by Jessica Ryan
Rowan looked back out the window to see a lone biker standing in the middle of his yard. The intruder looked like someone out of a bad episode of Sons of Anarchy, complete with leather vest, too-tight jeans and skull bandana covering his mouth.
"Oh, I'm home," Rowan called, leaping out of the broken window and landing on his feet right in front of the biker.
Rowan towered over the man, who began to back away, realizing the mistake he had made. There were others; he had heard their bikes leaving down the street. Why had they left this one alone? Was he a sacrificial lamb?
"I'm just here to talk," the biker said, backing away towards his motorcycle. "I just have a message!"
"I have a message too," Rowan said, ignoring the man's pleas. "I'm sure your bloody head will send the message just fine."
"Now, wait!" the biker screamed, putting his hands up. It was obvious he hadn't expected it to go this way. "I'm not even a wolf! I'm a human! Don't kill me!"
"You're just as bad as them, human," Rowan said. The bloodlust was growing inside of him again. His wolf wanted nothing more than to see this one's guts splattered across the street. He deserved to die for scaring Rowan's mate; he deserved everything that was coming to him.
"I didn't even throw the brick!" he said, backing into his bike. "They threw it and told me to give you the message!"
"Then you can take the message back with you," Rowan said, licking his lips. "If you can go back."
"Oh, God," the biker said. He was nothing but a sacrificial lamb, a human slave for the gang. It was pretty common for wolves who formed gangs like this to keep some humans on hand to do grunt work. The humans thought they were being included in something beyond them when in reality they were just meat shields.
The human tried to run but Rowan's hand shot out, grabbing him by the throat. He struggled to get loose, but Rowan's grip was too strong. He lifted the man off the ground, holding him above his head.
"I should snap you in two!" Rowan screamed. "How dare you come to my house! How dare you come to my domain!"
"No!" a female voice screamed, distracting Rowan. He put the man on the ground, not releasing him, and turned to see Eva rushing out of the house. "Don't kill him, Rowan!"
Rowan's wolf was growling in his head now, urging him to ignore his mate. He looked back at the man and snarled, but Eva was on him quickly. She wrapped her arms around his giant forearm and tried to pull him off the biker.
"Don't kill another one of them!" she screamed. "Please, Rowan, he's not worth it."
Rowan shook his head, trying to shut his wolf out. With a mighty roar he released the man, shoving him backwards into his motorcycle. The man's legs shot out from under him and he did a backwards flip over the bike, landing on the other side.
"Please," she said, grabbing him by the t-shirt to calm him. He immediately felt soothed by her touch, his wolf growling its approval. "We don't need to kill anymore."
"You're right," Rowan said, letting the anger melt away. "He's not worth it."
Rowan could feel Eva's emotions through their link; she was calm and relaxed.
Clever girl, he thought. She'd figured out their mental link already and had figured out how to influence him with her own emotions—she was truly a special woman.
"What's going on out here?" someone said.
Rowan looked up to see several of his pack mates exiting their homes, converging on the spot in front of his house.
"This spineless biker pet came to my home to threaten me and my mate!" Rowan yelled.
There were growls and angry taunts coming from the crowd as they advanced.
The biker was draped across his seat now, his eyes wide as he looked at the dozen or so wolves around him.
"We should string him up!" one voice said.
"Human pet!" another screamed with derision in his voice.
"Hold on, everyone," Rowan said, putting his hands up to calm the crowd. "My mate has requested mercy in this situation and we will grant it."
There were angry murmurs from the crowd. Obviously, they wanted blood and retribution.
"Return to your homes," Rowan said, stepping up to the bike and standing in front of the biker, who was still reeling from his fall. "I will deal with him personally."
There were still angry murmurs but the wolves listened to Rowan, all of them slowly backing away. All of them except Rain, who came over to put her arm around Eva.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"I'm fine," Eva said. "He didn't do any harm to me."
