Jace stepped out of the cover of the trees, and Terin felt a wave of alpha dominance roll over her. The dogs immediately rolled over and showed their bellies, or slunk away with their tails between their legs. It was all Terin could do not to join them. Then, behind Jace, Terin saw a huge grizzly bear step out of the woods as well, and rear up on his hind legs, giving a great roar before it dropped down onto all fours again.
Holy shit.
“Drop your weapons,” Jace said. “That includes you up in the trees. And no tricks. Emma’s kind of pissed about the Kevlar thing, and this time she’s going to be aiming for heads.”
The men hanging from the rope traps dropped their weapons to the ground, and a huge man with a face like granite came up and searched the man on the ground, taking away all his weapons as well.
Beckenham had dropped the barrel of his rifle, but when the stone-faced man stepped toward him, he brought it up again. “I’ll keep mine, thanks,” he said.
Jace raised a brief hand to the stone-faced man, and he stopped where he was, but he kept Beckenham covered with his own weapon.
“Look, we’ve got nothing against you personally,” Beckenham said, trying to sound conciliatory. If Terin was in human form, she would have snorted. Like he hadn’t called her and Rafe ‘dogs’ and burned down her cabin out of revenge for being humiliated. He went on, “You don’t know what you’re harboring here. The white one has bad blood. I’m doing you a favor—”
Rafe growled again.
“A favor?” Jace said. “Is that what you call arson, assault, attempted murder and kidnapping?”
The man snorted with derision. All the wolves and most of the people growled simultaneously, and most of the wolves started moving forward.
The man said, “You’re not going to kill us. Your boy Kane, there,” he nodded at the stone-faced man, “has been in town inquiring about us. If we disappear, it’s going to come right back on you. And you’ve brought enough trouble on yourselves from Grant without adding to it. So I’ll give you one more chance to do this the easy way. Just give us the white wolf, and we’ll leave the rest of you alone.”
“I don’t think so,” said Jace. “But I would like to know what you want her for. And how you and Alexander Grant even knew she was here.”
Beckenham said, “What the hell do you care? She’s not even in your pack.”
Emma called out, “Oh, for God’s sake. Can I just shoot him already?”
“Not yet, sweetheart,” Jace called back. “And I’m thinking Rafe has first dibs.” Rafe bared his teeth. Beckenham stared him down.
Terin was still trembling. There was something horribly familiar about this man, even though she didn’t know him. It was like the feeling she’d had when she first woke up at Ben’s—that she was in danger, but she didn’t know why or from who.
Now she knew. This man knew who she was. He knew what she’d done before. He knew all the things she didn’t know.
All the things she’d never wanted to know.
Jace returned his attention to Beckenham. “Aside from the fact that I don’t believe in turning innocent people over to murderers and kidnappers, the white wolf happens to be under the protection of the Silverlake pack. You’re not leaving here with her.”
“Fine,” the man said. “My plans are flexible.” He looked as if he was going to lower his weapon, but at the last moment he swung the rifle barrel up and shot straight at Terin.
Before Terin could move, Rafe barreled into her side, pushing her out of the path of the bullet. It whined past, missing them both by inches. Then Rafe gathered his feet under him and launched himself straight at Beckenham.
It was all over in seconds. The man lay on the ground, throat torn out.
The other man on the ground raised his hands. “Hey, man, this is just a job for us. Just because Frank had a thing about the white one doesn’t mean we want to give our lives for this. Call it quits, and we’re outta here.”
Jace and Kane exchanged looks, and then Jace made a gesture of dismissal. Terin was relieved. She didn’t want any more killing.
Emma stepped forward. “You give Alexander Grant a message from Emma Wilkes,” she said. “Tell him to stay the hell out of our mountains. If we ever see—or even smell—any of you here again, you’re going to end up like your friend Frank. And that goes for Grant, too.”
“When you put it that way,” Jace said thoughtfully, “why don’t you tell Grant he can come on by? We’ll be waiting.”
Rafe bared his teeth and growled.
“The rest of you,” Jace said, “no second chances.”
He turned to Kane. “Get rid of them,” he said.
Chapter 18
It turned out that the pack had trucks hidden on a nearby logging road. Those in human form piled into them, taking the men’s weapons with them. The others, still in wolf form, moved off through the woods, making their own way back to Silverlake.
Rafe shifted to human form, and Terin followed his lead. Somebody handed her some clothes out of the back of one of the trucks, and she put them on mechanically, too exhausted and shell-shocked to really know what she was doing.
Rafe boosted her up into the back of one of the pickups and sat down next to her in the truck bed, holding her protectively. She was trembling with reaction.
“He knew me,” Terin said numbly. “He knew who I am. Where I come from.”
And now he was dead, and they might never find out what he knew. She didn’t know if she was glad or sorry about that.
“It’s okay,” Rafe murmured, stroking her hair. “It doesn’t matter.” She could feel love and reassurance radiating out of him, and gradually she calmed down.
They rode back to the Silverlake compound, the two of them holding each other in silence. The others were talking and joking, high on the adrenalin and the victory. By the time they arrived, the rest of the wolves were drifting in from the woods, shifting and getting dressed.
