Matefinder (3 page)

There was a vulnerability in his look
that made my heart hurt. He was an Alpha; the most dominant of wolves, and he
was asking me to stay, maybe not with his words but his look. The way he said
mine
was possessive in an endearing way. Did I want to leave Emma, Kai, and the
others that I had begun friendships with? Did I want to leave without exploring
what was behind that kiss in his office? My inner wolf howled in pain at the
thought. “This is
my
pack. I’m not going anywhere,” I told him.

The corners of his lips curled.
“Good. Now if I die, the pack transfers to you as my second. That could be a
disaster because you know nothing about being a wolf or leading a pack.”

“Then let’s hope you don’t die, for
that reason and others.” I quickly squeezed his hand. Was I flirting with the
Alpha before he was about to go into a fight to the death for me? He smirked
and turned to leave.

“They’re coming,” he told his wolves.
“Emma, don’t shift. I need you to be able to communicate with Aurora.”

I smelled something then. Whisky and
cigarettes, rain and wood. ‘
Portland pack. Foreign Wolf.’

Three large men came walking through
the clearing behind a thicket of trees followed by four wolves. One of the men
smiled and his teeth shown in the setting sun. They were capped in silver; all
of them. Oh shit. This must be Dane. Silver immunity.

“Excuse the intrusion, Kai, but I
believe you have something that belongs to me.” His eyes roamed over my body
and Kai let loose a growl.

“She’s mine,” Kai said, barely containing
his humanity. I could see patches of fur rippling over his body.

Dane flashed his silver-pointed teeth.
“I was hoping you would say that.”

Our pack began circling them and
opening up an area for them to fight. My wolf was itching to come out. I felt
the need to shift, to fight instead of Kai, to protect him. I didn’t even know
how to shift but I wanted to. No one should die for me.

Dane stood in the center of the
circle and bowed. “I enact the right to fight the Mount Hood Alpha for
my
wolf, a human that was born in
my
territory. A female. According to
rules, this fight ends in death or forfeit.” The word female sounded dirty in
his mouth.

The words barely left Kai’s mouth
before he began shifting. “I accept.”

In a blur of motion, Kai was human
one second and wolf the next. He lunged at Dane while he was mid-shift and sank
his teeth into the meat of Dane’s thigh, coming away with a chunk of flesh.
Something between a howl and a human wail cut through the night. Kai was
fast
,
really fast and he had the most beautiful markings. He was all black with a
white star on his forehead and white socks on his paws. My wolf approved. The
vegetarian in me wanted to close my eyes. There was blood and flesh flying
everywhere, but the wolf in me stared. My hands were clenched, my breath coming
out short.

Compared to Dane, Kai was a blur of
motion. Dane had just finished fully shifting and Kai has already torn off most
of his leg meat.

I leaned into Emma. “So is that Kai’s
gift? He’s fast?”

Emma nodded and kept her voice low.
“He can shift instantly, and he can move faster than anything anyone’s ever
seen.”

I watched as Kai dodged Dane’s silver
jaws and ran from left to right in a blur of motion. Then, he swiped a claw at
Dane’s belly and Dane used the close proximity to bite Kai in the shoulder. A
howl ripped from his throat as Kai darted to the other side of the clearing. He
was still fast but slower than before. The silver must be affecting him. Emma
let out a low growl. Dane’s wolf grinned and blood glistened on his metallic
teeth.

Kai came closer to Dane and lunged,
biting right into his neck. He shook Dane like a rag doll until his body
stilled. Kai’s wolf relaxed for just a second and Dane jerked violently, loosening
himself and grabbing Kai’s left front paw in his mouth. He bit down hard and we
all heard the crunch of bone. I made a move to run into the circle, not sure
what I was going to do, but someone grabbed my arms from behind.  

“Easy there.” It was Devon, Emma’s
mate. Kai was limping away, getting slower by the moment when Dane stalked
after him. Dane’s leg, I could see, was already healing.

“Why isn’t Kai healing like Dane?” I
asked Emma as Devon loosened his grip.

“The silver. One more bite and he
will probably be poisoned beyond repair.” Tears shown in her eyes. That’s when
I realized I could stop this fight. I just needed to tell Dane I would transfer
to his pack and stop this. Kai said he wouldn’t keep me against my will. Two yellow
eyes caught my attention and I stared at them. ‘
Mine
,’ Kai said and
lunged at Dane with more speed and strength than he had before. Dane was slow,
too slow, and Kai landed on him as they both rolled. Kai had Dane’s head in his
jaws and he was chewing. Oh god. I was going to see someone decapitated.

