Once Upon A Midnight

by Stephanie Rowe

  “Thanks for coming so quickly.” Hoping like hell she wouldn’t see how the connection affected him, he stepped out of the hug, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

  “Rafe, tell me you didn’t?” Grace sniffed the air and her son.

  “Didn’t what?” Jesus, was there anything she didn’t instantly pick up on? Rafe tried acting like he didn’t know what the fuck she was talking about, and failed miserably.

  “You know damn well what I’m talking about. You took that girl’s choice away! Not every wolf wants a mental connection to her mate. Sometimes, it’s too hard to handle knowing your mate’s innermost thoughts and fears. It takes time to develop a bond needed to sustain a healthy connection.”

  “I didn’t have a choice. I had to know who did this to her. I had to find out if someone sent her here.”

  “Did you ever stop to think that maybe, just maybe, she didn’t want you to know who did this to her? Or maybe she was embarrassed about the things that happened? You should have given her the chance to heal on her own, then questioned her once she was awake.”

  “Mom—”

  “Don’t you dare ‘Mom’ me, mister! You knew better. You were raised to respect your mate when you found her!” Grace took a deep breath before continuing with her rant. “But since you had to do things the hard way, it’s time you shift and heal your mate so she can kick your ass when she wakes up. FYI, I may help her, just so you know.”

  Rafe crossed his thick arms over his chest. It was his best defiant look and Grace knew it all too well.

  “Really? You’re going to try and give me that look?” Grace rolled her eyes. “Save the intimidating looks for someone they’ll work on. You know damn well I’ll kick your ass up around your eyeballs if it needs to be done. I’ve done it before and I’ll do it again. Now, stop huffing around like the big bad wolf and shift so you can ease your mate’s pain.”

  “How exactly do I heal her after I shift?”

  “When you shift into your wolf, your healing energy will immediately kick in. You need to concentrate on the link with your mate and send your healing energy into her. You’re strong and healthy, so you should be able to heal the both of you relatively fast. However, when you shift back to human, you might feel a bit weak, shaky even. And more than likely, you’ll both be starving. I’m going to go throw some food together. Bring her out to the kitchen when you’re done.”

  With one last roll of her eyes, Grace headed for the kitchen, mumbling something about stubborn males in the Erickson bloodline.

  Rafe stared down at his mate. Though he knew so little about her, he sensed a goodness in her that melted his heart.

  Odin, please let this work. I don’t want to see my mate in pain.

  Hoping his mom was wrong about his mate trying to kick his ass, he bent down, brushing away the soft auburn strands of hair covering her face. “Let’s do this.”

  His shift occurred much slower than normal. The pain was almost enough to keep the change from happening at all. Broken bones ached as each bone shifted to bring out his wolf form. A low snarl rumbled in his chest as he felt the fractures mend, snapping back into their rightful place.

  Reaching out with his mind to sense his mate, he focused on her injuries. The healing power grew deep inside of his body. Holding onto it until it doubled in size, he imagined the energy as a gold shimmering cloud leaving his body, making its way slowly to her, wrapping her in a cozy blanket of his power. The mental imagery worked, and he felt the healing warmth leave his own body. Imagining each of her injuries, he pushed the golden cloud over her scrapes, cuts, and bruises. Next, he directed the healing cloud to start at the top of her head before willing it to slowly flow through her body, healing anything within her it happened upon.

  Rafe’s control slipped as he felt his strength beginning to wane as the last of her injuries disappeared. The shift back to human tore through his body excruciatingly slow, leaving him sprawled naked on the floor beside the couch.

  Chapter Six

  A loud grunt pulled Mina from her healing slumber. She sat up cautiously, ensuring the room didn’t spin. The aching in her body was noticeable, but nowhere near as bad as before. Surprise filled her when she realized the majority of the cuts were gone and her ribs, once broken, seemed to be fine. What happened?

  Her eyes darted to the hulk of a man lying on the floor beside the couch. “You healed me.”

  “Yeah,” Rafe huffed, trying to catch his breath. He knew he should cover himself, not to protect his modesty but hers. The problem was every muscle in his body screamed in protest at the slightest move.

