Claiming His Need (5 page)

We were less than half a mile from the mine entrance when all hell broke loose. A single yelp was the only warning we had before the air filled with the sound of wolves growling, barking, and fighting. Sandman and I stayed human, as was part of our plan. If anything went wrong, we would attack as men, fight with guns, and get the women out. No matter the cost.

When we ran into the clearing at the front of the mine, what we saw was a full-on battle. Wolves of all sizes and colors running, jumping, biting, and wrestling. The members of our team that were to remain in human form were on the sidelines, carefully aiming and picking off our opponents one by one. Though the bullets fired probably wouldn’t kill one of us without a perfectly aimed shot, they would definitely put the wolf out of commission temporarily. Not to mention, being shot hurt like a bitch.

I didn’t envy the shooters—with the amount of wolves in the clearing, it was especially hard to tell which side each wolf was aligned with. The only ones clearly from the Wariksen clan were the snow-white wolves racing through the melee. Those two were sons of the Alpha and could be spotted from two-hundred paces. The rest were harder to identify if you weren’t intimately familiar with their wolf form.
 

Blue smoke suddenly poured out of a small alcove to the west of the main entrance, the signal from Shadow that the women had been located. Sandman and I rushed toward it, skirting the battlefield and avoiding detection. My instincts flared with the adrenaline coursing through my veins, making me feel the urge to shift. I held it back—my body burning in protest, fur sprouting from my skin before I could control it. Get the women out; that was my mission. I would hang on to my humanity until I had done so.

“Incoming!” Sandman’s warning came a split second too late. I spun and swung my arm around, but nomad knocked me off-balance. The wolf fell on top of me, clawing and tearing at my back while trying to get his teeth into my neck. I rolled and shoved my shoulder into his gut before reaching up with a half-shifted paw and using my claws to shred his throat.
 

With a roar, Sandman yanked the now-dead wolf off of me.
 

“You okay?”

I wiped my bloody hand on my jeans and used my clean one to brush the mud off my face. “Yeah, sure thing. Fucker basically tried to mount me is all.”
 

Sandman chuckled as he offered me a hand and helped me to my feet. We continued forward, flanking the opening to the mine. With a quick hand signal, he let me know he would go in first and I should cover him. Seconds later, we were inside, our eyes quickly adjusting to the dark. I yipped once, my signal to Pup that we were close. He came bounding around the corner in wolf form, tongue hanging out, looking like a family pet greeting his master.

“You are entirely too happy, kid.” I followed him back the way he came, rubbing at my chest where a strange burning grew stronger with each step.

“You sure you’re okay?” Sandman whispered, glancing over at me. He had his handgun out in front of him, ready to fire should another nomad catch up to us.

“Yeah. Just a little...”

The smell of lavender and lime inundated me, making my chest burn hotter and my skin prickle. My knees nearly buckled as I lost all sense of time and space. On the second inhale, my cock filled and throbbed behind the fly of my jeans. I could barely focus as the scent enveloped me in its sensual mixture of sweet and tart.

Four hundred years…

My father had told me the legends of mating—how my fated one’s smell would ignite my soul while drawing me near. How I would know before our eyes met that she was mine by the way my body reacted to nothing more than the perfume of her spirit.
 

I had all but given up hope, been prepared to die alone, but fate had other plans. I was about to meet my mate.

A throaty growl bubbled from within, completely outside of my control. My eyes locked on the turn in the rock and dirt that would lead me to my destiny.
 

“Oh, fuck,” Sandman said as he lowered his gun. “Pup, you better stay with me.”

The wolf whined but retreated behind Sandman, neither moving as a deep growl rumbled up from the depths of my soul. My mate would hear it; she would know I was coming for her. She would find comfort in the sound. I turned the corner on tenterhooks, terrified and more excited than ever before at what could lie in front of me.
 

Three women sat huddled in the corner, Shadow in wolf form standing between them and us. My human mind knew he was guarding them in case our enemies came in before us, but my wolf instincts only saw one thing. There was an unmated male standing in the way of my mate. The roar I let loose was vicious, causing the women to curl away from me as the echo pulsed around us.

