A Mate's Revenge (3 page)

Besh was jarred awake by a loud thud. She sat up in the bed and listened. Jax spent many rage-filled nights slamming things around in the kitchen or his office. She hated waking up to his anger because it usually meant he was going to either hit her or fuck her.

And only one of those things would she allow right now.

Her heat was upon her. The random visits from unmated wolves who hadn’t learned how to tame their instincts proved it. Jax had beaten many over the past week, and locked her in her room as if she couldn’t help herself. As if she’d lift her tail for any virile male. As if she wasn’t a damn grown woman who had several heats under her belt.

The burn between her legs throbbed and she considered taking another shower.

The sound that awoke her happened again, this time followed by a crash. Their lodge would likely be a mess by morning. She listened for Jax’s voice but everything was eerily silent.

Lying back on the bed, she kicked off the blankets and sawed her legs together hoping for an ounce of relief. It didn’t help. She’d been through this many times and each season she didn’t give her wolf a young to mother, the heat became worse.

Minutes or hours later, the lock to her room clicked and the door opened. Inches at first, revealing that the room beyond was dark. Then wider until she could make out the furious face of her alpha.

Besh swallowed down her feeling of despair. “What is it?” she asked.

He stepped into the room as if she’d invited him in, taking in a deep breath. His eyes squeezed closed for a moment before opening again to glare at her.

“Avan has returned, and without her mate. Neither is she marked. I suppose our elders are wrong once more.”

“At least she’s back. Maybe she didn’t find him. Perhaps the elders aren’t—”

His foot snapped out to kick the bedside table, sending the lamp crashing to the floor.

“If the elders are wrong about Trager, and about Avan, maybe they’re wrong about you as well. They think you need distance, to de-stress, but we both know the only reason you aren’t already with young is because your hate is bigger than your care for the pack.”

“I care very much for the wolves here. It’s you I don’t care for. But you knew that already. Knew it when you forced me into this agreement.”

Besh shook at the dominance rolling off her mate. He was pure alpha in the moment and her wolf was rebelling against her. She grit her teeth and pulled strength from a reserve she’d been tucking away all these years.

Jax rushed forward, falling at the floor near her bed. For a single moment, he looked sorry. But it was nothing he hadn’t shown her before, and the sorry always morphed quickly into something sick.

“Why do you do this to me, Besh? Why do you push me to this? Have I not given you an exceptional life here? I thought removing Vesh from the equation might change things. I even sought to kill your bastard lover in hopes of breaking the bond you two formed so many years ago, but he’s been elusive.”

Anger formed in the pit of her stomach, a sour aching ball of fury. “You did
what
?”

Jax’s face twisted into a caricature-like grimace.

“You swore to me he’d be safe!”

Besh had spent so many years angry at the way her life had turned out, but one thing had made it possible to survive, and that was knowing Cael existed somewhere in the world. Years upon years had worn on her, and her anger turned dead. She’d become a shell that could hardly be riled. Maybe that was why Jax pushed her so much now. To get a reaction. But this… this was more than she could bear. She’d given her life, the possibility of happiness and a future, her soul, so that Cael could be safe. Everything unraveled if Jax didn’t keep his end of the deal.

Jax narrowed his eyes. “I want a young. We do this now.”

“Never,” she spat.

She was done. Done being his bitch. Done pretending he’d keep his word, as if he was noble. Done letting him lord over her because of her past wrongs. He’d hurt Vesh, and he’d hurt her. And Cael… the things he’d likely endured because of her. Because of Alpha.

She couldn’t be dead inside anymore. She had to fight. Dead was only possible when she thought it was keeping the people she loved alive. What good was a martyr if there was no cause to die for?

He growled and lunged for her, but she rolled off the other side of the bed, springing to her feet to run. She’d run to the elders. Have them call a forum. If they wouldn’t listen she’d play her trump card: Farrow would have to help her.

She’d almost reached the door when she was yanked backward by her nightgown. The fabric pulled tightly around her neck temporarily choking off her air supply. Hitting the ground squarely with her back knocked out what little she had left.

Her wolf snarled inside, wanting out, wanting to fight Besh’s battle for her. But if she let her animal loose, Jax would too, and there’d be no stopping the mating. They’d fight it out in true animal fashion and the female would lose.

The sharp smack of his hard hand across her cheek left her gasping for air that wouldn’t come. Another hit and she tasted blood in her mouth.