"Good," Rain said, an animalistic look appearing in her eyes too. "I would have made him pay for that."
"I appreciate it," Eva said, patting her on the shoulder.
"Give me your message and leave," Rowan said, pulling the man up off his seat by the hair before releasing him again.
"Abaddon wants a meeting," the man choked out. "He wants to see you at the old Route 38 trading post."
Rowan thought quickly. That was outside of Green County, in neutral territory.
"He wants me to come alone?" Rowan asked. "Does he think I'm a fool?"
"No," the man said. "He's giving a message to your alpha too. He wants to see the two of you tonight."
"When?" Rowan asked. It was already dark outside. When did he expect this meeting to take place?
"As soon as possible," the man said. "Please let me go. I'm just a messenger."
"Very well," Rowan said. "Tell him I'm on my way."
Rowan returned to Eva, who looked even more afraid now. Her calm emotions were melting away as they were replaced by a flood of fear. He stopped, feeling something odd about the fear. She wasn't afraid for herself, she wasn't even thinking about herself, she was afraid for Rowan. She feared for her mate's safety.
"It'll be okay," Rowan said. "He won't kill us tonight, because he thinks we have Leena."
"What?" Rain asked. Rowan looked back, remembering that she didn't know anything about what had gone on that day. She was just a pup and what had happened was privileged information.
"Don't worry about it," Rowan said. "I need you to watch after Eva while I go."
"No," Eva said, pushing him away. "If you go then I go."
"Out of the question," Rowan said. "We can't allow them to get ahold of you. It'd be just like Abaddon to want a hostage exchange."
"You can say whatever you want," Eva said, crossing her arms. It was amazing how much her confidence had grown over the last few days. She was defiant to the end. "I am going with you."
Rowan almost felt helpless. She obviously had her mind made up.
"Too dangerous," he repeated.
"I'm not going to send my man out there by himself to be killed by a psycho gang leader," she said. "I want to be there to have your back. I'm not going to sit here all night wondering if you're going to come home. I'm not going to sit here all night feeling your emotions and not knowing what's causing them."
Rowan understood. It was unfair to make her feel that way. On top of all that, he'd neglected to tell her that when one of them died, the severing of the connection would be brutal and would plunge the survivor into a state of severe depression. Most wolves didn't survive after their mate passed. It was just too tough emotionally.
"Fine," Rowan said. "But you stay back."
"I'm coming too," Rain said.
Rowan threw his arms up. Did everyone have to defy him?
"Why do you need to come?" he demanded.
"I'm not sending my sister out there without some backup," Rain said. "You can have your meeting, but she'll be under my protection."
Sister? Rowan thought.
Both of Rain's parents had been killed during the Satan's Angels attack ten years ago. She was only nine years old then, and she had been raised by the pack from that point forward. She didn't have a normal childhood and had never had a sibling. It was obvious she'd latched onto his mate and had formed a familial bond.
"Very well," he said, not wanting to deny the girl he'd had a hand in raising
. "But if anything happens to her, it's your ass as well as mine."
"I understand," Rain said. He had never seen the normally carefree girl like this, determined and strong. Her jaw was tight and clenched, her hands were balled up into fists and there was a fire in her eyes that Rowan had never seen before—she was growing up right in front of him.
"Oh, pet?" Rowan said, turning back to the biker, who was trying to get his bike started to leave. "One more thing."
"What?" the biker asked, a tone of hatred in his voice. He had obviously forgotten what had happened to him a minute ago, and was feeling like a big man now that he was returning to his leader.
"You broke my window," Rowan said, smiling. "An eye for an eye."
"Hey, man," the biker said. "Don't tough my hog."
"Oh, I'm not going to hurt your bike," Rowan said, an evil smile on his face. Suddenly he glided forward, driving his fist into the man's side. The satisfying crunch of bone breaking filled the air as several of the biker's ribs cracked.
Eva gasped and the man hollered in pain, nearly falling off his bike.
