Gabriel’s gaze sharpened on his cousin. “Husband?”
Connor shrugged. “It appears that my mate is already married. Guess I’m a bit late finding her.”
Gabriel studied his cousin for a moment. He knew that it had to weigh heavy on Connor that not only was his mate married, but she’d been abused by her husband. He could almost hear the “what if” statements going through Connor’s head.
The women excused themselves and scurried through the bedroom door to check on their patient.
Connor’s gaze followed them. He wished he could go with them and be by Aislinn’s side. Now that he’d found her, he didn’t want to be away from her for very long, especially not right now, not until he knew she was going to be okay.
“Did she say how she got here?” Gabriel asked.
Connor shook his head. “She said she’s from Mobile, Alabama.”
“I’ll contact the pack there and see if her husband is looking for her. If her picture is on the news, we’ll have to report that we’ve found her, whether you like it or not.”
Connor growled under his breath. No matter what it took, he wasn’t returning her to her husband. As far he was concerned, Aislinn was his and his alone. If they found her husband, he’d deal with the man who had abused his mate.
“I know you don’t like it, but we can’t have the police thinking you kidnapped her,” Gabriel said. “Especially if she looks as bad as you say.”
Connor motioned for Gabriel to follow him to the bedroom. He opened the door a crack and peeked inside. Aislinn was surrounded by the women and she was sitting up in bed. She looked like a terrified rabbit. Connor pushed the door open further and stepped into the room.
“Is everything okay in here?” he asked, his eyes focused on Aislinn.
Marin, Chloe, and a very pregnant Kiera turned to him in surprise. Aislinn looked relieved to see him.
“Why wouldn’t everything be okay?” Marin asked.
“I can’t check on my guest?” Connor replied.
Marin shrugged a shoulder and looked away.
She’d been miffed at Connor for weeks now, but heck if he knew why. He was getting tired of the barbs she constantly slung his way. He needed to get to the bottom of it, but right now he had more pressing matters on his mind.
“I’m okay,” Aislinn said quietly, her voice slightly less husky than before. “Just a little overwhelmed.”
“Aislinn, I’d like you to meet my cousin, Gabriel. You’ve already met his wife, Kiera.”
Aislinn gave them a smile. “It’s nice to meet you. I was just telling your wife she shouldn’t have come out so close to her due date.”
“She wanted to make sure you were okay,” Gabriel replied.
Aislinn nodded. “I would say I’ve had worse, but I think this time might have been the worst one yet.”
Connor moved closer to the bed, needing to be by her side. “How many times has he done this, Aislinn?”
“Too many,” she said in a near whisper. “When I first heard you speaking to me, I couldn’t open my eyes and I thought that he had finally killed me.” She grinned ruefully. “I thought you were an angel.”
Connor sat on the edge of the bed and gathered Aislinn in his arms, ignoring the snickers from his family. It was no secret that he was far from angelic, but he wasn’t about to dissuade Aislinn from her misconceptions just yet. He wasn’t a womanizer, but he was no saint either.
He had expected her to resist, but she melted against him. It was as if she belonged in his arms. “I won’t let him hurt you anymore.”
“If I really am in Ashton Grove, then he can’t hurt me. For that matter, he won’t even be able to find me.”
Connor looked down at her with a puzzled look. Sure, Alabama was a good day’s drive away, but it wasn’t like it was on the other side of the world.
“Why is that?”
“Because it doesn’t exist.”
Everyone in the room looked at one another with a look of shock on their faces.
“Aislinn, what do you mean it doesn’t exist?” Connor asked.
Aislinn stifled a yawn, feeling run down. “It only exists in the book I was reading before Hugh came home from work.” She smiled. “A book about Cole and Marin now that I think about it.”
Connor looked at Gabriel. “What kind of book, Aislinn?”
“A romance novel,” she murmured sleepily. “When Hugh threw me against the wall, I remember thinking that I never got my happily ever after. I wanted my fairy tale ending.”
Connor stared down at her in shock. “A romance novel?”
“Mmm-hmm. It was about a werewolf finding his mate.”
Connor almost dropped her. She knew they were werewolves? He hoped his apprehension didn’t show. “We’re going to let you get some rest. I’ll come back and check on you in a minute.”
Carefully laying her back on the bed, he ushered everyone out of the bedroom and closed the door. Once they were all gathered in the living room, he asked, “Is that even possible?”
“Is what possible? That she hit her head and dreamed up another reality?” Marin asked.
Connor shook his head. “She appeared in a ray of light. What if she is from another reality?”
Gabriel grinned. “Then I’d say you’re off the hook as far as the husband goes.”
“It’s going to be more complicated than that. She’s been abused,” Connor reminded him. It had felt so right to hold her in his arms, but he wasn’t going to kid himself. He was going to have to earn her trust. Just because she let him hold her didn’t mean he could be part of her life just yet.
“She went willingly into your arms a minute ago. I don’t think you’re going to have a problem,” Gabriel said. “She might have been abused by her husband, but I think she wants to be loved. You heard what she said. She wished for a happily ever after.”