Rafe lifted Terin down from the back of the truck, and she looked around at all the people. “They fought for me,” she whispered to Rafe, overwhelmed. “Why did they do that?”
Rafe smiled. “Because I asked them to,” he said simply. “Because we’re pack. And now you’re pack, too.” His smile faded a little. “At least, I hope you‘ll want to be.”
A gruff older man said, “God, I hope so too. Anybody who can get this jerk to act like an adult for five minutes is somebody we need around here.”
“Shut up, Mick,” Rafe growled.
Mick winked at Terin.
Terin leaned on Rafe. “When did you act like an adult?” she asked innocently. “I must have missed that part.”
Mick laughed. “I like her,” he said.
Rafe growled again, but he crooked his arm around her neck and kissed the top of her head.
Other pack members came up, one by one, and spoke to Rafe. They all wanted to touch him—a one-armed hug, a slap on the back, a touch on the arm. Most of them touched her, too, more gently.
“I hope you don’t mind the touching,” Rafe whispered. “It’s kind of a pack thing.”
Terin shook her head. She’d expected it to feel overwhelming, but Rafe was right—it was comforting. It made her feel like maybe she could belong.
Finally the group started to disperse. “Come on,” Rafe said. “You’ve had a hell of a day—you need some rest. Let’s get you settled in.”
That brought everything crashing back down around Terin. She was going to be sleeping in a borrowed place with nothing of her own. It was all gone.
She looked around. There were cabins dotting the area, light pouring out their windows, looking warm and welcoming. But Rafe was taking her along a dirt path that wound up the darkened hillside. “Where are we going?” she asked.
He just said, “You’ll see. But it’s not the bachelor crack den of horror. That would be too cruel, after the day you’ve had.”
She tried to smile, but she was so tired she could barely put one foot in fr
ont of the other. She stumbled over a rock, and Rafe scooped her up in his arms, cradling her gently.
“What are you doing?” Terin asked. Her arms automatically twined around his neck.
“Taking care of my future mate,” Rafe said.
“I’m too heavy,” she protested, but at the same time she snuggled closer to him.
“You weigh practically nothing,” Rafe said. “I’m going to have to start feeding you up.”
“Uh huh,” Terin said. “Says the Destroyer of Carrots. Who exactly is going to be cooking all this fattening food, again?”
“Hmm,” he said. “I’ll get back to you on that.”
“Yeah,” she said. “Me, that’s who.” He laughed.
She started thinking about her kitchen, about making him food, and realized once more that it was all gone. Her favorite platter, all her dishes and books and paintings—the loss hit her again, and a tear trickled down her face.
“Hey, shh, it’s okay,” Rafe said softly, kissing it away. “We’re almost there.”
They crested the hill and came to a cabin set off from the rest. It also had welcoming lights shining in its windows. Rafe put her down at the front steps.
“If this isn’t your crack den, then whose is it?” Terin asked.
“Mick’s,” Rafe said. “He’s kind of a curmudgeon, so he build his cabin up here away from the rabble of us young whippersnappers. We thought you might be more comfortable up here out of the crowds, so he swapped with me. I totally owe him for that, by the way, and a couple of blueberry pies would go a long way toward canceling my debt. Just sayin’.”
Terin couldn’t answer. She was exhausted and overwhelmed, and she just wanted to sink down somewhere and mourn over what she’d lost. Then maybe she could appreciate what they’d done for her.
They opened the cabin door and walked inside. Terin took one look around and caught her breath, stunned.
All her things were here. Her paintings were stacked against the wall, and her paints and brushes and other art supplies were boxed up nearby. The bed had her quilt spread over it, and her dishes were stacked in the kitchen—even her favorite platter. Her clothes had been hung up in the makeshift closet. And her books lined one entire wall—boxes and bags of books.
Terin’s knees gave way and she sank down on the couch, tears pouring down her face. “I don’t understand,” she said. “How did this happen?”
Rafe sat down next to her. “After you left this afternoon, we were afraid that Beckenham would make good on his threat to burn you out. Jace and I talked it over, and then he and Emma and I packed up everything we could and got it out of there. We figured if we were wrong, we could always bring it back.”
When she was silent, he added, “I know we did it without your permission, but I hope you’re okay with it.”
She turned and flung her arms around his neck. “I can’t believe you all did this for me,” she whispered into his chest. “It must have taken hours. And then you built the traps and set up the plan, and came back for me…”
And she’d been sitting at the top of the mountain feeling sorry for herself.
“I don’t deserve you,” she said to Rafe.
He laughed softly. “I’m sure a lot of the pack would agree with you,” he said. “They’d say no woman deserves to have to put up with me.”
She shook her head. “They’d don’t know you like I do.”
He grinned. “You just keep telling yourself that.”
He stood up and scooped her up off the couch. “Now I’m putting you to bed,” he informed her. “You’re so exhausted you can barely talk.”
Terin let him carry her over to the bed, but when he put her down, she refused to let go of his neck, pulling him down beside her.
“You can’t put me to bed all alone,” she said. “That would be cruel.”
