Taming His Mate (5 page)

His eyes narrowed. “You’ve got to be kidding
me, right?”

“You’ve just proven exactly what you think of
me. You backed away from me real damn quick.” She cursed the crack
in her voice. “It was my mistake sleeping with you, but you fucked
up by marking me. Well, you’ve finally gotten what you wanted from
me. You’re stuck with a defective shifter as a mate. When the pack
finds out….” Kate rubbed at the dull ache in her temple. “I tried
to spare you this, but you couldn’t leave it alone. You
wouldn’t
leave
me
alone. Well, I hope you’re
happy.”

His features transformed into a stony mask of
indifference in the blink of an eye. “You done? Can I speak
now?”

Kate didn’t bother giving him a chance. To be
honest, she didn’t think she could bear to hear what he might say.
Instead, she jerked her arm free and stormed into the bedroom,
grabbing her clothes from the chair in the corner where she’d laid
them.

Across the room, where he stood in the
doorway, she felt his gaze track her every move. God, she had to
get out of there. Hurrying, she dressed in record time and bolted
toward the bedroom door.

“Kate.”

She ignored his gruff voice and rushed into
the hallway and down the stairs. Fumbling with the front door
locks, she panicked when it wouldn’t easily open. She just wanted
to get away before he came after her. At the moment, there was no
way she could talk to him without breaking down. When the stubborn
lock slid free, she sighed in relief and yanked the door open,
rushing outside.

Kate hurried along one of the foot trails
leading to her house, her tears blurring the scenery. It was
foolish to think she could spend one blissful night in his arms
without consequences. Now she was marked and had no damn clue what
to do about Stephen.

***

Stephen tried to sort through the entire
scene that had just played out in his bathroom. Despite the jumble
of his emotions, two things were evident: Kate’s reluctance to mate
made far more sense, and she’d run from him again while he just
stood there in the buff, like a fool.

After all their years of friendship, and by
God,
love
, why hadn’t she trusted him enough to speak of
what troubled her for so long?

If she had let him speak and not jumped to
conclusions, he could’ve eased her fears with a simple explanation.
Once they’d completed their mate bond, the situation would more
than likely remedy itself. No doubt the gene was there inside her,
just dormant. Much like his aunt’s Wolf had been before she’d
mated.

Even if she never shifted a day in her life,
he couldn’t care less. It didn’t change the fact he loved her,
would do any damn thing in his power for her. He’d stand by her
side, and they’d weather any storm together. Something she
obviously had trouble comprehending. Damn stubborn woman.

He was going to have to chase after her yet
again. By God, when he caught her, he wasn’t letting her go this
time.

Stephen didn’t bother dressing. Instead, he
stomped out of the bedroom, rushed down the stairs, and strode
outside, slamming the door Kate left open behind him. He yielded to
the insistent urging of his Wolf and shifted.

Determination flowed through his blood, the
thrill of the hunt exciting him. Sniffing the air, he caught his
mate’s scent easily. He jumped from the porch and set off at a
steady clip, following after her trail.

He pressed his legs as hard as he could, his
heart pounding in motion with the pads of his paws. His nails tore
into the earth, spraying dirt and grass behind him. Steering a
clear path, he bounded around trees and lunged over any obstacle in
his way.

The chilled wind brushed through Stephen’s
fur and glided over his spine. Branches nipped at his muzzle and
poked at his sides, but it scarcely mattered. His sole focus was
finding Kate.

Predawn light crept through the tree branches
overhead when he slowed to a trot. He came to a stop at the edge of
the creek midway between his and Kate’s properties where her scent
was strong. His tongue lolled to the side while he panted to quiet
his hammering heart. Wading into the shallow water, he glanced down
at the faint image of his wolfish reflection.

Stephen sighed, the sound resembling a
lower-bellied rumble.

When he found Kate, he planned to haul her
back to his house for a long chat. If she argued, then he’d simply
turn her over his knee and spank her gorgeous ass into
submission.

The thought of Kate all bare-assed and pink
prompted his tail to sway back and forth. Not a bad idea at
all.