Finally she was able to draw in a breath, and with it came raw fury. She lashed out, catching his arm with her claws. The scent of his blood filled the room, but then his face was in hers and the fire in his eyes was sickening. He was enjoying this.

“That’s my girl,” he breathed. “Fight me.”

She gave him what he wanted, kicking and clawing and twisting to find a way out from under his massive body.

His weight left her for a moment, and she took full advantage of the absence, scrambling toward the door on her hands and knees. If she could just get out of the house everything would be okay.

Jax’s hands wrapped around her thighs, dragging her back. “Where do you think you’re going, bitch. I’m not done with you.”

“But I’m done with you,” she hissed. Her voice shook embarrassingly, and for the first time, she realized just how scared she was.

She might not make it out of this alive, because she sure as hell wasn’t letting him inside her. Dying hadn’t been something she feared before. She’d even considered doing it herself once or twice. But now, she needed to stay alive for Vesh. And she needed to warn Cael that he wasn’t safe.

Jax laughed maniacally. “Oh, no you’re not. You’re
mine
, Besh. That means you aren’t done until I say you are. And guess what, babe. We’ll never be done.” He ripped the back of her nightgown from the neck to the hem, palming the cheeks of her butt. “This body is mine and you’ll use it to give me young.”

Besh froze as his tongue swiped along the mating mark at her neck. A reminder that she was his property. Tears streamed down her cheeks, landing on the hardwood of the floor. She stared at them in confusion. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d cried. Maybe at home when her mother had forced Vesh to do unthinkable things for the sake of money. Maybe after she’d condemned Cael before the elders.

When?
When
? She couldn’t remember, and it seemed like a crucial detail.

His palm forced her head to the floor and she screamed. “Stop!
Stop
.” She clawed at his hand, but he grabbed her wrist, twisting her arm behind her back until she felt a pop.

“Be still, and it will be over soon, mate.”

“No! No, no. You’ll never have what you want. I won’t do it. I’ll die before any young of yours comes out of my womb.”

She bucked against his hold but the agony in her arm was too much. Jax’s erection brushed against her leg and her stomach heaved.
NO
.

Besh twisted her head toward the partially open door. She’d have to separate herself from the situation. And when it was done, she’d kill him. Murder him in his sleep if that’s what it took. He’d die for this.

“No, no, no,” she whispered, eyes glued to the door. She imagined making it through the small opening, into the dark of the room beyond, and then going farther and farther until she was beyond the boundary of the camp. And even farther until she found the Ravendales. She’d betrayed their alpha. He’d want revenge. He might send her away. He might even kill her. Either way, he’d never be as cruel as Jax.

Her hand reached for the door just so a part of her was still resisting. Her hand, and her eyes with their tears, and her mouth repeating
no, no, no
.

She imagined she found Cael. Imagined what he looked like all these years later. Harder eyes, a touch of a beard, bigger, sturdier than she recalled. The expression on his face when recognition hit him. Like, relief. Like he’d been looking for her too. And then rage. So much rage.

“No,” she moaned, this time because she needed him to not be angry with her. Not in this moment, in her imagination. She needed him to take her away from this horror. Just get her through the worst of it so she could recover enough to kill her mate.

The apparition of Cael reared back, kicking the door so hard it loosened from its hinges. For a moment everything seemed to stop. Like the action had frozen time. Even the beat of her heart failed. And then like water rushing from an opened dam, everything spilled forward.

Cael lunged at her, but she wasn’t his intended target. Suddenly, the weight of the alpha was gone and she could move. She scrambled to the door but before she could get through it, her brother appeared, and Avan.

“What the
hell
?” Vesh roared.

Besh blinked over and over trying to make sense of what was happening. Cael and Jax were trading blows. The footboard of the bed cracked as Cael threw the alpha into it. The room filled with snarls as wolves threatened to surface.

“She’s in heat,” Avan called to Vesh over the noise. “They won’t stop until one of them is dead.”

Vesh dropped to his knees next to Besh. “Fine by me.”

“Vesh!” Avan yelled. “What if the wrong one dies?”

He ignored her, gently brushing Besh’s hair aside to examine the damage to her face.

“Shit,” Avan muttered, jumping up and down like a boxer in a ring. “I can’t let him kill my mate.”

And like that, things became clear for Besh. This was real. Vesh and Avan and…
Cael
. They were here, and they were helping her.

