Cherished: True Mates Book 5 (BBW Wolf Shifter Romance) (A Craggstone Paranormal Romance) (6 page)

Her face tilted up, her expression blank. “But why?”

I searched for a way to tell her, without revealing everything, then gave up. I might not know what I was doing, but I sure as hell knew she deserved the truth. “Because it would be like hurting my own heart.”

She sucked in a quick breath. “I don’t know if I—”

I took another step forward. “Don’t. Not here, not when you haven’t had time to think, and to heal. Hell, we haven’t even had the chance to get know each other yet.”
Why am I doing this? Putting myself out there when I don’t even know…

“Oliver—”

“And you’re a mated woman,” I added quickly, not wanting to give her the chance to finish. “Something we will rectify the second we are out of here.” I couldn’t help it, the words trickled out on a growl.

She tried to hide it, but I saw the flinch.

“The women need you,” I added, willing to say anything to get through to her.

Eventually she nodded, her jaw set in determination. Calling Josh over to her side, she grasped his small hand as if it were a lifeline and turned toward the door.

My breath whooshed out of me, leaving me feeling strangely deflated. I might have won that particular battle but I knew for certain I hadn’t won the war.
Did I even want to?
The thought hadn’t even occurred to me; the instinct to claim and mate was overriding any logical thought. If I was being honest with myself, I wasn’t sure. Wasn’t certain that I could be the mate she needed, especially with her being human.

Following her out of the door I paused, watching her stroke a hand over her son’s hair, fussing in that way mothers do.

Trouble was, I didn’t know if I could walk away.

 

 

***

Ana

I had my son back!
I couldn’t stop fussing with him, holding him close, flying high on the rush of finally having him near.
And no one is ever going to take him away from me again
, I vowed, unable to help myself from brushing another kiss across his cheek.

Oliver was right, we needed to get out of there and then I could figure everything out, like what the next step would be, where I could go from here. Could I go back to my old life? I tried to imagine returning home after being gone so long, what Mom and Dad would say, what my brother would say. Did they think I was dead? Had they mourned me? Moved on?

And what would they think of Josh? Would they accept him, or would they hate him for being a part of what took me away?

If I didn’t go back, what then?

“Mom?”

Just the sound of Josh’s voice brought a smile to my lips. “Yes, Josh?”

“Where’s Dad?”

My mind froze at the innocent question. “Your dad isn’t really a good man, Josh. He has to answer for the bad things he’s done.”

“But…he’s my dad.” His voice sounded lost as his face scrunched up in confusion. “We should be together, like a real family. We can do that now.”

What should I say?
“Josh, was your dad ever…unkind to you?” I’d wanted to say cruel, mean, vicious, but I stopped myself in time.

“Everything he did was for my own good, to make me a better wolf. Every wolf is trained like that, Mom. It didn’t mean he doesn’t love me—you know that.”

I bit back the words I really wanted to say, and instead took a deep cleansing breath. We were nearly at the tree line, only a little longer and we’d reach the other women. I was hyper-aware of Oliver following just behind and listening in, his silent presence oddly reassuring.

“There are some things you need to know about your dad, Josh, but not now, not tonight. Can you trust me for the moment and I promise I’ll explain everything in the morning?”

When he looked at me, his brown eyes narrowing in consideration, I held my breath. I was asking a lot, asking for him to choose me, the mother he had hardly seen over the father he knew so well.

He eventually nodded, his gesture and expression older than his six years, and I let go of the breath, my heart thundering inside my chest.

On light feet, not making a noise, Oliver slipped ahead, leading us through the forest. Muscles rippled under his T-shirt with each step, a hand darting out here and there to hold back branches or indicate rough terrain.

He’s making allowances for my human sight,
the thought dawned on me after he scooped back a third branch, Josh automatically avoiding it, yet I would have walked smack bang into it.

I stumbled, despite the prior warning, and his hand shot out, gripping my elbow.

“Thanks,” I murmured, wondering at the heat searing into me as it traveled up my arm and warmed me.

“No problem,” he answered, then let go, his fingers lingering for a second before dragging free.

“Who’s that?” Josh whispered, his tone wary.

How do I answer that?
My brain was starting to hurt with all the difficult questions.

“I’m Oliver and I can hear you,” Oliver whispered back, chuckling under his breath.

He had a great laugh. It sounded
real
, like it came from a place inside that wasn’t used to laughing, so when he did, you could tell he meant it. A strange thought, but that’s how it felt.

“I heard you earlier talking to my mom. You can’t have her, you know. She’s my dad’s.”

In the faint moonlight Oliver’s jaw clenched, his back stiffening. “She’s her own person, kid. No one owns her,” he eventually said in a tight voice.

“When a man mates, the woman belongs to him. That’s what Dad said.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! “Is that what you would want, Josh? For a girl to belong to you?”

“I don’t want any stinking girl, they’re crybabies. But Dad said that eventually I’d want to, and that I’d get to pick because I’m strong and it’s my right. But I don’t really want to.” He screwed his face up in disgust and relief flooded me. Given time I could make him see how wrong his father was, show him what it really meant to be a good man.

“Kid, women have the right to choose, just like you do. You’ll understand when you’re older it’s about love, not ownership. And, yeah, it makes my head hurt! So, enjoy being a kid while it lasts.” Oliver mimicked Josh’s screwed-up face of disgust while rolling his eyes.

When Josh grinned, rolling his eyes in agreement, I shot Oliver a grateful smile.