The two of them could have their talk. He’d
reassure her he was in it for the long haul with her. Perhaps he
could explain how dormant Wolf genes worked while he made her
breakfast. Then maybe—

Stephen’s hackles rose. He lifted his head
and surveyed the surrounding woods. Not a single sound pricked his
ears. An eerie silence blanketed the area, which unnerved him.

Something wasn’t right.

Animal intuition screamed at him to retreat
and evade. He sank his claws into the sandy rock bottom beneath the
water while his leg muscles tensed, preparing to spring from the
creek. A faint whistle drew his notice, and he tracked the noise, a
mistake that cost him as he lowered into a pouncing stance. A dart
slammed into his hindquarter, the force dropping his lower half
into the water, and he released a high-pitched yip.

Stephen rose on his four paws, but his limbs
grew lax. He glanced at his hind leg and the shiny metal protruding
from his hip. All at once, everything shifted out of focus. His
heartbeat slowed to a sluggish thump. On shaky legs, he dragged
himself to the edge of the creek and sprawled on his belly.

Footsteps vibrated the ground. Droplets of
water sprayed his muzzle as the motion drew closer. Stephen’s gaze
flew upward and centered on one of the men from the night before.
Standing over him, the bastard aimed a rifle at Stephen’s head.

An ominous grin spread across the hunter’s
face. “I had a feeling you and I’d be seeing each other again.”

Then he squeezed the trigger.

A second dart punctured Stephen’s shoulder,
and his head dropped like a stone on the gravel bank. His bleary
gaze landed on Kate’s terrified face hidden in the bushes before he
passed out.

Kate bit her fist to keep from shouting.
Concealed from sight, she sat in absolute silence and looked on as
the human grabbed a walkie-talkie from his belt and held it to his
mouth.

“Meet me along the stream we found yesterday.
I’ve got one thing we came for.”

“Be there in ten.” The static reply ratcheted
Kate’s fear to a whole new level.

Shit. Shit. Shit
.

Once she’d spotted Stephen approaching the
stream, she’d ducked behind a tree, delaying the inevitable. He
would’ve located her. How could he not? He could easily sniff out
her scent. But the last thing she’d expected was the human men
they’d encountered the night before to show up.

Kate focused on Stephen, willing his eyes to
open. Indecision waged war in her head. If she ran for help, God
knows where they’d take him. Even worse, what if they killed him?
She couldn’t risk leaving him alone, especially since he’d ventured
here to find her. And she damn sure couldn’t shift to attack the
ass who’d drugged him. So what the crap was she supposed to do?

A tremor raced through her limbs as panic
threatened to overwhelm her. She wrapped her arms around her knees.
Any second, her shaky composure would splinter in two, and she’d
wind up doing something stupid that would get them both killed.

For God’s sake, get a damned hold of
yourself, Kate.

Closing her eyes, she sucked in a deep,
grounding breath to clear her head.

Come on, Kate. You can do this. Stephen
needs you. Don’t let him down
.

He did need her. She may have failed him
before, but she refused to fail him when he needed her most. So
what if she couldn’t shift? That didn’t mean she couldn’t take the
human bastard down. Her eyes snapped open, and she glanced at
Stephen’s furry head. He was out cold, so she wouldn’t get any help
from him anytime soon. It was up to her to make this work.

Resolve whipped through her veins. She could
do this.

No, she
would
do this.

Kate examined the ground around her for
anything she could use as a weapon. She settled on a sturdy, broken
tree branch. She held the thick stick in her hand, testing its
weight and grip. It would have to do. It wasn’t as if she had a lot
of options.

Easing into position, she waited for her
enemy to present an opportunity, any point of vulnerability she
could use to her advantage. Thankfully, the dickhead didn’t make
her wait too long.

He moved to Stephen’s side and squatted to
retrieve the darts embedded in his fur. With his gun lowered and
his attention focused elsewhere, the man presented the opening she
sought.

Gathering her nerve, Kate held the tree limb
in a death grip and launched herself out of the bush. Caught off
guard, the idiot reared around just as she swung the branch,
connecting with the side of his head.

The man fell back on his ass and clutched his
bloody temple. “You bitch.”