"Now get the hell out of here before my mercy runs out!" Rowan screamed.
The bike roared to life and began to pull away, the man barely able to control it as he clutched at his side.
Rowan turned back, heading for the house. Eva was looking at him with mixture of shock and anger on her face.
"What?" he asked, shrugging his shoulders. "You asked me not to kill him."
He smiled, walking back towards the house as he felt Eva's emotions. There was no anger, just satisfaction.
Chapter 28
Eva couldn't help but feel a little on edge as they pulled away from the house, everyone crammed in the front seat of Rowan's old pickup. Rain, with her lean body, sat in the middle between Rowan and Eva.
She glanced over at Rowan, who was gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were turning white. She had been able to calm him previously by being calm herself, but the closer they got to the meeting the more nervous she became. Unfortunately Rowan responded by being nervous as well. The link was something new to both of them and they didn't know how to deal with one another's emotions yet.
Sensing the tension in the cab, Rain finally spoke up. "So how are you two doing?"
"What do you mean?" Rowan asked.
"I mean how's your mating going?" Rain asked again.
"That's a little personal, don't you think?" Eva asked.
"Not to wolves," Rain said.
Eva nodded. She still had a lot to learn about these guys. Nothing seemed to be off the table. They were an open bunch.
"It's going wonderfully," Rowan said sincerely.
Eva smiled. It still warmed her heart to hear Rowan speak about her so lovingly.
"Would you agree, Eva?" Rain said.
"Of course," Eva answered, smiling. "Things are going great."
"You seem to have established the bond," Rain said, winking at Eva. "That means you're true mates."
"We have," Eva said. "It's kind of wild."
"It's different," Rowan said, his eyes focused on the road.
"Different in a bad way?" Rain asked.
"Boy, you're just full of questions tonight, aren't you?" Rowan said. He looked almost embarrassed to be talking about this.
"Well, I want to know what's going on with my big brother and new sister," Rain said, chuckling.
Surrogate brother, Eva reminded herself. It seemed the wolves called themselves brother and sister when they weren't actually related. From what she'd gathered, though, Leena was Rowan's blood sister and the only one he had.
"It's not different in a bad way," Rowan said. "I'm just someone who's never had control of my own emotions. You know I'm a hothead."
"Hell, yes, you are," Rain said, rolling her eyes.
"Now I have to learn to control not only my own emotions, but the emotions of someone else," he said. "It's a tough task."
"So it's bad?" Rain asked.
"I said it wasn't bad," Rowan said. "I wouldn't trade it for anything."
Eva smiled again hearing those words.
"What's it like?" Rain asked, turning to Eva.
"What's what like?" Eva asked.
"Finding your true mate?" Rain asked.
"Well, we don't call the mates where I come from," Eva said. "I guess we would call it finding our true love or our one and only someone."
"So Rowan is your true love?" Rain asked.
"Yes," Eva said, surprised at her answer and the finality with which she said it. She had felt so much connection to Rowan, but she hadn't thought of him as her true love. Things were happening quickly, but she had never been more sure of anything.
"That's wonderful!" Rain said, clapping and bouncing in her seat. "What's it like?"
Eva thought about it, feeling both of their eyes on her. Finally she looked up, her hand on her chin as she thought. "It's like I'm complete. I feel safe and protected and I feel like I'll never have to face a problem alone again. I've been so happy the last few days, even in the face of danger."
"That's so great," Rain said, clapping again. "I can't wait until I find that."
"You will," Rowan said. "There's someone out there for you."
"I don't like wolves, though," Rain said, crossing her arms. "And you won't let me keep any humans I meet."
"A human man and a female wolf?" Rowan asked. "Unheard of!"
"Why is that a problem?" Eva asked. "I'm human."
"It's different with a male wolf and female human," Rowan said.
"How so?" Eva asked, not understanding any of this.
"It just is," Rowan said. "I can protect you. I'm strong and I can provide."
"Yes, and?" Eva asked.
