Their Runaway Mate Read online

  “When I was still a young pup, barely in my teens, I lived in another Pack. It was smaller than this one and didn’t have the security as this one does, so we weren’t really ready when we were attacked. Our Pack did business with the local village and our Alpha was a prominent member of the village. They were aware of what we were, but they left us alone and we left them alone, so we weren’t ready when they turned on us.

  “One day, a couple of our Pack members had been running through the woods, hunting, and they came upon a teenage boy whose body was beaten and bloody. The boy was still alive, they quickly changed back into human form, retrieved clothes we used to have hidden all over the forest and took the boy into town. The boy told the towns people that a Pack of werewolves had chased him and tried to kill him.

  “The town’s people immediately started a hunt and came upon our Pack’s cottages. They set them on fire to flush us out and then proceeded to slaughter entire families. My older sister and I had been in the woods just goofing around when we came upon the attack. A couple of the villagers saw us and started to come after us, so we quickly changed into our wolf forms and ran away.

  “However, they had almost caught up to me, so my sister turned on them and defended me while I got away. I can still hear her yelps and howls of pain from when they got the better of her and beat her to death.

  “I ran as fast as I could and hid for a few days before I decided that it would be safe. As I got closer to the little area where our cabins used to stand, I saw they had taken a few of my Pack’s heads off and stuck them on sticks. They also had strung up our Alpha and left him to die amongst the bloodied remains of his Pack. I didn’t think he was still alive until I saw him move. Then I raced to his side and cut the ropes that were holding him to the tree they had tied him to and helped him lie down on the ground while he groaned in pain.

  “His wounds were severe, but they had already begun healing, so all he would have to do is change into his wolf form and he would be fine, but he was too weak to change. Therefore, I did the only thing I could do and I carried him to where I had made camp to hide out, and I took care of him until he was strong enough to shift. I gathered water from a nearby stream and I hunted and cooked meat for him over the campfire, which I had to feed him because he could barely even lift his arms to feed himself.

  “After another day, he was finally strong enough to shift, so he did, which healed him completely and gave him back some of his strength. That’s when he told me what had happened. The boy that had been found beaten was a son of one of the men who held a chair on the council for the village. The man hated our kind and especially our Alpha because he was more respected and held a higher seat than he did. The man had talked his sons into beating up their younger brother and told the boy to say the wolves did it so the village would turn on them, and he would take our Alpha’s seat on the council.

  “I wanted to kill the man and his family, but my Alpha refused to let me do it, saying they would probably kill me first. Instead, we traveled as wolves away from the village and away from our home.

  “As we traveled we came upon stray wolves that had been torn from their families too by the humans who lived close to them. We welcomed their companionship and slowly, our pack began to grow in numbers again.

  “Then we came upon this piece of land and it had no Pack or human village around it for miles. We claimed it as ours and built cottages and homes for our people. We also started training the male Pack members how to fight and took security measures, so if and when the humans tried to attack us again, we would be ready.

  “Over the years we have welcomed in many wolves and their families who have been cast aside by their own Pack or had their Pack attacked by humans and destroyed, which is why we are so large.

  “After many years, my Alpha, who was now also the Alpha over the Pack again, decided he wanted to step down and he told me something he had never told anyone. Apparently, when we lived in our other Pack, among the villagers, he had found his mate and it was the eldest daughter of the man who started the whole thing. He had mated to her but she was afraid to leave her family or tell them because she knew what her father would do. He found out anyway and it was another reason the man had cooked up the scheme to have the villagers attack us. My Alpha’s mate was pregnant with their pups and when the father found out, he killed his own daughter and the babies she carried.

  “My Alpha had tried to move on from her death and the death of his unborn children, but he couldn’t. He wanted to go home and be close to her, even though she wasn’t there anymore. So he gave me the title of Alpha and informed our Pack that I would be their leader, then he went back home to die near his mate.

  “So you see, Anna, that’s the reason I don’t like humans, but I know that has nothing to do with you now. I should have never judged you so unfairly in the beginning, but I couldn’t get past everything that had happened to me and my family. Now that I truly know you, I realize what a mistake I made and I….” Carter trailed off as he took a few breaths to calm himself. He and Anna both were in tears by now and Anna could see the pain it had caused him to tell her that story.

  “I’m in love with you, Anna,” he finally said after a few moments, looking straight into her eyes so she could see the sincerity in his words.

  Anna couldn’t help herself; she flung her arms around his neck and pulled him into her tight embrace. They didn’t kiss or do anything to seduce each other. They just held each other, resting their heads on each other’s shoulders.

  Finally Anna pulled back and looked into Carter’s eyes. She put her palm against his cheek, which he leaned on for comfort. “I’m in love with you too, Carter. You and Drew both, I love you both so much.”

  Carter’s lips crashed down on hers as he pulled her onto his lap to deepen the kiss. All over again, her arousal started to peak and Carter growled low in his throat and pulled away from her lips. She saw his nostrils flare as he inhaled her scent and she knew he could smell her arousal.