Kate wasted no time, snatching the rifle that
fell from his grasp onto the ground and aiming it at his chest.
“Want to say that again?”

“You think this will stop us? This town and
you people. You’re freaks.” He nodded at Stephen. “You and his kind
need to be exterminated from this world.”

She raised the weapon and took aim.

“Wait.” He lifted his hand in front of
him.

But Kate didn’t. With a squeeze of the
trigger, a dart flew into his shoulder. She ran to Stephen and
knelt beside him. Laying a hand over his furry chest, she was
relieved to feel the slow thump of his heart beneath her palm. Of
course, she had no idea how long the drugs would keep him
under.

Well, crap. She had to get him out of there
before the others showed up.

Certain the hunter was unconscious, Kate
grabbed the rifle once more and searched through his gear for
ammunition. Once the weapon was reloaded, she stuffed the extra
darts in her pockets in case she ran into trouble with his buddies
on the trek to her house.

Slinging the rifle strap over her shoulder,
she bent down and wrapped her arms around Stephen’s middle. She
attempted to lift him, but in his Wolf form, he was too bulky to
carry. Resigned, she blew out a breath and hoisted his front half
under her arms.

After the first few steps with his back half
dragging the ground, she realized it was going to be a long
walk.

***

When Stephen swam into wakefulness, his first
thought was of Kate. Alarm slammed into him. Without a second
thought, he shifted to his human form and bolted upright, his
forehead smacking into something solid. An explosion of pain burst
behind his eyelids, and he grimaced.

“What the fuck, dude?”

Cracking his bleary eyes open, he squinted at
Jace, who stood over him, scowling and holding his chin in both
hands.

Stephen swallowed against the dryness in his
throat. “Where’s Kate?”

“I always knew you had a hard head, but damn,
man.”

Ignoring his friend, Stephen shoved the
covers off and threw his legs over the edge of the bed. “Where is
Kate?”

Jace threw up his hands to stop him. “She’s
downstairs in the kitchen.”

“What the hell happened?” Stephen rolled his
shoulders, groaning from the ache in his upper body. Shit, had a
bull trampled his chest then sat on him for good measure? He
glanced around, and it dawned on him he was in Kate’s bedroom, in
her bed. “How did I get here?”

Throwing the blanket over Stephen’s naked
lap, Jace plopped down on the edge of the bed beside him. “My
sister brought you.”

Stephen’s mouth dropped open. “Kate?”

“Yeah, the last time I checked she’s the only
one I have.”

He ignored the smart-assed comment. “Is she
alright? Was she hurt?”

If he hadn’t passed out, he more than likely
would’ve expired from heart failure when he’d seen her frightened
face in the bushes. And he hadn’t been able to do a damn thing to
help her.

He grabbed Jace’s arm. “Tell me. Is she
okay?”

“Jesus, chill out, Stephen. She’s fine.” Jace
spoke in a soothing tone. “I wouldn’t lie to you about that.”

Stephen’s shoulders slumped in relief. “What
happened to that asshole? Did the pack get him?”

“Something like that. Kate laid him out with
one of his darts. Then she carried you through the woods.” Jace
snorted. “Well, more like dragged. Gee came by to check on you at
Kate’s insistence. But he said you’re fine. Just needed to sleep
off the drugs.”

No wonder his upper body hurt like hell. He
lifted his arm, stretched then winced at the twinge of pain. “What
about the other two from last night?”

“Kate called me once she made it back here
with you. She was pretty shaken up, but she let me know the
situation. I called up some of the pack, and we went hunting. We
found them trying to flee without their unconscious buddy.
Apparently, they didn’t mind leaving him to fend for himself.
Damien and Wes gathered up the three and took them to Drew.” Jace
slid him a knowing glance. “They won’t be a problem any
longer.”

Pride swelled in Stephen’s chest. There was
no doubt in his mind Kate had saved him. Despite her inability to
shift and their earlier argument, she’d risked her own life for
his. Hell, if that didn’t say
I love you
, he didn’t know
what did.

“You said Kate’s downstairs?”

“Yeah, cleaning everything in sight. You know
how she gets when she’s agitated.”