"How's a human man going to protect a female wolf?" Rowan asked. "She'll be stronger than him!"
"I see," Eva said. What Rowan said did make sense, even if it seemed a bit wrong.
"Besides, I don't know why you would want someone so much weaker than you," Rowan said. "What's wrong with male wolves?"
"They're all so serious and duty-bound," Rain said. "Sure, they seem nice at first, but when they get it in their head that they're going to claim you, they get so serious. I can't stand it. They've tried to claim me, but I won't allow it."
"Interesting," Eva whispered. Rowan's attitude had changed when he claimed her, but it had changed for the better. He'd been much more serious before he claimed her than after. He seemed relaxed after the claiming, like he had achieved some great life goal that had been weighing him down.
"You just have to find the right wolf," Rowan said. "Your problem is that you're too young for a mating relationship, anyway."
"I'm what?" Rain asked, getting offended.
"You're just too young," Rowan repeated. "You still want to party and have too much fun. You're not taking things seriously enough."
"I'm done with this conversation," Rain said, crossing her arms and sinking back into her seat. "You never understand me."
Rowan just chuckled and continued to drive, ignoring Rain's pouting.
Eva looked at her and then at Rowan, remembering having similar conversations with her parents growing up. Rowan seemed to care about Rain, something she had never felt from her father. Still, she felt a pang of sadness as she thought about her parents. It had been almost four days and she hadn't spoken with them at all. She had to know if they cared and she had to let them know she was okay.
As if he was reading her mind, Rowan looked over at her, his honey-brown eyes filled with sadness.
"I think maybe we can call your parents after this meeting," he said, forcing a weak smile. "Once we know what Abaddon wants, it may be safe for you to call them. He's going to know where you are after tonight."
Eva's eyes grew wide. She hadn't thought of that. "You don't think he'll want to snatch me or anything, do you?"
"Well, I said something about that before," Rowan said, shaking his head. "You were so fired up you ignored me. It's
a very real possibility he could try to take you hostage."
"Yeah," Eva said, remembering what Rowan had said before.
"But," Rowan said. "There is a bright side to this."
"And what's that?" Eva asked, not seeing one.
"If we can work something out regarding Leena while we're here, he probably won't care too much that you're with me," he said.
"I don't follow," Eva said.
"Well, the only reason they were going to seek you out before was because you were there when his lieutenant was killed. Now that they know who the killer is and know you're with the killer they won't care to capture you anymore," Rowan said. "It's obvious they know we were involved."
Eva sat back in her seat and smiled. That was another weight lifted off her shoulders. Maybe now she could sleep a little easier at night and maybe she could go retrieve some things from her apartment. That was if Rowan survived the meeting they were drawing very close to.
Chapter 29
Rowan tensed up as he pulled his truck into the parking lot of the old Route 38 Trading Post. It had been closed for a long time. The sign still showed gas for a dollar eighteen a gallon.
Those were the days, Rowan thought. The old building was dilapidated and dark, but that didn't stop him from seeing the line of motorcycles in front of it. By the gas pumps there was a large group of men, all of them watching his truck intently. He didn't make eye contact with any of them as he parked his truck beside Aster's.
The head alpha was standing by his tailgate, looking nervously back at the group of bikers. Surprisingly Crow stood beside him, his beady eyes darting around.
"Why the fuck would he bring Crow?" Rowan asked.
"He is an alpha," Rain said.
"He's a snake in the grass," Rowan said. "I wouldn't put it past him to be the one who kidnapped Leena."
Rain's eyes grew wide. "You can't make an accusation like that."
"I'm not making it to his face," Rowan said. "You two stay in the truck. If we get into trouble then get the fuck out of here and go to Hawk's house. Understand?"
"Yes," both women replied in unison.
Rowan didn't say another word as he climbed out of the truck and slammed the door. Any nervousness he had felt was beginning to melt away, replaced with extreme anger at the sight of his old nemesis.
