He walked over to her, easily able to catch her now that she was incapacitated and getting worse by the minute. She struggled but he pulled her hands up and together and started to bind them. “I just made it easier on both of us, Princess,” he said. “I just made it easier on both of us.”
Her last sound was a growl as he lifted her onto his shoulder, and then she went unconscious.
17
Thor followed Fifi’s scent out across the wet morning grass. It felt good to have Lock beside him, backing him up for the first time in so long. His twin was a part of him, and things felt more complete when he was around. But soon he would take a mate, and things would never be the same.
But first, he needed to find her cousin. He couldn’t smell the scent of a wolf in distress, so he wasn’t sure if they just hadn’t found Fifi, or if Fifi was simply calm because he was highly trained. Who would have thought the pretty, aggravating man was so capable? But Thor could be capable too.
His blood burned with the need to protect his mate, and whatever his mate wanted to protect.
“You smell that?” Lock asked, veering to change direction. Thor did. He followed Lock toward the unfamiliar scent that was becoming stronger as they dodged through the trees and underbrush toward the road at the base of the mountain. They kept running until headlights came into view at the entrance to the woods. They were a good distance from the cabin now, and he tried not to be nervous about Matt being back there alone.
There was no one to threaten her, after all. Everyone should be out here.
But still, they needed to get this over with quickly. He put a paw up for Lock to wait, and crept slowly to a nearby tree so they could see what was going on.
Fifi was there, his bright blonde hair glowing white in the sunlight.
And a man, a shorter, portly man in a gray pin striped suit was pacing in front of him.
Fifi’s shirt was torn and Thor couldn’t see his face because his hair was free of his ponytail and hanging loose, obscuring his expression. But from the way the portly man paced, he could tell something was off. He looked down to Fifi’s hands and saw they were tied.
Anger raged through him. He was naturally protective of anything that was his. Matt was his, and Fifi was someone Matt loved, so he would be someone Thor loved.
The alpha in him howled to attack, but he made himself wait.
Fifi raised his head to speak. “You won’t find her. She’s not here. I told her to run already.”
“We’ll see,” the man said. “I have someone on it.”
Fifi seemed shocked. “What?”
“Someone called in to report a suspicious person. Interestingly enough, they picked up on the fact that she was female.”
Thor’s stomach clenched and he shared a worried look with Lock. Who could it be?
It hit him instantly and made him want to turn tail and run for the cabin.
Ernie.
“I think it’s the beta of the small pack here. Ernest, or something?” the man said, pacing in front of Fifi. He checked his watch. “But he was supposed to be back here right now. Maybe I should go check…”
Fifi’s head whipped up in alarm. “What do you mean?”
“He was supposed to bring her back here. He said he had a key to the cabin, so it would have been easy to get in.”
Fifi whipped his head toward the woods, looking right at Thor for a split second. What was he trying to tell him?
“Maybe he’s getting ideas. He’s only supposed to bring her here so we can talk and take her back to her father. He’s not supposed to take anything into his own hands.”
Fifi moved and Thor could see him fiddling with his hands. Maybe to try and untie himself? Thor itched to run for the cabin, but he knew Matt could defend herself against the likes of Ernie. She’d done it before. And if someone showed up, he knew she’d scream, and he wasn’t so far away that he couldn’t hear it.
Still, his heart went cold with fear at the thought of someone going after her, and he itched to run back and check.
“So, you had someone go pick her up, when you knew she’d be vulnerable because her alphas were out here finding me, and then you sent an unmated alpha male in that you didn’t know to find her?” Fifi asked, exasperated.
“Now that you mention it, it does sound a little careless. But forgiving me for thinking that someone who thinks enough of the Tribunal to tip us off wouldn’t then go and piss us off.” The man pulled sunglasses out of his pocket and put them on to look out toward the cabin.
Thor stifled a growl at the look of the man’s face. Hard, craggy. Someone he didn’t want within three feet of Matt.
But he was concerned that whomever was supposed to bring Matt here wasn’t here. He wanted to turn and run to find her, but didn’t know if it was better to wait and engage whomever he had to fight all at once here.
“Thor?” Lock said quietly.
“Yes?”
“I’m worried about Matt. I’ll take care of Fifi, you go get your girl.”
“They might have weapons,” Thor replied. “It could be dangerous.”
“I know,” Lock said. “But you’re right. What’s important right now isn’t the past, it’s the future. And that girl is your future. And another alpha could be claiming her right now.”
Panicked surged through Thor. “What do you mean?”
“Well, if he hasn’t showed up, doesn’t that mean maybe he’s decided to just keep her for himself? After all, if he mates her, he has some serious bargaining power.”
Rage surged through Thor and he scented the air. His hearing was keen. If she had been taken, surely he would know. But yet…
“Shit,” he said. “I have to go back and check. I don’t want to leave you here, but I just… I have to.”
“Go,” Lock said. “Fifi and I will figure it out. He knows we’re here. I could see it in his eyes when he looked over.”
Thor nodded. She should be fine. But he had to go see for himself.