  “You are going to drive me mad, woman,” he growled, then kissed her again, wrapping his hand in her hair and holding her still for his assault.

  All Anna could do was kiss him back and whimper as Carter devoured her mouth. Finally he let her up for some air after a few oxygen-depriving moments, and Anna’s head spun with dizziness and her body tingled with arousal.

  “We need to stop and wait for Drew,” Carter declared, gently pushing her off his lap and back onto the couch next to him. “I’m going to call him tonight and have him come home right away. Otherwise, I will go insane from not being able to claim you and make love to you. Besides, I want him to be here to help us with your sister, she is a newly changed werewolf now, she will need our help and guidance to make the transition more smoothly. Whoever changed her really did some damage and it could take a while to undo it.”

  “I can’t believe she is a werewolf now, and how could someone be so cruel as to hurt her like that?” Anna’s arousal now cooled with the change in topics, and her anger boiled.

  “I don’t know, my sweet, but we will find out and we will take care of the problem.” Carter reassured, squeezing her hand. “But for now, I think you should go to bed and get some rest. I will get a hold of Drew and hopefully, he can be on the next flight back.”

  He pulled Anna into another tight embrace, and then stood up, pulling her to stand with him. “Now leave me, get some rest before I decide to not wait for Drew, and take you here and now.” He growled, spinning her toward the door and smacking her on the butt.

  Anna yelped and grabbed her behind as she started to walk toward the door. She could feel her face burning and she looked over her shoulder to give Carter a scolding look as she walked out of the office.

  She stopped at her sister’s room on her way to her own and looked in on her, but her sister slept soundly, so Anna continued on her own. She changed out of her clothes, noticing she’d gotten some of her sister’s blood on her blouse, which just made her simmer even
more, wanting to take revenge for what had happened to Cheryl. However, she just threw the blouse in the garbage, never wanting to see or wear it again, and changed into her pajama shorts and tank top, then climbed into bed.

  She thought that sleep would evade her considering everything that had happened that evening, but after just a few moments darkness crept in and she fell into a deep slumber.

  Chapter Seven

  Carter stood in the shower letting the hot water run over him as he thought about what he was going to tell Anna about her sister. The physician had come after she’d gone to bed and examined Cheryl thoroughly to evaluate the extent of her injuries. When he was done he’d told Carter that she’d not only been beaten within an inch of her life, but it appeared that she’d been sexually assaulted as well. Carter was afraid of telling Anna this news, but knew he had to and was nervous about her reaction. He knew she would probably either break down and start crying, or become really angry and demand blood for what was done to her sister, or possibly both.

  The water had grown cold, signaling that he could no longer hide in the shower from his responsibility, so he turned it off and got out to dry off and get dressed.

  He was still in his musings about how he was going to explain what had happened to Anna when he left his room to go down to the kitchen and make himself some coffee. Ella wouldn’t be up yet, considering it was still pretty early, so he’d have to fend for himself, but he didn’t mind. Days like this allowed him to be alone with his thoughts and allowed him to figure out how he was going to proceed with the rest of his day.

  As he got to the kitchen door though, a whispering sound made him stop abruptly. He listened closely until he heard it again and it sounded as if someone was standing in the kitchen, using the phone. He peered around the open doorway and saw Cheryl, Anna’s sister, leaning against the counter and holding the phone against her ear while cupping it as if she were afraid someone would hear her.

  She started to whisper again, so Carter listened closely to what she said, “Hey baby, I miss you.”

  Was she talking to the piece of shit husband who beat her?

  “Don’t snap at me like that, I’m doing my job,” she said indignantly, her voice rising.

  “No, my sister’s still as gullible as ever, she actually thinks I’m here for her to take care of me and keep me safe from you.” Cheryl giggled, and Carter could feel his blood temperature rising. “I’ll look for their plans of attack later today. I’m still a bit sore from where you and your buddies got me ready to come here.”

  Anna’s sister was sick. She let these men beat her to within an inch of her life in order to get into the house.

  “I know, my sister is the same sweet naïve, little Anna, always trying to protect her little sister. Her mate is just as bad as she is, calling me ‘little wolf’ and saying he will be my Alpha now and take care of me. I don’t need them to take care of me, I can take…..” she trailed off her tirade, but Carter was already seeing red and his wolf was calling for blood.

  He couldn’t believe how low Anna’s sister was to take advantage of her love like this. He now had a new understanding of why Anna never trusted her heart with anyone. Those who she did let in used her, and ripped out her heart for their own selfish pleasure. He vowed right there and then that he’d do everything to prove he’d never do that to her, and he’d love her the way she deserved to be loved.

  “Okay, fine, whatever,” Cheryl pouted. “I’ll do your little job for you, since you’re apparently too incompetent to do it yourself. I’ll meet you at the cave later today with the plans and their security information. But I want Alpha to know that I am the one who did all the work, not you.”

  The silence only made Carter’s ire fester. He wanted to run in there and take her down right there, throwing her in their prison, but he also wanted the wolves she was working with.

