by Delta James
He didn’t wait for an answer, just continued on and headed up the great staircase. The feel of him being bayonetted into her as he walked created a whole other round of arousal and need and she bit his shoulder to keep from screaming as she came again. Sloan was exhausted, her body sore and bruised from his claiming.
Instead of turning to go to the room that had been hers since she had joined Calon Onest, Gareth strode to the large, airy chambers he had been using. Sloan raised her head and saw Ruari, Alaric, Bryan, and Tristan trailing behind them. Her face flushed with shame, she sought to hide within the crook of Gareth’s neck.
Once inside, Gareth held the door with one hand while keeping her firmly in place with his cock skewering her pussy. As Ruari and the three ranking members of Calon Onest filed in, he shut the door before disengaging her from his staff and putting her on her knees so that she knelt at his feet.
“I, Gareth, Alpha of Ravenscar, claim you, Sloan of Calon Onest, to be my one true and fated mate. What say you?” he growled.
She took a deep breath and could not raise her head to meet the gaze of any of the wolves that surrounded her. In a defeated voice, she said, “I, Sloan of Calon Onest, take you, Gareth, Alpha of Ravenscar, to be my one true and lawful fated mate and alpha.”
He stroked her hair and the rumbling purr that only she could hear reassured her that his anger was quickly being replaced by contentment and a renewed sense of arousal.
“Is it done to your satisfaction, brother? Do you relinquish your care of this woman to my safekeeping?”
“Would it really matter if I didn’t?” replied Alaric in a bantering tone.
Gareth surprised her by chuckling, “Not really.”
“But let the records show that I happily acknowledge my brother’s claim to Sloan and that from this day forward it will be known that she is his mate. Why don’t the rest of you spread the word throughout the castle and allow me to speak to my brother and his mate in private.”
“You don’t expect any of us to tell Rowan, do you?” quipped Bryan.
“No, but when the church bells start ringing, I suspect my mate will be in a foul mood. I will deal with her myself as soon as I am done with Gareth. Tristan, ask Dawson to collect all of Sloan’s things in preparation of her transfer to my brother’s care and chambers.”
The three men filed out, closing the door behind them. Gareth reached down for her and drew her back up to her feet. He kissed her temple and ran his hand possessively down her backside, letting it rest there. Sloan tried to remove it and he growled. She realized the gesture had been as much for her benefit as Alaric’s.
He patted her rump affectionately and said, “Go slip into bed, mate. Alaric and I have things to discuss.”
“I despise you,” she seethed. Sloan then turned to Alaric. “And I have no idea why you call yourself alpha and would let a man do what he did to me in the tunnel.”
Alaric chuckled and Gareth just smiled.
“The door into the council chamber was still open, Sloan. We heard your cry of rapture and surrender when my brother claimed you. There isn’t a male wolf in all of Britannia that would deny him. He carried you through the castle in an even more provocative and possessive way than I did Rowan, and his bite was deep and will mark you forever as his. Besides, in case you missed it, he can be a nasty bastard when provoked.”
Sloan was embarrassed and appalled. She was emotionally and physically spent and had no other way to respond than to burst into tears. She tried to turn away from Gareth but he sat on the edge of what was now to be their bed and gathered her onto his lap.
“You did that deliberately,” she accused through her tears.
“Shh, mate,” Gareth soothed. “I knew who was likely to be in the room and yes, I wanted them to hear you acknowledge my claim. But they will not seek to shame you. As with Alaric and Rowan, they will only be envious that I have a mate of such passion and fury.”
Gareth continued to hold her and rocked her gently in his arms. Sloan watched as Alaric brought the desk chair over closer to the bed and sat down.
“So, you’ve marked and claimed her... now what?” asked Alaric.
“If I can impose on you... the medic that travels with my army is experienced with transitions. You might recall that not all of those at Ravenscar are wolf. A number of my men-at-arms are human. I make sure the surgeon is always with us so that if one of them can only be saved by being turned, the soldier has the best of care and someone there to make it as safe as possible. I would have us remain here until Sloan is recovered.”