  “But…how?”

  Grace entered with a pair of jeans and a T-shirt for Rafe, dropping them on his stomach. “Here you go, baby. Put these on and head out to the kitchen.”

  “Thanks.” Rafe pulled the small bundle of clothes over his lower abdomen. Being naked had never been a problem for him before. The thought of his mate seeing him broken and naked in a heap at her feet didn’t sit well with the usually confident Alpha.

  Mina glanced at the tall blonde and back to Rafe.

  Grace could see the wheels beginning to turn. “Hi, I’m Grace, Rafe’s mom. And you are?”

  “I’m Mina.”

  “Hi, Mina. I brought a pair of yoga pants for you to wear.” Grace handed Mina the black material.

  “Uh…thanks.”

  “Why don’t you follow me into the kitchen? We’ll give Rafe a chance to get dressed. Then my son can explain exactly what’s going on.”

  Mina nodded and slowly rose from the couch. Gingerly stepping over Rafe’s naked body, she felt her face warm as her eyes passed, once again, over every inch of Rafe’s muscular physique. She followed quietly behind Grace, unsure of what to say. It was one of the strangest situations she’d ever found herself in.

  “You must be starving after all you’ve been through.”

  “I am. I’m so hungry I could eat a deer by myself.”

  “Sorry, we’re fresh out of deer, but I do have steak and eggs. If that’s okay with you?”

  Mina’s eyes widened at the notion of beef. “You mean like a real steak? From a cow?”

  “Of course.” Grace’s smile was warm and inviting.

  “I’m sorry. It’s just that…in my pack, the rules are pretty clear. If you didn’t hunt it and kill it, you don’t get to eat it.”

  Mina watched as Grace’s mouth hit the floor.

  “Honey, we don’t live in the Colonial period anymore. What pack did you come from?”

  Glancing at the floor in shame, Mina slowly murmured, “Twisted Tail.”

  Knowing her pack had a bad reputation, and rightfully so, made her afraid to admit her origins. Twisted Tail was filled with thugs, drug users, dealers, and every other flavor of criminal you could think up. Hell, her dad straddled the thugs and user category for as long as she could remember. But not her mom or sisters. Despite all the shit around them, they were still good wolves.

  Growing up with a dirt poor father who didn’t give a fuck, and a mother who was too petrified to leave an abusive, strung-out husband, sucked a pair of nasty furry balls.

  More than that, it left her feeling like life was nothing more than a fucked up game of survival. It wasn’t her first choice for the life she wanted to live, but it had been her only option.

  Mina, her mom, and sisters tried to stay in the shadows, wishing for the power of invisibility. They worked hard taking care of their small home and putting food on the table. Staying away from the problematic pack members proved to be a whole different ballgame.

  Every time Mina tried to fade into the abyss, Griffin pulled her back to the front and center for all to see. She’d caught his eye early in life and his attention never dwindled. When he was suddenly in the market for a new mate, she knew trouble would knock on her door sooner rather than later.

  Mina thought she could count on the support of her family to keep her hidden, but the day Griffin came knocking, her father dragged her by
the hair from the closet in which she hid, tossing her to the floor at Griffin’s filthy boots. Her dad sold her for the going price of the drug debt he owed the Alpha.

  Grace placed a comforting hand on Mina’s shoulder. “It’s okay, sweetie. You’re here now. You’re safe.”

  “I have to go back. He’ll kill my mom and sisters, if I don’t.” Mina’s heart raced at the thought of him torturing her family. “If I don’t go back, he’ll come for me.”

  “I dare him,” Rafe bellowed as he entered the kitchen.

  Mina spun at the sound of Rafe’s deep timbre. Her body shook in fear of the new Alpha. As much as she wished it otherwise, she had no doubt he was her one true mate. Now that her nose was fully healed, his scent washed over her, confirming what he knew last night. Her wolf sprung to the front of her mind, wanting to meet her mate.