All but one.
 

She stood from behind Shadow, staring right at me with a look of wonder on her porcelain-like face. Without fear, she moved toward me, pulling her white-blonde hair over her shoulder as she walked. I wanted to run to her, to wrap her in my arms and protect her, to kiss her, touch her, hold her, press my body into hers. I wanted to mate with her, fill her with my seed, and watch as my pups grew inside of her.
 

I wanted her with a single-minded need that left me breathless.

When she finally stood before me, she brought her hand to my cheek. Soft, light…the incongruousness of the gentlest touch and the battle waging outdoors was not lost on me. I whimpered when her skin touched mine, a yearning opening a chasm in my chest only she could fill.

“Gates, we need to get her out of here.”

I spun and snarled at Sandman, wrapping one arm around my mate’s round hips to pull her behind my body. Sandman stood with his hands up and his head down, subservient and unchallenging.
 

“She’s in danger. We need to get her to her pack—her and the other women. They’re not safe here.”

My snarl turned into a huff as his words sank in. She needed to go. I had to keep her safe, and that meant getting her out of the cave and away from the people who had kidnapped her.

And then ripping their heads off one by one so they never threatened her again.

“Understood,” I said, my voice tight and clipped. For the first time in my many years, I struggled against the wolf inside of me. I needed to stay in my human form, but my wolf spirit wanted out. It was an odd feeling to experience, this separation of self after so many centuries of fluid union.
 

I pulled my mate around to face me. Her beautiful blue eyes were gentle as they met mine, no sign of fear or worry. As I stared at her, she began to smile. Her bright red lips turned up just slightly at the corners, as if she were keeping a secret from me.

I wanted to know all her secrets.

“Are you with the Valkoisus pack?”
 

She nodded, not offering anything else.
 

“Okay. We’re going to get you out of here. Pup and Shadow will meet up with a few men from your pack, and they’ll escort you to your home.” I glanced over her shoulder at the other two women. “That goes for all of you.”

I looked back to my mate and leaned in close, her lavender and citrus scent drawing me in and making me rumble contentedly. I would need to search my memory for pack traditions regarding matings. Whether the Valkoisus was a more traditional or modern pack, there would be rules to follow. History to uphold. Respect to be shown. Erring on the side of a more traditional pack setup, I rubbed my chin along the side of her face, just a quick show of affection before I placed my lips against her ear.
 

“When all this is done,” I whispered, the words long forgotten suddenly coming to dance across my tongue. “I will come for you, my mate. Let me make you safe, and then I will come. The fates have bestowed upon me a bond that I intend to honor. I will meet with your Alpha to show my worth, and I will court you as you deserve. Do you accept my promise?”

I pulled away to look into her eyes once more. They were so wide and filled with wonder. I waited, unsure if she knew the old ways or if she expected a more modern mating. It wouldn’t matter to me so long as she was mine.

After several seconds, she smiled and nodded before ducking her head, a pink flush creeping up her chest. I nearly whooped in joy. My mate, my fated one, was blushing at my words.
 

“You will be safe—I promise you.” I shifted my gaze to Pup, glaring into his lupine eyes. “Anything happens to her, anything at all, and I skin you alive. Do you understand?”

Pup whined and yipped all at once, showing his acceptance and his fear. Every shifter in that dark, dank room knew exactly what had happened, how the beautiful creature and I were now bonded. Only an idiot would cross a dominant male when it came to his mate. Besides, Pup had screwed up when Rebel’s mate had needed his protection, and he’d taken his lumps for that mistake. I doubted he would allow anything to happen to a mate of one of the Breed brothers again.

“Ladies, we need to roll out,” Sandman said, following Shadow through the opening while holding his arm out for the other two women to join him. I would be taking up the rear, following Pup as he guarded my mate.
 

The woman I knew nothing about.