“I think having her transition here is probably best. This is the only loving home she has ever known so the people and places will be familiar to her.” Alaric reached his hand toward her, prompting Sloan to growl at him.
“Apologize to Alaric at once,” scolded Gareth. “You do not growl at ranked members of our pack or Alaric’s and never at an alpha. Apologize or you will spend your transition with soft pillows cushioning your punished backside.”
“I apologize, Alaric of Calon Onest,” she mumbled.
“I will leave the two of you alone and see that your surgeon attends you as quickly as possible.”
Gareth helped Sloan off his lap and into their bed, fluffing the pillows up behind her for a comfortable back rest.
“The surgeon doesn’t need to be here at this moment; make sure that the wounded are cared for. Sloan will have at least several hours before she transitions, but if you could have warm water and cloths brought up so that I can see to my mark, I would appreciate it.”
“I will see it done. May I be the first to offer you my congratulations on a long and happy pairing.”
Alaric opened the door to find Dawson patiently waiting with a bowl of warm water, disinfectant, clean cloths, and a light repast. Alaric shook his head and had him enter as he left.
“My lord. I thought you might be in need of these. I have some experience in this area and can see to it if needed,” offered the majordomo.
“No, I will care for my mate, Dawson, but thank you for the supplies and for the food. That was kind of you.”
“It is my pleasure. Blessings to you and your mate on your fated pairing and an easy transition.”
Dawson withdrew, leaving them alone.
“I hate all of you,” she whispered.
Gareth leaned over, drawing his shirt over her head, cupping her breast and thumbing her nipple as he kissed first her mouth and then his mark, smiling as her beaded tip stiffened under his touch.
“I think not as much as you would like,” he said, happily rumbling at her.
He sat down next to her with the medical supplies. Sloan tried to scooch away, but he easily pulled her back. When she tried a second time, he growled as he did so.
“Try it a third time, mate, and before I see to my mark at the base of your throat, I will see to your foul temper. I’m warning you, Sloan, I would prefer that your transition be completed without my having to discipline you first, but if you continue to misbehave, I will deem it necessary and you will find yourself face down over my knee.”
This time when he lifted the cloth soaked in warm water, she made no protest and allowed him to clean the wound before applying disinfectant and a bandage. When he was done, he discovered the silent tears that had begun to leak from her eyes.
“It’s all right, Sloan. There is nothing to fear. My surgeon has vast experience in ensuring that transitions are easy and smooth. You are young and healthy and have expressed an interest in being turned. There should be no problem.”
“You might have asked me. Shit, Gareth, you might have asked me about all of it,” she said angrily, wiping away the tears that continued to fall.
“I did ask you; you refused me,” he said simply as if speaking to a child.
“Get away from me,” she seethed.
“Sloan, it is done. You are mine.”
“I was human.”
“And now you will be wolf. You will be one with me.
” He slid his hand down her body, cupping her mons possessively and feeling the sticky evidence of both his claiming and her response to it. “Once you have transitioned and I have knotted you and you carry my child in your belly, you will forget the technicality of having never consented to being turned.”
He turned his back on her. The arrogant bastard, she thought. Had he forgotten the half-empty bottle of wine he had left at his bedside? Sloan reached up for it and brought it crashing down on his head. Gareth slumped over, breathing heavily.
Sloan rolled away from him and rushed to the door, cracking it open. Seeing no one in the hallway, she ran to her old room where she quickly found a pair of breeches she’d managed to hide. She pulled them on along with an under-bust corset and a pair of boots. Her body was trying to betray her again and tell her it was in pain and needed to rest; she ignored its protests.