  He circled her once, looking her over, sizing her up, and trying to guess her abilities. Mina kept her eyes locked on the ceramic floor tile in front of her, not wanting to make eye contact. I should have never mouthed off to the Alpha’s mother. What was I thinking?

  “You smell of—” Rafe sniffed the air, “—fear. Care to tell me why?”

  “I’m sorry, sir. I’m afraid I won’t make a good mate. That you’ll kill me, or worse.” Tears flowed freely down Mina’s face as she stumbled over the words. She couldn’t help her family if she was dead.

  Whatever happened, whatever he wanted, she would obey if it meant getting back to her family.

  “Uh, you can call me Rafe.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Mina quickly realized her error, but it was too late. The Alpha approached with a stern look on his face.

  “Mina, honey, why don’t you have a seat at the table and eat up. You need to regain your strength.” Grace stepped in front of Rafe to hand Mina the plate piled high with scrambled eggs, bacon, and the largest steak Mina had ever seen. Oh, how her mouth watered, her stomach growled as the aroma awakened her taste buds. She didn’t need to be told twice. Moving much faster than what was considered polite, Mina raced to the table with the food.

  “Rafe, can I talk to you for a minute?” Grace glared at her son.

  “Can I eat first?”

  “No.”

  Grace left no room for debate. Her son may be the Alpha of the pack, but she was still his mother and had no qualms when it came to exerting her authority. She brought him into this world and she could take him out…if she wanted to.

  Chapter Seven

  “You are so damn bossy! Be lucky I love you or I’d have to punish you for insubordination.” Used to her Alpha female tactics, Rafe joked with his mom.

  “I’ll give you bossy, right upside your head, mister. Don’t you see what’s going on in there? That girl is terrified of you.”

  Over the growls of his protesting stomach, Rafe considered his mom’s argument.

  “She’s afraid because she’s new and doesn’t know what to expect. I wasn’t very easy on her when I chomped down on her neck. In front of the whole pack, I might add. Seriously, I’m starving. Can I please eat?”

  “Would you stop thinking about your stomach at a time like this? Don’t you realize what’s going on?” Grace stared at Rafe like he’d grown a second tail.

  “Mom, I’m tired and I’m hungry. It’s three thirty in the morning, and I’ve been up for almost a full day—straight. Please don’t play guessing games with me. Just say what you have to say and be done with it.” His wolf was getting agitated from the separation from his mate. Rafe tried reasoning with his beast, stating the obvious fact that she was sitting less than thirty feet away in the next room, but his wolf would have none of it. He wanted to see his mate with his own eyes.

  Grace sat on the arm of the couch and sighed. “I talked to Mina for a few minutes before you joined us. When I told her we were having steak, she couldn’t believe it. She said that in her pack, she could only eat what she hunted and killed. I asked her what pack she was from and she said Twisted Tail.”

  “Motherfu—”

  “But that’s not the worst of it.”

  “Mom, I don’t want to hear anymore. If Mina wants to tell me what it was like for her there, she needs to be the one to tell me.”

  Running her fingers through her hair, Grace shook her head. “Rafe, she doesn’t need to tell you what happened to see the damage. The girl nearly jumped out of her skin when you walked into the room. Didn’t you see the way she flinched when you got too close to her? She’s been treated very badly by the males in her life.”

  “We don’t know that for sure,” Rafe tried to argue the point. They didn’t know a damn thing about his new mate. When he tried to venture into her mind earlier, he was overwhelmed by her pain and fear, which meant no time to snoop around as planned.

  Grace stood and looked up to meet Rafe’s eyes. “My only son, I love you more than my own life, but don’t be an idiot. How long have I counseled abused women at the clinic? They come to us two and three at a time from other packs. I know the symptoms when I see them, and your mate’s are severe.”

  Rafe paced back and forth, unsure of what to make of the conversation with his mom. Was she right? Had he missed the signs?

  “So what do you suggest?”

  “Go easy on her. Set her up with an appointment with Erin tomorrow at the clinic. You can take her, but stay in the lobby. Don’t you dare walk into the exam room with her. Let her do it on her own. Mina has to develop a support system of women she can trust here at Black Paw, and she needs to learn how to trust you. Above all, you have to prove to her that you are nothing like the filthy inbred mutts at Twisted Tail.”