The muzzle of Dane’s wolf began shifting
into human lips. “I forfeit!” he croaked in a half human voice that would haunt
my dreams forever.  Kai held his jaws over his throat. A man stepped forward
from the Portland pack. “The rules say you can forfeit and still walk away with
your life,” he reminded Kai firmly. My wolf recognized that this man must be Dane’s
second. Kai released Dane’s head from his strong jaw.

My inner wolf pushed me to step
forward. “A foreign Alpha who trespasses on
our
land, picks a fight with
my
Alpha and then forfeits, is a coward. As second in command, I will
tell you this once. Get off our land and don’t come back without permission.”
My inner wolf had taken over, I could feel the power radiating off of me. The
dominant wolves in my pack howled their agreement. Dane’s wolf took one
appraising look at me and began trotting away. I scowled as I watched his pack
leave through the trees, taking their foreign smell with them.

Dane and his men retreated but Kai
lay where he was, his yellow eyes boring into me. He was panting and hadn’t
moved. I started towards him but his voice stopped me. ‘
Don’t let the pack
see me weak.’
He told me in a strained voice.
I stopped where I
stood.

“Fight’s over. Go home.” I pushed
power into my words to the rest of the pack. The submissive wolves whined.
Sadie growled and stared at me. I don’t think they liked my giving orders so
soon. I didn’t care.

“Go home,” I told her again, harsher than
I meant to. I caught Emma’s hand as she was moving to leave, indicating I
needed her to stay. I had no idea what I was doing. All I knew is that Kai had
saved me from my accident. He kissed me like I was the last female on earth and
he just fought to keep me in his pack. I was finding that I didn’t know much
about being a werewolf but my inner wolf did. He was hurt and I needed to help
him. The more I let my wolf bubble to the surface, the more I ran on instinct
and the easier it felt to fall into this new role. Somehow I knew that keeping
Emma back with me was good because she was submissive and wouldn’t be a threat
to my injured Alpha.

Kai stood shifting into human form, favoring
his injured hand and gazed around at the retreating pack, looking strong.
‘I
protect what’s mine, remember that.’
I could tell by the looks on the
other’s faces that he had sent that to everyone. When the last person had left
through the trees, Kai shifted back into wolf form and collapsed panting.

Emma looked at me with fearful eyes.

“Help me get him inside,” I told her.

Who knew that two petite girls could
lift a 250-pound bleeding and halfway unconscious werewolf into the house. I
had strength I couldn’t even dream of before. I was barely winded after getting
him to his bedroom. I ran to the adjoining bathroom, ripped the plastic shower
curtain down and lay it on the bed to protect the sheets from getting bloody.
We placed Kai on the bed and waited.

I stroked his fur, unsure of what to
do. ‘
When an Alpha is weakened like this, a dominant member could take this
chance to challenge me for the pack
.
I can feel their thoughts. Two of
my highest are considering it. Max and Jake. They are torn between being my
friend and respecting me, and their wolf’s inner urge to be Alpha.’
Kai’s
words sent chills down my spine.

‘What do I do?’
I asked him.

He was fading in and out. It took him
a few moments to respond.

‘Don’t let them get a single word
out, if they say the word challenge. I’m gone. A fight for Alpha status ends in
death; there is no forfeit.’

And with that, he collapsed. Shit,
shit, shit! I had to think. I had to think fast. “Emma!” I screamed and she ran
in from the living room. “Jake and Max might try to challenge Kai. Who do you
trust? Who would Kai trust to guard him and not challenge him?”

Emma paled. “Sadie, and Devon. Akash
is too young.”

“Sadie?” I questioned, unsure of that
choice.

Emma swallowed. “They dated for a
long time. She still loves him. She would do anything for him. I’m sure of it.”

I didn’t even want to process that
right now. My inner wolf was going into possessive jealous rage mode and I had
to push her down. “Get them for me. Now.”