For the first time all day, the buzzing was gone. She felt as though she could think clearly. Sloan grabbed the grappling hook and rope that had been left just inside her window. She went to the hidden panel and opened the entrance from her room to the tunnels. She ran as fast as her punished body would allow her to go and prayed it would be enough. She wound her way through the maze, choosing to exit the castle underground through one of the portals hidden amongst the burial grounds.
Sloan knew there was a farm not far away and pushed herself to keep going. Finally, the farm was in sight and she could see several horses in the corral. There was also a saddled charger tied to the hitching post just outside the cottage. She crept closer and could hear the sounds of a bed being used to the delight of the two occupants. Sloan smiled; that little tryst would cost the soldier his horse.
The animal was a big bay roan with kind eyes. Silently Sloan untied him and led him behind the barn before using the fence to mount. There was no way she would have been able to swing up into the saddle or lift her leg high enough to put it in the stirrup. The image of Gareth lifting her leg to straddle his hip before plunging into her flashed through her mind and her body went flush with arousal. She steadied herself in the saddle, wincing as she found it uncomfortable to be sitting astride.
She turned the horse toward the north. An abandoned human settlement was rumored to be set into the sea caves a hard day’s ride from there. If she could get there, and it was truly abandoned, perhaps she could hide long enough to let her body heal before figuring out where she could go. She touched Gareth’s mark... she would never be safe among wolves again. They would recognize the evidence of his claiming for what it was and return her to him.
Sloan urged the warhorse into a ground-covering stride and rode away from the happiness she had found at Calon Onest toward an uncertain future. She briefly wondered how long and how difficult her transition might be. If it came on her suddenly as she galloped, she could fall and break her neck. But she wasn’t sure that death wasn’t preferable to being forced into a pairing with the Alpha of Ravenscar.
Chapter Five
Gareth came to, shaking his head. Even before he opened his eyes, he knew she was gone. Not just from his side, but he couldn’t feel her anywhere close. He threw open the door and roared. Alaric, Ruari, and Tristan came running.
“Gareth?” Alaric asked with concern.
“That nasty, ill-tempered wench. She’d better pray to whatever gods she believes in that when I catch up with her, she is in the throes of transitioning. Otherwise, she will transition with a welted bottom.”
They all turned as they heard Rowan laughing. “Sloan is gone? How the hell did that happen?”
“My mate broke a bottle of wine over my head.”
“Rowan,” growled Alaric. “Where is she?”
“I have no idea whatsoever,” she answered. “But I fear what may happen if she transitions without anyone to watch over her.”
Gareth ducked back into his room and grabbed a clean shirt. “Ruari, get our men, it would seem we’re going hunting.”
“Gareth, my men and I will join you. Rowan, you are to go back to our chambers and stay there. I will have guards posted in the hallway and in the...”
Alaric and Gareth looked at each other and ran down the hallway to Sloan’s room. Finding the door locked from the inside, they worked together to breach it and gain entrance.
“Rowan!” called Alaric.
She joined them.
“You know the tunnels better than anyone. Where would she go?”
Rowan thought for a moment. “There are so many entrances and exits. Have the men start searching the castle for her. She’s either got to get to a horse to get away or find a place to hole up.”
Alaric wrapped her in his arms. “We’ll find her, Rowan.”
“Thank you for helping,” offered Gareth.
“Let me be very clear, brother,” she seethed. “I am only helping you because I fear for Sloan’s life. Transitioning is never easy and is always dangerous. Doing it without anyone there to monitor things decreases the odds of her survival. If she dies, Gareth of Ravenscar, I will never forgive you for what you have done. You turned her without her consent and then paraded her through the keep impaled on your prick to prove your prowess to those in attendance. You are not worthy of her.”
“Rowan!” Alaric growled menacingly. “Gareth is our guest; he is my brother...”
“And your mate has every right to feel as she does,” interrupted Gareth. “I would remind you, Rowan, if something happens to her, you will have to hate me quickly and intensely for I will not survive her death for long. She is my fated mate. I will do everything in my power to see her restored to me.”