Vesh’s gaze landed on her ripped gown, and his face turned hard as stone. “Did he…? Against your will?”

Her mouth opened to reply but the answer got stuck in her throat.

“
Motherfucker
,” Vesh spat, rising so fast it made her feel dizzy.

In a flurry, there were suddenly four bodies trading blows instead of three.

“He’s mine.” She heard Cael’s roar above all else, the dominance of his alpha wolf thundering through the room.

Vesh had Jax by the throat. He slammed him against the wall, but Cael fought to get to Jax, his gaze murderous.

Besh wanted out of the room. Out of the house. Out of the camp. She wanted to run, to be free. She wanted to
go
. She wanted to get
away
.

Avan stepped between the two, shoving Cael hard in the chest. “What are you doing?” she hissed.

“I need to kill him.” Cael’s voice warbled with rage. “Get out of my way.”

“Let us do it. Take Besh and go. Get her out of here.”

“No fucking way,” he bellowed. “Not after what he’s done. I’m going to tear him to fucking pieces.” He lunged forward again, and Vesh snarled a warning.

“My sister, my vengeance.”

“I am your alpha, wolf.”

The air in the room snapped and cracked, and Besh let out a whimper. She needed help. Her arm was pure agony, twisted at a wrong angle.

Cael’s head snapped in her direction, his face a furious mask.

“Please.” Besh struggled to her feet. “Take me out of here.
Please
.”

So many emotions passed over his face in a matter of two seconds ending in something miserable and sad. The way the weight of the world looks if it’s wrapped up in a single expression.

He stumbled over to her, and she was vaguely aware of Jax struggling in the background. Gingerly, Cael wrapped an arm around her waist, supporting her weight. She tried not to lean on him much but she shook from the warmth of his touch. Never thought she’d feel it again. The lump in her throat was too big, too hard.

Besh winced when he brushed against her injured arm. Cael went rigid, then he looked at Vesh and Avan. “He dies for this. You hear me? That’s an order.”

“My fucking pleasure,” Vesh growled, fingers digging into Jax’s throat.

“You,” he pointed a finger at Vesh. “You’ll pay for this later.”

Her brother nodded, a single dip of his head, and then Cael helped her through the door she’d imagined making it past only minutes earlier.

The moon was on the way down from its peak. They’d been running for hours and it would be daylight soon. Still, Cael’s anger hadn’t subsided enough to even attempt speaking. It would’ve been easier to travel in their wolf form but that was impossible with Isabesh in heat. Even now, through the barrier of his rage, he could scent her need. Her body was ready for conceiving. And his body was ready to meet that need. As would every wolf’s in a ten mile radius. It’s why they couldn’t return to the Ravendale camp yet. Not like this, with his emotions in a tangle and her injured and unable to warn off a suitor.

He needed to find a place for them to stay, out of the cold, until she could heal. It would take longer without her intended.

Cael’s fury rumbled in his throat at the simple thought of that bastard. He squeezed his eyes closed, trying to forget what he’d witnessed upon entering the alpha’s lodge.

“Stop,” Isabesh breathed. “I need to stop for a minute.”

He slowed and turned to look at her. She was bedraggled, dressed only in her ripped nightgown. Her bare feet were dirty and bruised, her face was cut and stained red in places, and her arm was bent in an unnatural way. Even still, she was the most beautiful sight. It wasn’t because of her appearance, but because of the look of determination on her face. The strength she held there like a treasure, after enduring such a horrible thing… it made him proud.

But all the more frustrated.

He was so mad at her. For everything she’d put them through. For giving up on them so easily. For going willingly to the alpha in the first place all those years ago. How could she have been so weak then, and so strong now?

“My arm,” she said. “It’s dislocated. Can you…?” She stepped closer, carefully, as if she expected him to snap at her. Her caution broke his heart a little more. He’d never hurt her. Didn’t she know that?

But that was just it. Neither of them were the same people they were years ago. They didn’t know the other one anymore. He’d become an alpha, ran his own pack. He couldn’t imagine what that must look like in her eyes. Did she see him as a brute?

He stopped in front of her, meeting her eyes. “This is going to hurt.” His voice was gruffer than he’d intended but she didn’t look away.

“I know. Just do it fast, okay.”