He turned and ran back through the woods in the direction of the cabin, listening for any sound from his mate. Any scent of his mate.
And then, on the wind, as he ran as fast as his legs could carry him back the way he came, he heard it.
A faint scream, carried toward him on the wind.
Behind him, he heard chaos break out at the car. Lock must have made his move.
But he’d have to trust Lock and Fifi to take care of things on their own. His mate was in danger.
* * *
Matt woke up tired and extremely angry. Ernie was bending over her, looking like he’d just been standing there watching her. She looked around, not recognizing their surroundings.
“Where are we?” she asked groggily. She tried to move and the world spun rapidly. “Damn it.”
“Language,” Ernie said quietly. “If you’re going to be my mate, I’d prefer you to be a little more gentle-mannered.” She growled at him and he grabbed her by the back of her head and jerked her to face him.
“I’m never going to mate you,” she said.
He looked over her body, which was luckily still dressed and wrapped. “We’ll see. You know, I knew you were a female from the minute I met you.”
“You seemed to believe Thor once he insisted.”
Ernie shrugged. “Not for long. That’s why when I called the Tribunal I told them there was an alpha female on the run. Not a male. They confirmed it. Didn’t even try not to. I think they’d assumed you’d gone rogue as a female to hide your identity. You know, I almost want to see what they could do for me if I brought you back. But then again, going back as your mate gives me even more bargaining power.”
She shook her head. “That won’t stop them from killing you if they want to.”
Ernie hesitated, but then his eyes lit on her chest. “Maybe I should see what I’m risking it for then.”
She swallowed. Her hands were bound behind her back, so she’d be helpless to stop him if he tried something. But no one but
Thor had seen her breasts, and she intended to keep it that way. She focused, getting ready to shift if needed to use her power. She was already incapacitated, so it wouldn’t matter, as long as she negated him.
He reached for the bottom of her tee shirt and she relaxed, acting as if she didn’t mean to stop him.
“Submissive,” he said. “Good, I like that.”
Bile rose in her throat but she made herself stay still as possible as he lifted her shirt to look at her wraps. She’d show him submissive in a second.
She’d make him submit to her.
Just as soon as she could shift.
He reached for the wraps, grazing the skin of her stomach, and she knew this was it. Time to move. She focused and calmed herself, thinking of her wolf and all of the things her wolf loved. But nothing happened.
She felt numb, weak, and the world spun once again. Not as badly as before, but still enough to make her want to retch. Either way, she leaned away from Ernie and gagged over the grass, hoping to be as unsexy as possible.
“Damn it,” he said, grabbing the back of her shirt and pulling her up to face him again. “You tried to shift, didn’t you? Well luckily my contact at the Tribunal knew about your power and gave me these little darts that nullify your ability to shift.” He looked at his watch. “It should be wearing off soon, so I guess if I want to mate you, I should do it as soon as possible.”
“Rape is against our laws,” she choked out, unable to believe this was happening, that she was this powerless. And she couldn’t scent Thor. He’d left her completely unprotected, ironically while insisting on protecting her.
“Well, so is murder, but the Tribunal committed that, didn’t they?” He shook his head. “And why not? We are animals, the fittest survive. We get what we want at the cost of others. We act on instinct.” He turned her head to the side and licked up her neck, and she let out a loud scream of anger, both to hopefully blow out his eardrums and draw the attention of anyone in the area.
She’d planned to take care of this herself, and she would have been able to without the drugs. So it was unfair that she now had to call Thor back from helping Fifi. But she needed to, and she would. She screamed again but he put a hand over her mouth.
She bit down hard and he growled and wrestled her back onto the ground, her bound arms painfully beneath her. She tried to kick out at him, but he moved out of the way, and she couldn’t adjust quickly enough due to feeling disoriented.
He got between her legs and reached for the hem of her shirt again. She took a deep breath and focused for a moment, reminding herself who she was.
He wasn’t the first wolf to try to hurt her. To try and force her to do something she didn’t want. He had an advantage, but she was far from done fighting. She feigned being calm, and when he started to crawl over her, she brought her leg up hard between his, crushing him right in his alpha jewels.
She grinned as he howled and held himself and fell backwards. She pushed herself to her feet, fighting off waves of nausea and started to run, hoping she’d be able to shift soon, that her metabolism was faster than he’d planned.
But he caught her by the leg and jerked her down. Damn, how did he recover so fast?
“All right, that’s it. This time you pay.”
An angry snarl sounded before he could get on her again, and a giant red wolf went soaring over them to land on the other side of Ernie, growling dangerously.
“Get the fuck away from my mate,” Thor said angrily. “Before I tear you to shreds.”
She sighed in relief. He didn’t need a snappy comeback. He just needed to be here. She slumped back wearily, willing her body to shift so she could help.
18
Ernie turned to face Thor, who stood there, bristling angrily, reddish-brown fur glistening in the late morning light.
Matt moved her head side to side, trying to see if the world was still spinning. Only slightly. Only if she moved quickly.