“And, we’re here.” Oliver moved to the side, revealing the small group we had left behind. “I’m going back to find the others. Stay put this time,” he ordered, his lips quirking in a smirk, before he tore off, back the way we had just come.

It was like standing in the middle of a stampede, the women swarming toward the children, cries of shock and happiness echoing through the forest as small bodies were gathered up into loving arms, kisses raining down on tear-streaked faces.

Some of the children ran toward Jason, his face twisting in shock and concern as they stood before him, blinking at him with big eyes. The women stiffened, grabbing their children, until Macey quickly explained the situation.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, moving toward the small group of children who stood off to the sides, their faces stricken as they viewed the loving scene before them. These kids had no one, their mothers having lost their lives in this fight.

One by one they were gathered into loving arms, scooped up with the rest of the children, their faces wiped dry and showered with kisses.

We were a family. Circumstance had made us one.

One of the women who had arrived with the rescue team moved to stand by my side. “Their moms?” she asked.

“Dead.”

She cursed under her breath. “Then they’ll find a home at the Colstone Pack.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to lie to them. They’ve been through enough already.”

“I’m sure. I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Kara, James’ mate.” She nodded at me in greeting.

“James?”

“The Alpha of the Colstone Pack.” She chewed her lip, the gesture speaking of hidden nerves. “He’s not back yet. He went to capture Bert.”

Ah.

“But he’s fine, I’d know if he wasn’t,” her words came out in a rush.

I raised an eyebrow in silent question.

“Of course, you’re human. I’d feel it through the bond if he were badly hurt or—” her voice broke, worry creasing her brow.

“Bond?” I asked, mainly to take her mind off things, but also because I had a nagging feeling I knew just what she was about to say.

“The mating bond. When shifters are true mates they mark each other and say the words, binding their souls together before The Mother of All. It’s a little more complicated than that, obviously, but that’s the gist of it.”

My heart sunk. I swept back my hair. “Like this?”

Kara sucked in a startled breath, leaning closer to inspect the ravaged mark on my neck.

“You’re mated.”

It wasn’t a question, but I answered anyway. “Yes. To Bert.” I looked around, spotting Josh standing to the side with some of the other children. “That’s my son over there.”

Kara followed my gaze. “Does that mean—?”

“Bert’s his father.” It felt like an admission of guilt, and I had to keep reminding myself it wasn’t my fault. Screw that, this whole messed-up situation had given me Josh, and that was something I would
never
regret.

“Did you mate him?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did you say the words back? Did you accept him as your mate?”

I picked up on the urgency in her voice. “No.”


Shit!

“Why? What does that mean?”

She looked at me, sympathy twisting her lips in a frown. “It means you can’t disown him as your mate. He has to do it.”

The hope that had been building quickly sank like a rock. “That’s what Oliver must have been talking about.” There was no way Bert would let me go. He wasn’t that kind of man. He didn’t have a shred of decency in his body, let alone compassion or kindness.

“Oliver? Talking?” Kara smirked, then catching my expression her eyes widened. “You’re not joking are you?”

She’d lost me.

Luis sauntered over, a smug smile tugging at his lips. “Ana is Oliver’s true mate.”

“Oh! But...wow!” Kara stuttered, her face flashing from shocked to worried then back to shocked.

What the hell what
that
about? I was his true mate?

“You didn’t know?”

Kara shot Luis a furious look, one promising a roasting later.

Hell, no!
I already had a mate I didn’t want. I sure didn’t need another!

 

 

CHAPTER SEVEN

Oliver

Shoving all thoughts of Ana to the back of my mind, I stalked up to the small shack and shoved open the door. I could finally let go of the rage that had been threatening to consume me, burning inside of me the second I had laid eyes on Ana.

There she was again, invading my thoughts!

I shook my head, searching for the focus I was known for.
Concentrate!

But it looked like I was too fucking late. Bodies lay broken on the floor with Gregg and Sean—still in wolf form—standing sentry around the room, their gazes focused on the two men who circled each other in the center.

My fingers cracked, balling into fists of frustration.

“Oliver, you nearly missed it.” Gregg gestured me over to where he leaned against a crate.

Stifling a curse, I stalked over. Nodding at them both, I watched as Bert took a swipe at James, his claws missing the other man’s throat by bare inches.

“James wouldn’t let either of us have a turn,” Gregg commented, and Sean huffed, adding his own thoughts on the matter. “Said as Alpha, he needed to be the one to bring him down.”

“Well, he needs to get a move on. The women and children are ready to be moved.”

Gregg raised a single eyebrow. “Any problems?”

Apart from meeting my true mate, and finding out she’s already mated to that bastard over there?
I ground my teeth together. “None.”

I refused to meet Sean’s eyes, knowing he would be calling me out on my bullshit. He had witnessed Ana and me in the yard earlier, and he wasn’t an idiot.

“James, Oliver says you need to get a move on, or from the looks of things he’ll be taking matters into his own hands,” Gregg called across the room, letting me know my frustration wasn’t going unnoticed.

James growled, his eyes flashing silver at the challenge.

“I can take you all, just wait your turn, pup,” Bert snarled, dodging James’ retaliating blow.

I lurched forward, his words ringing in my ears as my claws extended, ready to show him exactly what sort of a
man
he was dealing with.

“Oliver! Stand down.” A hand dug into my arm, pulling me back.

“I won’t.” My words were nearly unintelligible, my animal speaking for me. I ripped my arm away, unable to stop myself from stalking forward, until I was face-to-face with the man I hated more than anyone I had hated before.

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