His smile grew wider, and he lay down beside her, taking her in his arms. He began kissing her softly, gently, but soon their hunger rose up and they were devouring each other, kissing and stroking and tasting, wanting to be a part of each other.
Their clothes slid to the floor. Terin couldn’t wait to feel Rafe inside her, joining the two of them, making him hers forever. But as he moved over her, she pressed her hands against his chest, stopping him. “Wait,” she said. “Before we…you know…I want to invoke the mating bond.”
He looked deeply into her eyes, cupping her face in his hands. She could see the longing in his eyes, but he said, “You’ve been through a lot tonight. This isn’t the time to make life-changing decisions.”
She shook her head. “It’s exactly the time,” she said.
She’d always held back, always been afraid to trust. She had her reasons, but she’d realized that didn’t matter. Rafe had offered her everything he had, everything he was. He was all in—and that was all she could ever ask.
She stroked his wild, unruly hair back from his forehead. “I want you,” she said. “No one else has ever cared for me the way you do. No one has ever done so much for me.”
He shook his head and tried to say something, but she put her finger against his lips and went on.
“And no one else has ever made me want to make him feel the same. Every time I look at you, I just want to heal all the hurts inside you. To love you and treasure you and make you understand how special you are, what a good man you are. How you deserve to be the center of someone’s world. The favorite. The best.”
Rafe’s eyes filled with tears. Slowly, he bent his head and kissed her.
“You’re my favorite, Rafe Connors,” she whispered. “My mate. I want you above everyone else, always, and I’ll do everything I can to make you happy.”
Twining his fingers with hers, he moved slowly, pressing into her, filling her up. She gave herself completely to him, and she felt the magic roaring through them, swirling around them, making them one, exploding into stars and bathing them in the colors of the northern lights.
Epilogue
Rafe bounded into the bedroom of the new cabin he shared with Terin, picked her up, and twirled her around before giving her a smacking kiss and setting her on the ground again.
“Hi,” he said.
She gave him her tiny smile. “Hi, yourself,” she said. “What was that enthusiastic greeting for?”
“I missed you,” he said. “I’ve been gone a really long time.”
“Four hours is a long time,” she agreed, her face grave but her eyes twinkling. “During that eternity, I decided we should put the bed on this wall, under the skylight, so we can look up at the stars.”
He nodded. “I like it,” he said. “I concur. Guess what I brought you from town?”
Her face lit up in the way he loved.
“A present?” she said. She came over and started sticking her hands in his pockets. “Where where where?”
“Greedy,” he said, grabbing for her hands. He conveniently missed the one that was moving down the front of his pants.
Terin wrapped her hand around his cock. “Is this the present?”
Rafe totally lost his focus. “Uhh, what?” He gathered his thoughts together with difficulty. “No. I mean yes, you can have that whenever you want. But I actually brought you some of those chocolate caramels you like.” He fished the bag out of his jacket pocket.
“Mmm, yummy,” she said, letting go of his cock and taking the bag. She slid her arms around his neck. “You know you’re my favorite, right?”
“Your favorite mate?” he teased.
“My favorite everything. Lover, mate, friend, protector, candy enabler.”
He wrapped his arms around her. “No offense, but you don’t have a lot of basis for comparison.”
She kissed him lightly. “Lucky for you, then, I guess.”
He grinned at her, his heart expanding in his chest. “Yup. Lucky for me. You know I can never let you down off this mountain, because you’ll immediately find some guy better than me.”
She kissed him again. “I like you.
And besides, I’m pregnant. What other guy would put up with your progeny? He’s probably going to be a holy terror.”
He stood there like an idiot, his mouth hanging open. After a couple of tries, he managed to gasp out, “You’re pregnant?”
He swept her up into his arms, swinging her around again. “You’re pregnant.” Oh, shit. Should he be doing that? He put her down. “Wait. Was I squishing you too hard? Are you okay with this? Are you happy?”
She started giggling. “Um. You know that hugging me won’t squish the baby out like toothpaste out of a tube, right?”
He kissed her nose. “It might. Why take chances?”
She locked her arms around his waist. “And yes, I’m happy. Happier than I ever thought I could be.”
He could feel that she was telling the truth. Her happiness radiated out of her and warmed his own heart. He breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. Me too. But I guess you figured that out.”
“Uh huh,” she said. “I made you a present, too.”
She let him go and went over to the corner, where a painting was propped with its face to the wall.
Terin picked it up and turned it around. Rafe caught his breath. A black wolf and a white wolf sat on the top of a mountain, under a star-spangled sky, their muzzles raised to the full moon above. A rainbow of lights surrounded them, illuminating a valley full of wolves below. And at their feet, barely visible, was a black wolf cub.
Rafe slid his arms around her, cradling her close. “Best present ever,” he said.
Up Next in the Silverlake Shifters Series:
Tiger Mate (Silverlake Shifters Book 3)
Jesse’s story - coming in November 2016
Silverlake Shifters – The Enforcers: KANE
Coming in December 2016
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White Wolf Mate (Silverlake Shifters Book 2) Page 12