“What’s your name?” I placed my hand on her lower back and led her toward the opening.
 

She smirked at me, the curve of her lips both wicked and sarcastic. Her eyes practically glittered in the low light of the cave, every inch of her screaming her excitement. That look, that energy, was the first sign of exactly how much trouble I was in.
 

“I guess you’ll find out when you come for me, mate.”

She stopped and lifted up on the balls of her feet as she yanked me down by the armholes of my leather Breed cut. Her lips met mine for the briefest of touches, hot and soft, making every ounce of blood rush to my already-aching cock. That kiss…our first kiss…was better and more arousing than all the other kisses I’d experienced in my long life. It was filled with unspoken promises and hope for the things we’d both been missing. I wanted to whine with frustration when she stepped away.
 

“Be safe,” she whispered before placing another soft kiss to the corner of my mouth. One final glance at the rest of the group, and then she walked out of the alcove. Her fingers brushed the fur on Pup’s neck as he plodded along beside her. I’d never been so jealous of someone else’s neck.

I adjusted my cock through my pants and blew out a breath. And then I grinned. I was so fucking screwed, but in the absolute best way possible. I just had to kill a few nomads and wash the blood from my hands before I could go courting.

I curled my hand in the fur of the wolf beside me, taking comfort in the feel of the rough strands between my fingers. Though the animal was a stranger to me, I felt safe with him. The past few hours had been the worst of my life, and I wanted to go home to my family and my pack. My eyes drifted to Lanie. The bruises on her face and arms enraged me yet made me feel useless at the same time. Our packsister Helina and I had been unable to protect her from the short nomad who’d batted her around like a tennis ball. They’d called her weak because she cried when they hurt her. I called them cowards for putting their hands on her in the first place.
 

The wolf at my side whined, so I tightened my grip on the scruff of his neck to quiet him. He was so large for one of our kind, much taller and heavier than a standard wolf. There was no way people would mistake him for one of the wild creatures that roamed our lands. His strength was a force around him, something alive and pulsing. It blanketed me, and I was thankful for his protection. No wonder my mate had chosen him to stay with me.

Mate.

I could still sense the reverberations of the mating bond between us, and I reveled in the knowledge that he stood close behind me. His presence eased the burn of my heat cycle and made it easier to bear. When I’d touched his face and kissed his lips, the pain had receded completely. He was my own personal cooling device, and I looked forward to staying close enough to him to keep the burn at bay.
 

A tingling along my back told me he was watching me, his gaze traveling the length of my spine. I wanted to turn around so badly, to look into those ice-blue eyes again and remind myself how lucky I was. My mate was gorgeous—attractive to the extreme, like a model walking right off the page, but with enough manly scruff and rough edges to make him approachable. Handsome, well-spoken, and charming enough to woo me with little more than words and the slightest brushes of his skin on mine—I could not have asked for better. Plus he’d shown his respect by telling me he would meet with my Alpha
.
 

I will court you as you deserve.
 

My heart beat faster remembering the words. I wanted to know more about him. How many years had he lived alone while waiting for me? Why did he ride with the Feral Breed instead of settling in to a pack? Where did he live, and would he be happy on the peninsula with us?

Would he object to me pressing my body against his to rid myself of the insufferable heat radiating from my abdomen?
 

But first, we needed to reach Wariksen pack land. Lanie needed medical care, and Helina looked exhausted. The strain of the night had taken its toll on all of us, but we wouldn’t have to suffer much longer. I had no doubt my father and brothers would be nearby, waiting for us to escape to safety before destroying the animals who’d broken in to our home. I wouldn’t have minded a little revenge myself. I owed the short nomad for his rough handling of Lanie.

As we neared the entrance to the mineshaft, the blond man leading the way paused at a bend, light spilling in from the right.

“This is it. Shadow, you’re up first with these two.” He pointed to Lanie and Helina, who were huddled together in the pool of light. “The Valkoisus pack has their extraction team over the far ridge. Ladies, I need the two of you who can shift to do so when I say go.”