Cael wrapped his fingers around her wrist. His heart raced just to be touching her again, but he beat it down with the reminder that they were entirely broken. And this wasn’t a touch that would help anything. It was going to hurt like hell.

“On three,” he whispered. “One… two…”

He pulled hard and fast with all his strength. Isabesh cried out as her arm shifted back into place.

Cael gathered her in his arms. “Shh. It’s done. It will heal now.”

She moaned in pain and drew in a deep shaking breath, nodding quickly.

“We need to move fast. The dawn is coming.” He stepped back and shrugged his jacket off. “Here, put this on.”

She tried, but her shoulder had been out of place for so long. Cael helped her shrug into it, and then led her farther into the forest.

Unless his sense of direction had totally failed him, they were closing in on a place to bunker down. Magic, the leader of the Ouachita cats, owned a cabin in the deep recesses of these woods. Cael hoped it was still uninhabited. This far out, shifters should be few and far between, if not completely absent. There were no packs or clans in these mountains. The only possible threat would come from loners, if there were any.

Unfortunately, there was also no cell service. Hopefully, Vesh would come out of his anger haze with enough mind to realize why Cael wasn’t bringing Isabesh back to camp.

When the sky toward the east began to glow, warning them of the sun rising, Cael picked up the pace. They stopped an hour later at the top of a small ridge. Just beyond was Magic’s land. But if anyone was there, they might shoot first, ask questions later. Cael couldn’t take that chance.

“Stay here. I’m going to check things out. Do not move from this place. Understand?”

Isabesh nodded, pulling his jacket tighter around her.

Cael stuck to the trees of the perimeter, scenting the air as he went. There was nothing out of the ordinary. The pines and the mist and small rodents, but no people and no shifters. No smoke from a burning fireplace. No sign of anyone living in the cabin.

He circled back around to find Isabesh. She was exactly where he’d left her, shivering and looking miserable.

“Let’s go.” He urged her into the clearing, but she hesitated.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Somewhere no one will find us. You can clean up, and we’ll wait until...” It could be a week or longer before her heat subsided. “Until things die down.”

She nodded, looking nervous. “Okay.”

As the sun’s fingers peeked through the trees cresting the ridge, they crossed the small clearing. Cael tried the door to the cabin and found it unlocked. He held it open while Isabesh slipped inside. He secured it behind them, throwing the lock and shoving a dining chair under the handle for good measure.

Turning, he took in their surroundings. Everything was covered in a layer of dust, telling him no one had been there for quite a while. Trying the lights, he was relieved that the electricity worked. He went to the sink and turned on the faucet. Brown liquid sputtered before clean water flowed. Good. This was good.

But what about food? He flung the cabinets open and found jars of peanut butter and other canned goods. They’d survive a week at least. And he could always hunt. There was bound to be a rabbit or two nearby.

Isabesh wandered through the living area stopping in front of the fireplace. Framed pictures lined the mantle. She picked one up and brought it close to her face, staring at it.

“Whose place is this?” Her voice was quiet.

“It belongs to a friend of mine.”

She set the frame back on the shelf and turned, not meeting his gaze. “I’d really like to shower.”

Cael nodded. “I’m sure there are clothes in the bedroom. I’ll start a fire.”

He didn’t wait around to hear her answer. Instead, he found the back porch and started collecting wood from the stack there, bringing it inside. On his last trip in, he heard the water running in the bathroom. He dumped the load of wood on the floor next to the fireplace and let out a huge breath.

With Isabesh safely in the shower, he could let himself go, let himself feel the full impact of all that had happened overnight. And it didn’t feel good. His enemy was dead. The woman who’d betrayed him was at his control. The same woman, whom he loved despite everything, was finally safe. But he didn’t feel a goddamn ounce of relief.

In fact, for the first time, in a long time, he felt scared. The things Isabesh must have gone through. Until Vesh came along, Cael had always assumed she’d taken a liking to being Jax’s mate. He’d had no reason to think otherwise. When he’d rallied Ozarka all those years ago and tried to save her from what he’d assumed was a forced mating, she’d turned on him. She’d called him a traitor. Condemned him to being an outcast.

She’d taken their love, their bond, and stomped on it until it was mangled. Neither of them had ever made a move to repair it. Now, all these years later, it was still tattered but with scar tissue.

Where did they go from here?

If he’d known the torture she was enduring… if he’d known that sick bastard had been forcing himself on her…

Fuck
.

