huge bear's back, not stopping until I was comfortably perched up on his shoulder.

  I reached into my sac. First, the bullhorn, and then the destiny stone. I left the two guns and flash grenades inside. No need to flash my teeth unless I had to.

  “Alright, grizzly people!” I switched on the bullhorn, letting my words clarify as it shrieked to life with a resounding squeal. “Come on out! Come see the traitor, the heir, and your true destiny...”

  I stopped, listening as a few nearby doors creaked open. Drowsy older bears wandered out, all in their human form, barely clothed and rubbing their eyes.

  “Come on over, boys! That's right. You're not dreaming! It's your old buddy, Nick Tunder. I'm back with good news, the truth that's been stolen from the Klamath Clan by our own Elders. Somebody call them out! Bring out those ratty old bastards, especially that toxic cur – that asshole – Elder Branson!”

  I paused, straining my ears to hear thirty feet down.

  “Holy shit, it's really him!”

  “Gods, the murderer is back. This really is a cursed year! Somebody go ring the damned Executive Office.”

  “Stay inside, stay inside...wait until all this passes.”

  Claw marks. Several impatient bears below me had shifted to their grizzly form, snarling and clawing at the statue's base, helplessly trying to shake me down.

  Nope. It'll take a lot more than that. Not coming down until I see Branson's ugly eye staring at me.

  It took a good ten minutes for the Elder I wanted to arrive. Old Hector and Judy must've been taking their sweet time, if they were going to come at all.

  Just now, I had several dozen gathered beneath the statue, practically the entire Klamath Bear Clan.

  Perfect.

  “Going really well,” I whispered into the small plastic piece attached to my collar. “Now the moment of truth.”

  “That fucking terrorist has a lot of nerve showing himself around here...” I heard Branson's voice and looked past the crowd, toward the small group of men flanking the one eyed Elder. “Yes, you idiots! Shoot him down.”

  A tall figure pushed his way through the crowd at a lopsided run. He carried a rifle in hand.

  Shit. My hand reached into the bag, fingers twitching as they felt for the cold surface of the flash grenades.

  I relaxed when I saw the closest man with the big gun was Beamer. He hadn't raised his rifle yet, hadn't taken aim. He was just beneath me, staring upward, his eyes sick with stormy conflict.

  “Beamer! You don't have to do this,” I shouted through the bullhorn. “Put the gun down. Better yet, turn it on the bastard who made you pick it up in the first place.”

  “I don't want to!” He shouted up to me. “You've done a lot of damage here, Nick. Just come down. We can talk this out! If you don't, then you're not leaving me much choice, man...”

  “Yeah, we'll talk this out, alright. But it's not going to be you and me in some dingy prison room!” I raised my voice and tipped the bullhorn toward the crowd.

  “Friends, the Elders have usurped your birthright and mine. Our corrupt little trio murdered your rightful ruler and usurped power for themselves. They've kept us isolated and vulnerable, fishing for artifacts only so they can keep them hidden.”

  “What the hell are you talking about, you snake?” A man shouted up from below. “You're a fucking murderer!”

  “Killing Victor broke my heart. I had to do it. You didn't know he was about to execute a human girl in cold blood, did you?”

  I really had no idea. I had to test them, find out what the hell Branson had said about the incident, what lies he'd told.

  Several shocked gasps came up from the crowd. Obviously, he'd given them a different account of that night after all.

  Several people turned to face Branson. The Elder's single uncovered eye twitched with glassy hatred.

  “It's true,” Branson shouted, much to my surprise and everybody else's. “What he isn't telling you is this girl was a thief. Yeah, I kept it hidden. I didn't want to invite retaliation against our human neighbors and kick up a whole new bout of shit. This girl's as responsible for Victor's death as Tunder!”

  His arm shot up, pointing an accusatory finger at me. I repressed a bitter smile.

  So, he'd gone with a safer story after all. Hadn't told them about Lyla at all. Until now.

  “I get it,” I said, switching the bullhorn on again. “You're all shocked. Surprised. So am I. Thank you, Elder, for proving my point. You see how this man keeps secrets? Don't worry, people. There are a lot more deep, dark secrets where that came from! Oh, but it's all for 'the good of the Klamath Clan,' isn't it?”

  “You're still a traitor, Tunder! You betrayed your own kind for a human female, you sick sonofabitch!”

  I ignored the anonymous voice below. I was more concerned about Beamer, who'd at least lowered the rifle.

  “The girl did steal from us, yes, but then she made up for her crimes. I'm telling you the truth. This little incident pales when it comes to the real secrets our illustrious Elders have been hiding. Why don't you tell them about your old man, Branson? Tell folks all about Theo's purges and bank robberies, all the lives he ruined by getting our people into crime, bear and human alike!”

  “Crime? What's he talking about?”

  “The Elders rule like little dictators, pretending their seniority alone gives them wisdom. But the Clan wasn't always run with secret deals and three votes, was it?”

  Branson was practically shaking with rage now. The other two had shown up. Judy was at his side, her old face lined with worry. Hector coughed, propping himself up to stare at me over
his walker.

  Perfect timing. I decided to whip out my Ace card.

  “This is the proof! This is the artifact that's caused so much trouble. All because it has so many answers for our people.” I held up the destiny stone for everyone to see.

  Plenty of curious eyes. No one was very impressed, and I didn't blame them. It wasn't much to look at when it wasn't glowing, shooting its red rays in all directions.

  “Beamer! You've got to let me down. No arrest. Give me a minute to prove what I'm saying is true.” He lifted his rifle. “None of you have much reason to trust me. But if you don't let me do this, you won't know there's even less reason to trust our all knowing council.”

  I took a deep breath and began to climb down. Really, he could've shot me at any time, or maybe he was just waiting to intercept me as soon as I got my feet on the ground.

  It's now or never. All in. I'd rather get a bullet in my brain than keep up this charade.

  Angry men and women in the crowd chattered louder as I descended. I kept going, without even looking at them or Beamer.

  My feet touched the ground. I pressed my hands to the statue and turned, one last time.

  My old friend and mentor had the rifle pointed at my face. A second later, he lowered it, shuddering with self-disgust.

  “Hey! What the fuck are you doing, you idiot?” Branson exploded, screaming over the rest of the people. “Shoot him! Shoot him dead. No more fucking delays! This murderer, this traitor, doesn't deserve a second trial.”

  Several people turned toward the booming, bitter voice slowly. Their faces were lined with shock.

  Branson had a history of public outbursts, but never before the entire clan. He looked like a fire hydrant shaking with too much built up pressure.

  “You see that?” I whispered to Beamer.

  “Yeah. But that doesn't mean I trust you either. Get up in front of the statue, man, and do whatever you're gonna do. This won't end well any other way. If something awesome doesn't happen, you're going in handcuffs.”

  That was fair. I strode forward, destiny stone in hand, gripping it as I spread my arms and legs.