  The more his mom talked, the angrier he got. He wanted to trot his ass directly to Twisted Tail and rip Griffin’s balls from his body, then stuff them down his throat. The bastard’s days were numbered. It was a vow Rafe would gladly make to his mate.

  “I get it, Mom. I’ll see what I can do to make the transition to Black Paw easier on her.”

  “Good. Let’s get you something to eat now.”

  Grace wrapped her arm around Rafe, accompanying him back to the kitchen. Surprise flitted across both of their faces when they realized Mina had waited for them before starting her own meal.

  “You didn’t need to wait for us, you could have started eating.” Grace filled Rafe’s plate before handing it to him. Grabbing a bowl of fresh fruit and her plate, she joined them at the table.

  Mina’s eyes darted from Rafe to Grace and back. “I didn’t want to be rude. The Alpha should always get his fill first.”

  “There’s more than enough food here, for everyone. I’d rather go hungry than think of someone in my pack not getting enough to eat. Or my mate starving herself for me.” Rafe’s words were gentle, reassuring. “If you’re hungry, I want you to eat whenever you want. You’re welcome to all that fills the fridge and pantry. You don’t need to wait for me or seek approval first. Understood?”

  Mina nodded, taking a small bite of her steak. “Thank you.”

  The conversation with Grace played through Rafe’s mind. He didn’t want to think of his mate as skittish or afraid, but watching her moves closely, listening to the archaic drivel about the Alpha eating first—set him on edge.

  Rafe took a bite of his food and prepared for the inevitable. He had questions, she had answers. And he’d rather not wait until his pack was invaded to get them. But he would wait until she finished eating. Even after healing her, she looked weak and exhausted. His instinct told him his female was nearly starved. It had probably been days since she had eaten a proper meal.

  Watching as she devoured everything on her plate and a healthy dose of fruit from the large bowl in the center of the table, Rafe felt a sense of peace knowing he’d given his mate what she needed.

  The effects of the protein packed meal were immediate. Mina’s skin no longer looked gray and sickly. Her long auburn hair shined a little brighter, her ice-blue eyes appeared clearer. It was amazing how fast their inner wolf could
process and transform food into nutrition for the body.

  He held off the round of questions until she finished the very last morsel.

  “Were you sent here by Twisted Tail in hopes of securing me as a mate?” Rafe watched Mina’s every move like a hawk. He scented the air and smelled fear, her fear. Opening the connection, he listened passively, trying not to intrude on her innermost thoughts, while keeping his connection a secret.

  “No. I swear. No one sent me. I ran on my own from Twisted Tail.”

  Rafe noted that Mina kept her eyes down, as if in shame.

  “Why did you run?” Rafe took another bite of his food after ensuring she had told the truth.

  Mina’s hand began to shake immediately. “I—I had to get away. The Alpha was going to force me to mate with him. He was holding me in a cage until the full moon. Until he could force the mating bond. It was the only way I would survive the forced mating if he wasn’t my true mate.”

  Grace choked on her coffee as Mina finished her sentence.

  “That practice has been banned for hundreds of years! What the hell is he thinking?” Rafe wanted to break something, anything. His fist landed hard against the table, cracking it down the middle, causing Mina to fly from her chair and huddle in the nearest corner.

  “Rafe!” Grace shot to her feet.

  Slowly, cautiously, Rafe approached Mina, wanting to kick himself as she crouched in the corner, shivering in fear.

  What did they do to you?

  “Mina. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to lift you up carefully, okay?”

  When all she offered was a nod, Rafe bent to lift her from the floor. Cradling her like the most precious possession on the planet, he carried her to the living room and gently placed her on the couch.

  It was at that very moment Rafe realized he had to tell her that he forced the mental connection and why.

  An idea leapt forward in his mind. The connection could be used to help her see what he was like, what life at Black Paw was like. Most importantly, he wanted her to know she had nothing to fear.