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I glance down at myself, making out the patches of it on my clothes, my hands, and detour to the car to grab my bag. This place isn’t a short run from home. We’d have been too tired from just the journey to attempt an attack and instead, brought several vehicles and left them with non-fighting members of our pack while we stormed the place.
“There’s a shower room around the corner,” he adds, and I follow him to it, eyeing him intently wondering about his comment on leaving. “Yes, Thomas was the one that killed his mate, not the Hollow Creek Pack.”
“And you intended to leave here when Mora was well enough to travel?” I state and he nods. “To go where?”
“I’d spoken to Alpha carter of the Wallstone Pack. We’d met at a gathering where packs were discussing the disappearance of young unmated females, and we got along well. Learned that there was an old family connection between our lines. His mate is one of the alpha regent’s daughters, it’s somewhere that would be safe for Mora when I handed over the footage I located.”
I’m aware of the man he’s talking about, but I haven’t met him. I tend to stay away from gatherings. It helps keep the reputation of my pack as ruthless, unwilling to abide by shifter laws or bow down to anyone on their lips. Which in turn keeps the number of attempted attacks against us down. Very few alphas are willing to risk their lives to discover if it’s more than just rumor.
“And now?” I question, staring down at him, daring him to stand in my way where Mora’s concerned.
“Now…the only place I’m going to is where I can keep an eye on my daughter, ensure that you really are the type of mate that will put her first, protect her at all costs. I may be allowing you to take Mora with you, but she won’t be going alone. Sammy’s going with her and if he sees one single thing that puts my daughter in danger, I will go directly to the alpha regent, and I don’t think even you would come out the better in that fight,” Bryant warns making my wolf growl in annoyance. In-laws under foot wasn’t in my plans but neither was a human mate.
They protect my mate, my wolf huffs conceding first.
“Try to keep her from me and we’ll be having another kind of discussion,” I state taking out new clothes while turning on the shower. “Continue to keep her safe and we won’t have any problems.”
“Good. I don’t care about titles and ranks,” Bryant adds before I step into the warm water. “I never fought for the alpha title because I didn’t care for the politics bullshit but don’t think that means I’ll accept you ignoring what I am. I care about my family and that includes Mora, biology be damned. You won’t be shoving us to the back region of your grounds and keeping her from us. Try it and you’ll have to fight all of us together.”
“As long as you understand that Mora is mine and don’t attempt to keep her from me, we won’t have an issue. I’d rather not deal with in-laws but after seeing what she’s been through here, I’ll allow you to join us on my pack’s main grounds. She’s my mate. When you know me better, you’ll realize just what that means to me. And you’ll never question me when it comes to her again,” I promise, my wolf calmer still as the water washes away the bloodstains, putting us another step closer to getting our mate.
Chapter 5
Mora
My heart’s beating just a little too fast for comfort as the huge SUV pulls out of the gate for the pack’s grounds and onto the main highway. My eyes are still watery from Dad’s last hug, his whispered promise that I’d be fine, and to just give it a chance echoing in my brain.
“It’s okay,” Sammy says quietly as he leans up from the backseat to where I’m in the middle row bucket seat that’s leaned back slightly. “I’ve got you. I’m right here,” he adds, easing another pillow in between me and the interior side. “If you need anything, I’m here.”
I nod, keeping my eyes away from the front seat where that cold giant is sitting. His seat is pushed back so far, the back of it almost touches the front of the other seat next to me, another reason why Sammy’s in the third row rather than right next to me.
The last time I got a glimpse of Cole, he still had that scowl on his face that appeared when I tensed as he began to slip in next to me earlier. The thought of him being anywhere near me is terrifying. I couldn’t begin to imagine riding in a car with him within arm’s reach. I mean, he still is in a way, but at least it’s a little hindered by the middle console. He can’t get angry and just reach across and smack me this way.
Last thing I want is to go anywhere with him. I want to run as far from him as I can. That bullshit about some mate pull that even humans can feel is insane. Absolutely insane. The only thing I feel when looking at him is terror.
“If you need anything, to stop for a bathroom break, food, something else to drink,” the giant says glancing towards us, his eyes narrowing seeing Sammy’s hand on my shoulder. “Let me know and we’ll stop immediately. There are air conditioning controllers on the console if you get chilled, you can turn the speed of what’s blowing on you down yourself.”
I nod, avoiding his gaze once more and settle further into the seat and pillows Sammy stuffed in around me. Granted, I feel a dozen times better than I have in the last three months, but my body is still not close to how I felt before the attack. I guess that’s because of the giant but I’m not giving him credit for that with what he tried to do to Dad and the boys. Not to mention making me come with him, not giving me a choice.
Sammy squeezes my shoulder again before he sits back, and my gaze turns to the window, watching the tree tops slide past us.
The car is silent as it takes me further away from Mom, Dad, and the rest of my brothers. The driver only gave me a hello of greeting when I was forced to come out to it. It was nearly seven-thirty by then and I’d hoped that it meant he’d changed his mind when he didn’t come back right away.
Hoped that he’d thought about it more and decided a human mate wasn’t even close to being what he wanted or needed and left without me. Which would give me the chance to convince Mom and Dad to let me leave this place. Even with Alpha Thomas and his sons dead, Dana as well from the sound of it, it didn’t mean it was safe for me to stay here.
Their friends would simply make my life worse. Blame me for this somehow—especially if they ever learnt that Cole was supposedly my mate. The attempted abuse would likely grow worse each passing day if I didn’t get out of here—but I’d wanted to do it on my own, with or without my parents and brothers. Not with a man that thinks he owns me.
So when the clock slid around to seven and he wasn’t back, I’d started to breathe easier. Until he walked back through the door with Dad, the look on his face when he saw me was pure possession and it made me want to run even more from what was to come once he had me in his house, under his rule.
Now, the moon’s entirely out, moving higher in the sky.
The stars are about all I can see, and I glance towards the front of the car. The clock shows it’s eleven twenty-three and I let out a soft sigh, easing myself to sit a bit differently in the seat.
“We should reach Jackson in about thirty minutes. We’ll stop to gas up there,” the giant states and I avoid looking up at him still. “You must be hungry. We can get food and find somewhere so you can rest for the night.”
“I’m not hungry or tired,” I reply returning my gaze to the stars ignoring his huff of annoyance.
We pull into a gas station first and I let Sammy help me out, going to the bathroom then straight back to the car to avoid the giant and his attempts to talk to me. I don’t care what he says, and who knows, maybe he’ll get tired of it and leave Sammy and I somewhere rather than force me to go all the way into his mountains with him.