“Be careful, Thor,” she mumbled, trying to make the words as clear as possible even though her thoughts were thick as mud. “He’s got weapons from the Tribunal. Darts that make it so you can’t shift.”
Thor nodded at her, taking a second to look her up and down, making sure she was okay. She was now that he was here. She knew instinctively that nothing could happen to her when he was around. He was one of the most protective wolves she knew. Maybe the most.
“Threatening my female?” Thor asked. “I’m your alpha. How dare you?” He stepped forward and Ernie whimpered and stepped back, looking around him as if for an escape route.
“You never appreciated me,” Ernie said. “You left this pack and only came back when you had your parents money to fix us all. But I was here the whole time. I saw what my father wrought. I saw the wreckage. And then you assumed that when you came back you would subjugate me.”
“You could have challenged me for alpha,” Thor said. “That would have been within our rules.”
“But I’m not full alpha. Besides, I heard my uncle mention some of the alpha powers you have. I wasn’t going to try that. Beta wasn’t too bad, until I realized I’d never have a chance with a female.”
“Many in our world won’t have a chance with an alpha female.”
“No,” he said. “Any female. They all look to you, meanwhile you wait and wait for something that won’t happen, an alpha female. And then you had one, and you thought she was a dude.” Ernie snickered and Matt wondered why he didn’t turn into his wolf form. Probably a good idea since Thor had already shifted.
“I knew she was a female, I just didn’t want you touching her. But I never suspected you would go behind my back, like a snake, and steal her when I wasn’t looking. When I thought she was protected. I trusted you.”
“And that was a mistake,” Ernie said, morphing into his wolf. “Let’s finish this now.”
“With pleasure,” Thor said, crouching lightly. He was a predator, ready to fight, and he took her breath away.
She finally felt herself transform into her wolf. She breathed a sigh of relief and pushed her loosened bonds off her paws. Then she pushed up onto all four feet and tested her balance. Thor was distracted, looking over at her, and when Thor’s attention was drawn, Ernie took his chance to run.
So much for finishing things now. Ernie took off across the grass, a gray bolt becoming smaller in the distance, and Thor started after him and then stopped, looking back at her. He let out a growl and she could see how hard it was for him not to go after the other wolf, but he restrained himself and walked back to her, licking her and making sure she was okay. She nuzzled against him, glad he had come and helped long enough for her to be herself again.
She leaned on him and he stood firm, being her strength. Her wolf was half as large as his, and she felt fully protected by him.
“You came,” she said.
“Of course. No one touches my mate but me.” He licked her again. “Are you okay? He didn’t do anything?”
“No,” she said. “I fought him.”
“Good girl,” he said. “I’m kind of disappointed I didn’t get to tear him apart. When I saw him pull you down, I’ve never been more enraged in my life.”
“And you get angry kind of easily.”
“This is true,” he said. “But you’re fine and that’s all that matters. I shouldn’t have left you back there. I’m sorry.”
“You thought the danger was all outside. I can’t blame you.”
“They have Fifi,” he said. “I left Lock to try and help, but when I heard from the Tribunal guy that someone was going to bring you to him, and that guy didn’t show up, I had to run. I couldn’t wait.”
“It’s fine,” she said. “You came.” She let out a little huff. “Normally I would have been able to take him. He had a dart gun and it knocked me out. And then he got weird ideas about mating, but I couldn’t shift to use my alpha power on him.”
Thor growled. “Damn it.”
“If you hadn’t come…”
“But I did,” Thor replied. “And as soon as you accept me, I’m going to mate you once and for all so no other males can get any ideas about you belonging to anyone but me.”
“What are we going to do about Fifi?” she asked.
“What are we going to do about anything?” he replied grimly. “The Tribunal clearly wants you back. Ernie is still out there. Lock might be captured with Fifi.” He sighed. “I’m tempted to lock you up somewhere safe so I know that you’re protected, but that didn’t work so well the last time.”
“We’re better together,” she said. “Let me fight alongside you.”
He considered it and nodded. “I’d be honored. Should we go?”
“Yes,” she said. “Let’s go quietly, but show me where they were holding Fifi. We’ll have to hope we get there before Ernie, if that’s where he’s going. Then we’ll have the element of surprise.”
Thor nodded in a direction. “Okay, follow me. This way.”
Then he took off on long, strong wolf legs and she went with him, keeping up with every stride. Matched in every way.
For the first time, Matt knew she had truly found her mate. Someone who would let her be their equal, someone who wouldn’t leave her behind, and someone who could keep up.
She could hardly wait to get the bad guys so they could go home and seal the deal.
* * *
Thor tried to calm his pounding heart, the adrenaline pumping through his veins. The urge to kill, the urge to claim, swirled inside him, making it hard to think or breathe.
He hated that she was coming into trouble with him, but she’d be safest by his side. And if he was honest, he’d be safest by hers as well. She made him strong, made him the best wolf he could be, and she was strong too, the perfect mate for him.
But he’d known that for a while. The important thing was that as they ran together, there was a kind of peace between them that made him think she was finally accepting the same thing. That they were made for each other.
Alpha Defender Page 12