Emma ran out of the house and I could
hear the cracking of bones as she shifted. I bounced my foot nervously,
realizing I had one hand still on Kai’s fur. I had to force myself let go. I
stood and began tearing apart the room trying to find what I was looking for.
If I was an Alpha and I knew silver injured werewolves, I would keep some
around. I would keep it somewhere safe, so it wouldn’t hurt me but I would have
some in the off chance I needed to subdue my own kind. The room was in shambles
and I was no closer to finding what I was looking for when Sadie walked in looking
feral at the sight of Kai on the bed bleeding, not healing.

“He’s hurt worse than he led on,” she
said softly.

I didn’t waste time crossing the room
to meet her head on. “Can I trust you to protect him? Not to challenge him?”

She looked right into my eyes,
something passed between us, between our wolves. We both wanted to protect him.
This we could do together.

She nodded, lowering her eyes.

“I need silver,” I told her.

“The basement.” The second the words
left her lips I bolted down stairs leaving her with Kai. I would have to trust
her. I caught sight of Emma and Devon both in wolf form outside. I had a plan.
A sloppy, put together, fast plan. I flicked on the basement lights and saw
three iron cages. Then I saw a toolbox. I ripped the lid off and smiled.
Silver. I grabbed a handful of thin chains and two pillows on my way out of the
room.

I ran outside just in time to see Max
stalking towards the house in human form with a predatory look on his face.
Good. He was in human form. Plan A. Before he could open his mouth I ran
towards him and extended my right leg high in the air. Spinning, I delivered a
perfect roundhouse kick to his jaw and he was out cold. Maybe I should have
mentioned that I ran women’s defense classes on the weekends and I was a black
belt in karate.

Emma shifted into human form behind
me. She was stark naked.

“You can touch it? Without pain or
gloves?” she said shocked, looking down at my hands holding the silver chains.
I didn’t have time to process that. I grabbed the chain and began tying Max by
the wrists and ankles. Then I ripped the pillow to shreds and stuffed huge gobs
of fluff into his mouth. I wound a strip of cloth around his mouth holding the
stuffing in. I could smell burning flesh and could see red blisters pop up where
the silver touched. He was still unconscious. I sat back panting in relief. If
it killed him, then so be it. But I didn’t want to kill him if I didn’t have
to. Devon shifted as well. Apparently, modesty was lost in the pack. He stood
naked and gestured towards the house. “Let’s get him in a cage,” he told Emma.
Max began waking as they hoisted him up. “Rahheng Raahenge,” Max roared, his
eyes shown yellow the cotton in his mouth made it hard to understand him. It
sounded an awful lot like challenge but I ignored it. He could have been saying
revenge. I sat in the front yard for the next three hours while Emma staked out
the back and Devon roamed the perimeter. Either Jake was waiting until we
weakened or he had thought better of challenging. My eye lids began drooping
and before I could stop it, I fell asleep.

                I awoke to the sound of footsteps. I bolted
upright, tense.

Sadie walked over to me. “He’s asking
for you. It was touch and go throughout the night but he’s healing fine now,”
she told me.

                I didn’t know what to say.

“Go, I’ll take watch,” she said with
bitterness in her voice.

I nodded and looked down at myself. I
was covered in dirt and Kai’s blood. I had sleep in my eyes and my back was
killing me. As I entered the bedroom I could see that Kai was in human form; he
lay in his bed wearing sweatpants and a tight t-shirt. The thought of him
shifting in front of Sadie made my inner wolf seethe in jealousy. I quickly
tamped it down so he wouldn’t pick up on it. He gestured for me to sit near him.

“You did well. It’s an honor to call
you my second,” he told me with a sandpaper voice. I could see his bite marks
were oozing pink fluid but they were healing.

“I did the best I could. Max is bound
by silver chains and gagged in a cage in your basement,” I told him.

Kai looked sad for a moment. “Max as
a human, as a friend, would never challenge me, would never want me dead. Max
as a wolf, well, it’s a part of this life.”

He tried to sit up and groaned. I
stopped him.

“You’re not moving until you’re fully
healed,” I told him. “That’s an order,” I added playfully.

He smiled, flashing his bright white
teeth. They were in stark contrast to his olive skin, his canines were
pronounced. “Yes, Ma’am. Well, if you won’t let me get up, then I’m going to
have to ask my vegetarian second to fix me three rare steaks. I will heal
faster with meat in my system.”

I gulped. “Coming right up.” I faked
enthusiasm.