Connor sighed. “We still need to see if we can locate a Hugh Winston in Mobile, Alabama. I want to make sure we exhaust every effort to try and find her husband.”
Gabriel nodded. “We can do that. And if we do find him, we can also make sure he disappears.”
Connor shook his head. “I may not like the fact that she’s married, but I can’t just make her husband disappear.”
“I meant more for the abuse than because she’s your mate.”
Connor gave him a grim smile. “No, for the abuse I get to rip him to pieces.”
“Until then, what do you want to do?” Gabriel asked.
“Whether she’s married or not, she’s my mate, which means my blood will heal her. I can’t leave her in that condition,” Connor said.
Cole held up a syringe. “I came prepared when Gabriel said your mate had been injured.”
Connor nodded. “Then let’s get this over with.”
Pausing outside of the bedroom door, he took a breath. If she knew about Cole and Marin, then she would know what it meant to accept his blood. Would she allow him to heal her? And could her story be believed? It was all just a little too unreal for him. The paranormal world never ceased to amaze him. There seemed to always be something he didn’t expect. It was enough to make him question everything he thought he knew about his life. What else was out there that he had only thought was a myth or science fiction?
Chapter Two
Connor stepped into the bedroom and quietly walked to Aislinn’s side. When he took her hand in his, she opened her eyes.
“Aislinn, I’m going to ask you something important.”
“What is it, Connor?” she asked softly.
“If you know about Cole and Marin, then you know that a werewolf’s blood can heal his mate, right?”
She smiled. “That’s what the book said.”
“And being that I’m related to Cole, you realize that means I’m a werewolf, too?”
She nodded her head.
“Well, what if I told you that the book was right and that you were my mate?”
The smile fell from her face. “
Then I would say it was a cruel joke.”
Connor crouched beside the bed to be at eye level with her. “Why would it be a cruel joke?”
“Because of everything I’ve been through with Hugh. All I’ve ever wanted was to find my perfect match. In all of the stories I’ve read, werewolves mate for life and they always find the perfect female to be their mate.”
“Aislinn, you didn’t answer my question.”
She blinked away her tears and looked away. How could she tell him that he was everything she’d ever dreamed about? Why would someone like him want to be with a broken, battered woman like her? How could she possibly be his mate? Besides, Ashton Grove, and werewolves, didn’t exist. She was simply unconscious and living in a fantasy. Then again, a fantasy wouldn’t be making her say things or do things she didn’t want to, or couldn’t.
“Aislinn?” Connor gently grasped her chin and turned her face toward him.
“Please don’t make me answer you. I can’t.”
“I can’t give you my blood without your permission. If I can’t heal you the easy way, I’ll have to take you to the hospital.”
“Connor, I can’t go to the hospital.”
“Aislinn, I have no way of knowing how bad your injuries are. I can’t just leave you here.”
A tear slipped down her cheek as she looked away. It had been so long since anyone had cared what happened to her. The neighbors at home had looked away whenever they saw bruises on her arms. Her friends had stopped calling. She could handle anger, but kindness… she wasn’t sure she could handle Connor’s kindness right now. Closing her eyes, she pretended to go to sleep.
Connor sighed and left the room.
“Did it work?” Cole asked.
“She wouldn’t let me do it,” Connor said, mumbling something about stubborn women under his breath.
“Then we’re taking her to the hospital,” Gabriel said.
“I told her that, but she refuses to go to the hospital, too.”
Gabriel shook his head. “It’s not her decision to make.”
“Uh, not to be the one to break up the party or anything, but if she materialized just as she is what about ID?” Colin asked.
“She doesn’t have anything other than the clothes on her back,” Connor said. “I’ll cover the hospital bill, but you know they’re going to ask for a driver’s license or something.”
Gabriel nodded. “We can call Cassie’s dad, but I don’t think he can get anything here that quick.”
Cole grinned. “You might be surprised. He worked pretty quickly on Marin’s stuff.”
“Alright, see what you can do. I’ll call Lucas. I think he dated a nurse at the hospital. Maybe she can help us out until then,” Gabriel said. “Without knowing how severe her injuries are, it’s hard to say whether or not she’s in stable condition.”
Connor looked over his shoulder at the closed bedroom door. The tightness he’d felt in his chest doubled at the thought of losing Aislinn. He didn’t care if she was married or from another reality. She was his mate and he would fight to keep her.
“Connor, she may fight you, but you’ll have to carry her out to Cole’s truck. You can ride in back with her.”
Connor nodded. He tuned his brother and cousins out while they made their calls, his thoughts focused on the woman lying in his bed. Whether she liked it or not, she was under his protection. He wasn’t about to let anything else bad happen to her.
Walking to the bedroom door, he opened it a crack and peeked inside. Shock rippled through him. A man dressed in black sat on the edge of the bed holding Aislinn’s hand. What the hell? Connor wondered. He held back a growl as the man kissed Aislinn briefly and disappeared.
Connor wanted to storm into the room and demand an explanation, but he held himself back. Obviously the paranormal was at work. Had Aislinn lied to him? Was she really working with someone else in order to gain his trust? And if so, to what purpose? He wanted to trust her, but should he?