“Gareth, I’ll help our men search the tunnels,” said Alaric. “Edan, who was beta to Rowan, said there were two inland exits, one to the south and one to the north. Have him ride with you, and Dawson with Ruari, and take you to them. If she’s left the castle, at least you may be able to pick up her trail.”
Gareth turned on his heel and strode out of the keep to join his men in their hunt for his mate.
* * *
The roan thundered across the fields. In any other circumstance, Sloan would have gloried in becoming one with him and feeling as though she were flying. Now she clung to his mane with both hands as she urged him to keep moving. Her body had become racked with chills. She had learned over the years that it was the first sign of the transition beginning. She would never make it to the sea caves, she needed to find a place to hide... some place she could tether her horse where he would have forage and water when she was unconscious and had no way to care for him.
She vaguely remembered Rowan talking of a crofter’s cottage that was hidden in a glade, by a stream deep in the forest. She could use the rope from the grappling hook to tie her horse on a long line so he could graze and drink from the stream. Her belly clutched in the same way it had when she was becoming aware of Gareth’s presence. Only now it wasn’t just uncomfortable, the pain was strong enough to threaten to tumble her from the horse. She entered the woods, slowing her mount to a trot.
Sloan knew her body was giving out and was fighting off the blackness that wanted to claim her. Then, as if in a dream, the hut appeared. She saw the stream and used the rope to secure her horse as she removed the saddle and bridle. She stumbled into the cottage with them and collapsed on the floor.
The last image before her eyes closed of their own accord was of Gareth’s smiling face. She could hear the profound, resonant rumbling that came to her. Do not fear; I will come for you, mate. All will be well.
* * *
Edan led Gareth and a handful of men to the northern exit from the caves. Sloan had not taken the time to close the gate that barred the entrance or to replace the camouflage that normally hid it. Gareth gave his man who handled the dogs a chemise that Sloan had worn to get her scent. The dogs cast around on the ground until one picked up the scent and bayed that he had her. The pack of dogs gave chase with Gareth and those with him right behind.
They rode for several hours. The little fo
ol, he thought, didn’t she know she was endangering her life? And for what? Because he hadn’t asked her permission to turn her? She was his fated mate, what the hell was he supposed to have done? He inhaled sharply; it felt like someone had sucker punched him in the gut.
“My lord?” inquired Edan.
Gareth pulled up, closed his eyes and centered himself. “It has begun. My mate has begun to transition.” He turned to his men. “Two of you ride for Calon Onest. Get Fallon, a tent, and any supplies that will be needed. Head back here. If we aren’t here, follow our trail. We will continue on to find Sloan and then will head back to meet you.”
“Yes, Alpha,” they said in unison, wheeling their horses away and riding hard for their surgeon.
“Let’s catch up to the dogs. They’ll run harder when they know we’re behind them again. We must get to Sloan. She is in danger.”
They galloped forward and Gareth tried to reach out to her. Do not fear; I will come for you, mate. All will be well.
The dogs ran for another hour, their tongues lolling out of their mouths as they continued to bay. They turned from the fields and headed toward the woods. It would be more difficult to track her there with the thick underbrush, but the hounds were well trained and would find her.
Edan rode up to him. “My lord, I think I know where she’s headed. There’s an old crofter’s hut in the woods. Rowan and I used to play in it when we were children. I know Rowan has spoken of it with Sloan. She has to know she needs a place that is relatively safe. It’s the only place she can be going.”
Gareth turned to the remainder of his men. “Stay with the dogs and track her. Edan and I will ride ahead.”
“I have a horn with me,” offered Edan. “If we find her, I’ll sound it to let you know, and we can all head back here.”
Edan spurred his horse into a gallop, crashing through and jumping over fallen logs and other debris in the forest. Gareth was hot on his heels. Within short order, they reached the cottage. There was a horse staked out in the field and the door to the dwelling was ajar.