After gagging my way through the
kitchen getting a meal ready for Kai and silently apologizing to the cute cows
that had given their lives for his breakfast, I went to the guest bathroom and
showered.

I came out in my towel and made it
back to the bedroom I was staying in. I found a stack of clothes on the bed.
Emma. I smiled. She was quickly growing on me, a thoughtful and kind friend.
After changing into the skinny jeans, teal cotton V-neck, and black ballet
flats, I quickly dried my long blonde hair and went to Kai’s room.  I stood
outside the door, unsure of whether or not to go in. We still had so much to go
over. It was Sunday. I had a job, an important job waiting for me on Monday. My
roommate and mother must be beside themselves with worry. Kai and I had
something growing between us, more than that kiss. I was confused. He had something
with Sadie from the past. Maybe this new werewolf side of me was messing with
my hormones. Then a horrifying thought struck me. What if my human side fell in
love with him but my wolf was mated to someone else?

The door creaked open and Kai peeked
his head out. I blushed. Crap! This stupid bond!

“Want to talk?” He asked graciously
not bringing any of my thoughts up.

I nodded and noticed he looked my
body up and down before letting me in the room. I looked around and scolded
myself for picking his bedroom of all places to have a chat. I sat on the edge
of the bed which had been stripped clean and was dressed with new sheets. I straightened
my back trying to look strong.

“I own an organization called Safe
Haven. It’s a domestic violence shelter and women’s defense class studio. It’s
a non-profit, so I don’t exactly have the money to hire a lot of people to take
over my job. I can’t leave. I
won’t
leave. We run on volunteers only and
a lot of families depend on Safe Haven for support, for survival.” I couldn’t
look him in the eye. I knew he was thinking about the thoughts he had picked up
from me earlier, from my own domestic violence situation as a child.

He moved to sit next to me and placed
a hand on my leg. It was possessive and gentle at the same time. “Is this Safe
Haven located in Portland?”

I nodded and he sighed. “We can’t go
to Portland without the Portland Pack’s permission. After last night, I highly
doubt that is going to happen anytime soon. I own the territory from east of
the 205 near Gresham and all of Mount Hood to the 97. Portland Pack owns west of
the 205 all the way until the ocean and down to Corvallis. We can open a second
location in Gresham and I can get the pack to volunteer there. We can pay some
humans to head up the Portland location and stay in contact with them through
video phone. I will fund the entire venture. That’s the best I can do.”

My mouth dropped open. I was in shock.
He wasn’t saying no. He was funding a second location for Safe Haven. I
couldn’t ask that of him.

‘Let me take care of you,’
he said into my mind.

I didn’t like the idea of having to
depend on a man for money. I thought of all the women and children we could
help with a second location, with more volunteers. I nodded.

“Thank you.”

He stood. “I need to deal with Max.
He won’t challenge me now that I’m fully healed. Thanks to you, I have my
life.”

I stood and met his eyes. “Consider
us even. You saved my life first.”

He wasn’t leaving. He stood there
staring into my eyes. I rested my eyes on his lips. I swallowed hard,
remembering our kiss. The best kiss of my life. He grinned from ear to ear and
grabbed me in one quick motion, pressing his body against mine. He rubbed small
circles on my neck with his thumb as he cupped my face. His lips met mine and I
felt electricity flow through me down to my toes. Maybe this was what it was
like to kiss a wolf. Maybe Kai wasn’t special and if I kissed one of the other
wolves it would feel the same as this. He pulled away with a soft growl.

“I really need to get around to
teaching you how to shut me out of your personal thoughts.” His eyes were
glowing yellow. His wolf.

“Sorry,” I squeaked. “This is new to
me.”

He motioned between the two of us.
“This is new to me, too.” Then he tossed me a cell phone. “It’s yours now, call
your mom. Tell her you met a guy online and you’re moving in with him. She can
visit anytime you like. Just give us notice so we don’t have any abnormally
large wolves running around.” Then he left.

This is new to me too, he had said. I
took a deep breath and dialed my mother.

"You what!" my mother
screamed for the second time.

"I'm moving in with him."

"How long have you known this
guy? Honey, this isn't like you. What about Safe Haven? Mount Hood is a long
commute.”

"We met online three months ago,"
I lied. "I actually have more exciting news. I got a really big donation
to Safe Haven, too. I'm opening a second location in Gresham. I will have the
money to hire someone to run the Portland location."