Cael slammed his fist against the mantel causing the pictures to jump. His eyes landed on one of a young dark-haired woman smiling at the sky. She was the image of carefree. He’d like to feel that way just once. Just a single day. Hell, a single hour. And despite everything, he’d like Isabesh to feel it too.

He shook with despair as he sank to a seat on the front of the fireplace. Dropping his head in his hands, he tried to calm his wolf. The animal raged at the injustice of Isabesh’s abuse. Walking away with Jax still breathing was the hardest thing Cael had ever done. If he hadn’t sensed her desperation to leave, he probably wouldn’t have been able to.

He glanced toward the bathroom. The urge to check on her was overwhelming. Just to make sure she was okay. And to reassure himself she was really there. After so much time apart, the fact that she was just feet away in the next room seemed like a dream.

Cael busied himself by lighting the fire and stoking it to a healthy burn. The trickle of the water from the shower haunted him. He knew he should give Isabesh time to herself, but he couldn’t ignore the niggling that something was wrong.

He went to the kitchen and pulled out a few food options, setting them on the counter for later. In the drawer, he found a can opener. He took two plates from the cabinet and added them to the pile.

The water was still going.

He stood outside the bathroom, listening, but he couldn’t hear anything more than the shower. A light tap on the door, and there was still no answer.

Cael ground his teeth together. He couldn’t wait anymore. He needed to check on her.

“Everything okay?” he called out.

No answer.

He tried the knob and it turned easily. Opening it a crack, he asked again, “You okay?”

She didn’t answer.

Cael pushed the door open farther until he could see in. Steam filled the small area. The shower had a glass door and he could see Isabesh through it. She was huddled on the floor, scrubbing at her neck frantically. She hadn’t noticed him.

“Hey,” he said carefully. But she still didn’t seem to hear him. She moved the washrag down her arms, getting more and more hysterical by the second.

Cael could smell her tears, feel her urgency. She’d scrub her skin raw if he didn’t stop her.

He yanked the shower door open. Startled, she brought her arms up to cover herself. He crouched down, staying outside, giving her space to realize he wasn’t threatening.

She stared at him with wide, desperate eyes. “I can’t get the smell of him off. It’s everywhere.”

Oh, damn. Cael’s heart hurt.

“He marked you,” he reminded her, his throat thick. “A long time ago.”

“I know. I
know
. But I want it off. I need him off of me.
Now
.” Her voice rose until it shrieked, bouncing off the walls of the stall. She continued scouring her body while the scalding water streamed down.

“Isabesh.
Stop
.” His alpha dominance came forward but she didn’t submit.

“I have to get it off,” she whispered. “There
must
be a way. There must.”

Cael could think of only one, but it would be horrible for her. Then again, what was worse? Living with her abuser’s scent in her skin or… the alternative.

He swallowed the knot in his throat. He wasn’t ready for this. He was too angry. Too bitter. Old wounds had been ripped open and the pain was too fresh.

But he knew what she needed right now.

Before he had the chance to explain, Isabesh’s head snapped up, her watery hopeless gaze leveled on him. “You,” she said, defeated. “You can take it away.”

He stared hard at the woman who’d once been his hope, then became his condemnation, and now, would be his hell. Naked, on the tiled floor, asking for his help on a level that had everything to do with animal instinct and absolutely nothing to do with emotion.

She needed him to take her, let his animal imprint on her, purify her of her mate’s claim. The way only a wolf could.

Not as a lover; as an alpha.

Cael burst to his feet, pacing the small room, fists clenching. He would do this. And it would be as much for him as it was for her. Removing that fucker’s imprint would do them both a world of good.

But he didn’t want to hurt her. He didn’t know what sort of damage Jax had inflicted.

Was this the right thing?

“Cael.” Her voice shook uncontrollably. “
Please
. I know I don’t deserve it, after everything, but if you wanted me to suffer, surely you would have just left me there.”

His chest grew tight, making breathing nearly impossible. She needed an alpha. A noble one, who wouldn’t hurt her, reduce her to a shell of a person.

“Do this one thing for me, please, then take your revenge later.” Her frail request was more than he could stand. She wasn’t his wolf yet, no oath had been taken. But no alpha worth his fucking salt would let a wounded shifter suffer.

He had the power to free her fully, and he’d do it. God help him, he’d do it. And they’d both pay the consequences later.