Fated

by R. L. Mathewson

  “Why don’t you come dance with me for a bit?” he suggested in that silky smooth voice that was really starting to annoy her.

  Too exhausted to kick him in the nuts, and not really feeling like wasting another precious second dealing with him or his poor choice in cologne, she sighed heavily, raised her hand and waited for Mick to come to the rescue.

  Before her hand was in the air, the obnoxious human was removed from her presence and her mate, looking incredibly pissed off for some reason, was standing there, glaring down at her through sexy silver eyes as he visibly had to force himself not to reach out and throttle her.

  Too tired and nauseous to wonder what his problem was, she mumbled a, “thank you,” turned around and once again headed for the door that would take her to his loft, but she didn’t make it very far before she was assaulted with another wave of bad perfume, body odor and alcohol.

  Slapping a hand over her mouth, she stumbled towards the exit sign, shoved the door open and staggered clumsily outside, and not a moment too soon. Before the large metal door managed to click shut, she was slapping her hand against the old brick wall for support as she leaned over and lost everything she’d eaten in the last day or so.

  Since she wasn’t exactly in the mood to see what was coming up so that she could confirm her suspicions, she squeezed her eyes shut and continued to give in to her stomach’s reaction to the poor hygiene choices some of the club goers had made. It took a few minutes that she prayed that she would forget about one day with the help of therapy and a lot of denial, but her stomach finally settled down.

  Keeping her eyes closed, because she really didn’t want to get another look at all the food she’d managed to eat in the last twenty-four hours, she pushed away from the wall, stepped back and realized too late that she probably shouldn’t have done that as her head began to spin and her body started to get that weird numbing feeling all over, the kind that happened just before you passed out.

  Yeah, she was definitely about to pass out, she thought vaguely as she felt her legs give out. She thought about throwing her arms forward to stop herself from getting seriously hurt, but at that time it just seemed like too much effort so she just went with it as oblivion took over and sent her into a lovely world of darkness and pain, because she was pretty sure that she’d not only managed to hit her head on the way down, but that her generous derriere managed to land on what felt like a lovely array of broken glass.

  That was definitely going to leave a mark, she thought numbly with a wince as she felt herself being picked up and-

  Unceremoniously thrown over a very large, unfamiliar shoulder.

  As she was jostled about and carried away, she took some satisfaction in losing the last ounce of food in her stomach on the bastard kidnapping her.

  After she heard him mutter a few curse words that were oddly amusing to her for some reason, she allowed herself to pass out, take a quick nap, and recuperate so that when the time came, she would be fully rested and more than capable of kicking someone’s ass.

  She just needed a little nap first and then she’d handle this.

  Chapter 42

  Drew pinched the bridge of his nose, still trying to figure out how this had gone so badly so damn quickly. One minute he’d been “explaining” to a human about what happens when you touch someone’s mate and the next he was wondering where Kara had gone.

  It had only taken him a split second to find her scent and follow it to the back door. That’s when things became a little tricky. When he’d shoved that security door open he could honestly say that he hadn’t expected to find more than twenty Sentinels waiting for him in the back alley. Then again, he hadn’t expected to find his wife slung over one of their shoulders, passed out and snoring softly.

  He’d seen a lot of weird shit in his life, but this…

  This was definitely made his top three list of fucked up shit.

  “You mind telling me why you’re here?” he asked the group of Sentinels in that bored drawl that he’d perfected over the years while he looked around as though he didn’t really care that the little bastards had targeted his Club and taken his mate.

  They were a fucking annoyance, one that he had to put up with whether he liked it or not, and as the Alpha of the largest and oldest Pack in Boston, he definitely did not like having to deal with them. If anyone else had placed their hands on his mate he wouldn’t have hesitated in ripping their throats out by now, but they were Sentinels, which meant that he had to follow the rules or his Pack would suffer.

  Not that he particularly gave a flying fuck if his Pack suffered right now, not when some prick had his mate. They could take every last one of his Pack on bullshit charges right now and he could honestly say for the first time in his life that he wouldn’t give a flying fuck. The only thing that mattered to him right now was getting his mate back safely in his arms.

  “It doesn’t concern you, Drew,” the Sentinel holding Kara said as he gestured for the rest of them to clear out.

  “The fact that you have my mate over your shoulder says differently,” Drew said, well aware that the rest of the Sentinels were leaving one by one as he kept his eyes locked on the one that held Kara.

  “She’s ours,” the Sentinel said firmly as he leveled cold green eyes, that were oddly enough surrounded by laugh lines, on him in warning.

  Keeping his eyes locked on the Sentinel who was out of his fucking mind if he actually thought that Drew was going to let him walk out of here with his mate, he raised his arm that bore their mating sign. “According to this, she’s mine.”

  The Sentinel’s jaw clenched, once, twice and once again as he glared at Drew. “It’s a mistake.”

  “No,” Drew said confidently, because if there was one thing in this world that he knew, it was that their mating wasn’t a mistake. He’d been put on this earth to take care of her and that’s exactly what he was going to do. “It isn’t. She’s my Mate, mine by destiny and,” he said, reaching up and yanking down the collar of his shirt to show his other mark, “by her choice.”