He stiffened when he felt his brother’s hand on his shoulder.
“Are you ready? Gabriel and Cole have everything worked out,” Colin said.
“Yeah, just give me a minute.”
Colin turned Connor to face him. “What’s going on?”
Connor shrugged. There were times, like now, when sharing a psychic link with your brother wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
“Who was in there with Aislinn?” Colin asked.
“I don’t know, okay?” Connor growled.
Colin narrowed his eyes at his brother, but didn’t say anything else. Giving Connor some space, he rejoined the others.
Aislinn opened her eyes when Connor left the bedroom and stared at the ceiling. She didn’t know what she was going to do, but she had to figure it out pretty soon. Connor seemed like the kind of guy who was used to getting his way.
Wincing, she tried to push herself into a sitting position.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” said a deep voice in the corner of the room.
Aislinn gasped and froze.
A large blond man dressed all in black walked out of the shadows. “My name is Eric and I’m here to guide you, in a manner of speaking.”
“What do you want?” Aislinn asked.
“You made a wish, a powerful wish, Aislinn.”
“You know my name?” she asked, eyes wide in shock.
He gave her a half grin, his beautifully sculpted mouth tipping up slightly at one corner. “Yes, I know your name and a great deal more. You see, I’m what some would call a wizard. Others call me a warlock or a sorcerer. There are a hundred names for me, but actually none of them are correct. I’m unique. I’ve lived for a thousand years.”
Aislinn’s mouth fell open. “But you don’t look very old.”
Eric laughed. “I stopped aging when I was twenty-six, so I guess in a way I’m not much older than you.”
“Why are you here?”
“Your wish.”
Aislinn studied him. “The wish I made when Hugh and I were fighting?”
He nodded and moved closer to her. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he took her hand in his. “You weren’t meant to be with Hugh. You’ve suffered a great deal because the Fates screwed up.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“It means that you were owed a second chance at life.”
Aislinn mulled over his words. “I died, didn’t I?”
He brushed her hair away from her face. “Yes, sweetheart. I’m afraid you did. Or rather, you would have if you hadn’t made your wish.”
Aislinn nodded. “I think I knew that already.”
“Ashton Grove really does exist, Aislinn, but it exists on another plane. It’s another realm, I guess you could say. It looks like yours, has the same cities, stores… but the city itself doesn’t exist in your world.”
“What are you saying, Eric?” she asked him quietly.
“I’m saying, this can be your new home, if you want it to be.”
“And if I don’t?”
He studied her, taking in her battered face. “Why would you want to return? You’re dead in the other world.”
“I’m scared,” she admitted.
“Scared of what? Of being loved?”
“Why would he love me?”
Eric grinned. “He’s your mate, or rather you’re his mate. Why wouldn’t he love you?”
“How permanent is this? I’m not going to fall in love, start a new life, and suddenly disappear am I?”
Eric leaned forward and gently kissed her, giving her the reassurance she needed. “I’ll make sure you’re taken care of. If you decide this world isn’t the right place for you, I’ll personally find somewhere for you to go. But you need to give him a chance, Aislinn. Give yourself a chance, a chance at happiness.”
“Thank you.”
He nodded and disappeared as quickly as he had appeared.
Aislinn felt confused, but she also felt something else – somethin
g she hadn’t felt in a long, long time… hope.
Chapter Three
Connor walked into the bedroom and surveyed the area, looking for any trace of the man who had been by Aislinn’s side. There was an odd scent in the air, but other than that, he would have never known anyone else had been around.
“Connor, what’s wrong?” Aislinn asked.
He turned toward her, his eyes piercing her. Was she as innocent as she looked? Or was she merely acting? “Are you ready to go?”
Fear gripped her. Is he going to throw me out?
“Go where?” she asked, struggling to sit up, but failing miserably. The pain was just too much to bear.
“To the hospital. A friend of ours was able to get you a driver’s license.” Relief was evident upon her face and Connor felt like an ass. “Where did you think I was taking you, Aislinn?”
“I wasn’t sure.”
“Is there any reason I should take you somewhere other than the hospital?” he asked, hoping she would tell him about the strange man in black.
She shook her head gently.
Connor sighed. Obviously he wasn’t going to win this battle. If there was one thing he’d learned from his cousins and their wives, it was to choose his battles carefully – especially when dealing with a woman.
“Come on. I’ll have to carry you out to Cole’s truck. He and Marin are going to give us a ride to the hospital. Gabriel is going to meet us there with your driver’s license.”
“Where does it say I’m from?” she asked.
“They put my address down as your home address.”
He watched her face for a response. Other than surprise, he didn’t see anything else. Either she was a very good actress, or everything she had told him was the truth. He wanted to believe her, more than anything did he want to believe her. But he also had to believe what he’d seen with his own two eyes.
Stepping closer, he gently lifted her into his arms. She whimpered in pain once, but he held her close. When they got outside, Cole had the rear door of the truck open and was waiting on the other side.
“Just hand her in,” Cole said. “I’ll hold her while you get situated.”
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