  “Okay snookum, I love you,” Cheryl whispered merrily, blowing kisses into the phone before she hung up.

  Anna’s sister was crazy and dangerous and Carter needed to neutralize the threat quickly, but first he needed to go and gather some soldiers to do a sweep of the woods. He knew exactly what cave Cheryl was talking about, it was the same one Phillip, his old Alpha, their Pack, and he had lived in before they built the compound.

  He pushed away from the door silently and crept toward the office where he removed any paperwork that had to do with their attack plans or their security layouts. Then he silently went to the French doors in the office and slipped out, shutting the door with a soft click.

  He began to race toward the compound, but stopped abruptly as if something hit him. What was he going to tell Anna now?

  *****

  Anna stood in the shower letting the hot water run down her body and thought about her sister. She was worried that she may not heal properly, or that she’d heal, then want to go back to that monster.

  Cheryl was always the odd one out of the two sisters. When they were younger, she would actually look forward to their father beating her because she saw it as a way of affection. Their father never paid attention to her otherwise, and when he did dote over one of the girls, which was seldom, it was always Anna. Anna knew it was because Cheryl wasn’t really even his, but she still felt bad for her sister, so she tried to protect her, and show her true love and affection whenever possible.

  When they got older, just before her parents died, her father started to sexually abuse Cheryl. He never touched Anna in any sexual way, saying she was really his and it would be wrong. However, he’d wait until their mother passed out, drunk, and creep into their room to touch Cheryl and have sex with her.

  At first Cheryl cried because she was terrified, and he wasn’t gentle at all. He would continue to be abusive and would call her degrading names when he performed the act. Then, over a period of time, she began to welcome their father’s attentions, which just made Anna sick to her stomach because she slept in the same room.

  Her father moved her to her own room after Cheryl started to go along with his sexual assault. Anna was relieved to not have to endure watching or hearing it, but she still worried about her sister. Her father sometimes hit Cheryl while he had sex with her, and Anna would worry she’d wake up one morning to find Cheryl dead.

  The only decent thing he did when he did it was wear a condom, but that was because he didn’t want a bastard child by his slut of a stepdaughter.

  Looking back, Anna came to the realization that watching what Cheryl went through with her father was probably one of the reasons she had stayed a virgin for so long. Just thinking about sex reminded her of her sister, and she wanted nothing to do with it.

  However, when she was with Drew or Carter those memories didn’t surface at all. All she could think of is how aroused she was, and how much she wanted them to make love to her and claim her as theirs.

  Anna started to feel aroused again, but she didn’t want to feel that way because she had more important things to think about, like her sister’s safety. She turned the hot water to cold, and stood under the spray for a moment figuring if this was what men do to cool their arousal it should work for her. After just seconds it definitely worked. Now she wasn’t thinking about sex at all, just thinking about how damn cold she was.

  She turned off the tap and began to climb out of the shower to dry off. Now that her mind was back on track, she could think of what she needed to do to help her sister. Cheryl had come to her, seeking her support, and Anna was going to give it to her, no matter what.

  She left the bathroom and began to dress into the clothes she’d laid out on her bed before her shower. Just as she pulled up her panties, Anna stopped. Why had Cheryl come to me? She welcomes this kind of treatment from men. How did she even find me after all these years of not talking? The only reason Anna ever got anything from her in the past was that Anna had lived in the same house her parents owned before they died. The only decent thing they did for her was give her that house in their Will, which she still o
wned, but refused to go back to after she’d started college.

  So, how had Cheryl found her, and why?

  Anna got dressed quickly and then left her room in search of her sister and answers. She tried the bedroom Cheryl was staying in, but found her bed empty, so she went downstairs. She looked in the kitchen and the family room, but couldn’t find her.

  Then as she walked past the office door, thinking her sister wouldn’t go in there, she heard Cheryl’s voice. She started to walk to the door, but she heard Drew’s as well, which made her stop abruptly to listen.

  *****

  Drew couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He’d just gotten home, after Carter had called asking him to get home quick to claim their mate and take care of her sister, when he walked in on some blonde woman, who looked a bit like Anna, only sickly thin and dirty, going through paperwork in their home office.

  “What are you doing in here?” Drew had ordered the young wolf, using his most menacing and authoritative voice.

  When he spoke like that other wolves usually backed down and bared their throat, but not this one, she just grinned and looked him straight in the eyes. He saw the shiver go through her body and smelled the sickly sweet scent of her arousal. This wolf likes to be talked down to. Who is she?

  “Well, hello, big guy,” she replied sweetly, batting her eyelashes at him. “I was just looking for a pen and piece of paper to write my dear sister, Anna, a note, telling her thanks for the hospitality and goodbye.”

  Drew knew she was lying and just stared her down, growling low in his throat, but it didn’t deter her. She rounded the desk and walked straight up to him, placing her hand against his chest, which made Drew’s stomach turn and his wolf scream for him to take her down.