  The Sentinel continued to glare at him, not looking particularly happy and definitely not looking as though he was going to put Kara down anytime soon. “I don’t fucking care,” the Sentinel finally said, earning a few muttered curses and eye rolls from the Sentinels that remained by his side.

  “Doesn’t fucking matter. You’re breaking shifter law now, Sentinel, and you know exactly what that means,” Drew said, letting his voice drop, going from human to something more terrifying.

  “Don’t fucking care,” the bastard holding his mate snarled, tightening his hold around Kara’s sleeping form as she continued to snore lightly, letting him know that she was completely oblivious to what was going on, which probably was a blessing at the moment.

  “John,” one of the Sentinels guarding his back said with a heavy sigh.

  John, a.k.a. the bastard still holding Kara, threw the Sentinel a glare. “I said that I don’t fucking care!”

  Cocking his head to the side with a predatorial grin, Drew said, “I have the right to tear your throat out for touching her and we both know it, but more importantly, we both know that I’ll do it.”

  “Don’t fucking care,” John said, tightening his hold around Kara.

  “John,” another Sentinel said with a heavy sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Don’t fucking do this.”

  “If she was your granddaughter, you wouldn’t fucking care either!” John snapped at his friend, taking Drew by surprise and turning his stomach in a whole new way, because he now knew just how fucked up Kara’s childhood had been and that she no longer belonged in his world.

  *-*-*-*

  “What are you doing?” Ryan demanded as all the blood leeched from his face while he walked alongside of Drew, looking as though he was going to be sick at any moment.

  Drew didn’t answer him, too afraid that he’d take his anger out on his best friend. So, he kept his jaw clenched shut tightly, adjusted
Kara’s limp body in his arms and kept walking, ignoring all the horrified looks of pedestrians jumping out of the way and leaving them behind in stunned silence as they simply stood there, staring at the trail of blood that he was leaving behind.

  “You need to get looked at, Drew! Please, don’t fucking do this!” Ryan begged, looking terrified as he went to grab Drew’s arm, but a small growl from him had his Beta remembering himself.

  The constant growl that followed him was oddly comforting, letting him know that Mick had their back. Then again, Mick adored his cousin and was most likely going to go hunt down the asshole that had done this to Kara and her mother.

  Then again, he planned on getting the job done first.

  But not just yet.

  First, he had to make sure that she was safely tucked away before he finished what was started so long ago. He was about to sell his fucking soul to make sure that he got his chance to kill the piece of shit that had done this to her. He was doing the one thing in this world that would make him a traitor to his kind. His Pack would hate him, mock him and fear him, because any shifter willing to trade sides was not someone that you wanted to fuck with.

  “Please don’t do this, Drew,” Ryan begged hollowly, guessing exactly what Drew was about to do.

  “It’s already done,” Drew bit out as he turned down the alley and headed towards the line of immaculately kept brownstones, ignoring the bullet that was pushing its way out of his leg courtesy of the stubborn bastard that had refused to hand over his mate.

  “Please, Drew. I’m begging you not to do this!” Ryan said, reaching for him, but Drew just shook off his hold and kept walking towards the only thing that could guarantee his mate a future.

  “You’ll be fucking shunned, Drew!” Ryan snapped desperately. “You’ll be a fucking mutt, a fucking joke and you’ll lose everything! Every fucking thing!”

  “Not as long as I have her,” he said evenly, turning and heading up the short set of brick stairs.

  “Please, Drew,” Ryan begged, staying where he was right alongside Mick, who for the first time in his life looked like he actually had something to say.

  Turning his back on his Beta and Mick, he faced the large solid door and waited. He didn’t have to wait long before the door was opened and he was ushered inside by a group of heavily armed men, waiting for the smallest excuse to blow his head off.

  The men that he’d fought for the right to carry Kara to this compound quietly limped into the building after him, shooting weary glances at the rest of the Sentinels watching them. They didn’t want him here, didn’t trust him, but as long as they helped protect Kara, he didn’t give a flying fuck.

  He’d take their stares, their bullshit and everything that they were going to send his way to prove his loyalty. He’d swear allegiance to the Council, be their errand boy, their bitch and whatever they needed him to be as long as they helped protect his mate and child. He would do whatever the fuck they wanted.

  But first things first…

  He had an old score to settle.

  Chapter 43

  She’d woken up in some weird places before, but she could honestly say that this was the first time that she’d woke up to find herself in a bedroom that looked as though someone had set off a pink paint bomb. Everything from the trim lining the walls to the sheets on the twin bed that she found herself in was pink.

  Not various shades of pink either.

  They were all an old cotton candy kind of pink, faded in most places. The only things in the room that weren’t pink were her, the old time pictures framed on the wall, and the antique dresser, which was white and held her clothes folded neatly on top. Praying that she hadn’t been dressed in pink, she looked down and sighed with relief.

  She was wearing one of Drew’s shirts, which had her frowning, because shouldn’t he be here, mocking all the pinkness with her? Throwing back the pink comforter, she climbed out of bed and made her way to the pink door in front of her. Wondering if the rest of the place was going to be pink, and really hoping that it wasn’t, because it was actually starting to hurt her eyes, she opened the door and frowned.

  While the room that she’d been in appeared as though it had been preserved since the early 1800’s, the apartment that she found herself in looked modern. Frowning, she looked over her shoulder at the room behind her and then back at the apartment that definitely didn’t match it.