A Mate's Revenge (7 page)

Together, they collected the guns and trekked back to the cabin. Cael held the door open, but Isabesh froze mid-step.

“Did you hear that?”

He listened, tilting his head. “No.”

She frowned. “I thought I heard… howling.”

They were quiet, listening again. Cael tossed his head back, scenting the air but there was nothing out of the ordinary.

“I don’t hear it.”

She shook her head. “I must have imagined it.”

Cael scanned the perimeter once more. “Yeah, I guess so. Let’s go inside.”

He pulled the 9mm from the bag and handed it to her. “Here, keep this with you.” She shook her head but he insisted. “It’s what we’ve been practicing for. A gun is only going to protect you if you have it on you. Otherwise, pointless.”

“I’m safe here though. That’s what you said.”

He nodded. “You are. But this way, you’ll know for sure.”

She swallowed, taking the gun and shoving it in the pocket of her jacket. Cael noticed her shoulders relax, and knew he was right about this. It was going to take some time for her to feel completely safe. Even with him.

Vesh barked an order and the other three wolves obeyed. It felt odd to be back in charge, and especially to be working with Farrow again. But Vesh needed to be the one to do this. It was his responsibility.

He lowered his nose to the ground, tracking the scent of his sister’s heat, his claws digging into the earth as he ran.

He was going to kill that bastard this time. No questions asked. No one would stop him. No oath would stop him. No plea for help would stop him. And certainly not fucking Trager.

The alpha he had sworn allegiance to had to die.

He was glad Braeh wasn’t here to witness his treachery. This was a low spot, for sure, and he wasn’t sure she’d understand. He’d just add this to his list of unforgivable sins.

A bark to his left signaled a change in the trail. Vesh swerved in the new direction. They were closing in on them. If they tracked through the day and into the night, they’d catch up to Besh and Cael.

Then… it was going to get really, really ugly.

Vesh snarled and pushed forward. Soon, very soon.

***

“Mommy, you can’t stop right in the middle of the story. Nobody likes a cliffhanger.”

The little girl’s mom quirked her head. “And just where did you learn that word?”

“Jagger told me. His mom’s an author you know. She writes books and she told him what it’s called when you quit telling a story before the end comes.”

“Yes, I do know.”

“You know what else?” Stella whispered scandalously. “Jagger’s mom is a
cat
.”

Her mom grinned knowingly. “I
did
know that. That makes Jagger a cat too.”

Stella nodded, her eyes huge as two moons. “But his dad is a human like you. So, what I want to know is, do you like cats better, or wolves?”

“I like them both the same.”

The little girl grinned like the sun when there were no clouds. “That is the
perfect
answer mommy!”

Her mother laughed. “I think you’re trying to distract me, and you’re doing a fantastic job.” She ruffled the girl’s hair. “What am I going to do with you?”

Stella batted her big puppy dog eyes. “Finish the story? Pleeeease?”

“Oh, alright. But you have to promise you won’t cry at the end.”

The girl looked distraught. “Mommy, you know I can’t do that! I just can’t make that promise. The ending always hits me right in the feels.” Her tiny fist bumped against her chest three times.

Her mother raised an eyebrow. “And where did you learn
that
phrase?”

The girl smiled. “Jagger.”

“Jagger, huh?”

“Yep.”

“I wonder if we should tell your daddy about Jagger.”

“Oh, I already did.”

“And?”

Stella tapped her chin, remembering. “He said he was going to have a little talk with Jagger’s daddy.”

Her mother laughed. “I bet he did. Alright then, where were we?”

Stella settled back in her bed. “We were just about to get to the good part. You know, where the girl is about to face her biggest fears?”

“Oh, yes. I remember. It happened in the middle of the night…”

The sun was setting as they finished their meal of stale crackers, canned peaches, and plain tuna. Cael had found a bottle of wine in one of the cabinets, but then they’d remembered she shouldn’t drink. As far as meals went, Besh had had worse. Like the time—

No. She wouldn’t think about any of that. She had to focus on the positive.

Her hand dropped to her belly. It was completely flat. No sign of the life within. But she could feel it, her connection to the young. Her wolf was docile as a housecat.

“We should talk about things,” Cael suggested. His gaze shifted awkwardly. The laughing man from earlier was nowhere to be found.

But she’d known the carefree Cael wouldn’t last. There was too much junk between them. Stuff that would take years to overcome. If ever. And she was resigned to that fact. Was almost… okay with it.

“Yes. We should.”

He moved to the couch and she followed, taking a seat in the chair instead.

“I thought a lot about what happened all those years ago,” he began. “Last night, I was angry. I still am, to be honest.” His gaze leveled on her, his jaw ticking twice before he spoke. “I
hate
that we were apart so many years. I
hate
that you didn’t give me a chance to fight for you, for us. And I
hate
that you…” He raked his hands through his hair. “That you were
with
him
. I hate that he had what should have been only mine. But most of all… most of all? I hate that he hurt you.”

Besh swallowed, but her throat burned so bad, it wouldn’t go down. Her ears rang and throbbed with the effort not to cry. This was the truth and it hurt. Cael would never be able to look past this and see that she was the girl he’d fallen in love with years ago. He could overlook a lot, her mother’s demands and the way she’d caved to them, but betraying him, giving herself to a cruel wolf like Jax, and years of misunderstanding,
that
was where he drew the line.

“You know the thing that angers me the most, Isa? It’s that he
knew
that deal would hurt you worst of all. He knew he could forever use it to control you. And now that he’s dead, you’d think the control would stop, but it doesn’t. It won’t. Not until you decide to let it go.”

“What do you mean?”

Cael stared at her, seeming to see deep inside to her soul. “Tell me, what is the one thing you want more than anything?”

Besh frowned. There was nothing she wanted. She would just take whatever she was given.

“There was only one thing, but I have it now.”

“And what was it?”

“To no longer bear Jax’s mark.”

His eyes flashed with emotion. “And now what? Now that you’re free, what do you want? Anything. If you could have anything, what would it be?”

“But I’m not really free,” she said quietly. “I belong to you now, and I owe you everything.”

Cael’s head jerked back. “
Owe
me? Is this a bond of servitude? Is that how you feel?”

She did owe him. Her life, in fact. But it was more than that. With Cael, she’d bow to him willingly. Because she loved him and wanted to give herself to him. It was submission at its purest. So he owned her, but she didn’t resent it. She wanted it.

He shook his head. “Never mind. We’ll straighten that out later. What do you want, Isa?”

“Now that Jax is gone, I’m fine with whatever I get.”

“See? That’s what I mean. You don’t desire anything. Your passion… where is it?” His eyes burned her. “You’ve been told no so many times, you’ve given up. And he still has control.”

God. He was right. The only thing she’d ever fought for was to keep the ones she loved safe, and to protect her womb. Now that there was no more threat, she was like a feather in the wind. She’d land wherever and be satisfied.

But what was so wrong with that?

“I don’t need much. I don’t see why that’s a problem.” She tilted her chin up.

Cael stood to add the last log to the fire. When he turned to her, his face had changed. There was a devious glow to his eyes. “But that’s my point, baby. I’m not talking about what you
need
. I’m talking about what you
want
.” His gaze prowled her body, and she struggled with the urge to squirm. He set her on fire with that look, but she couldn’t let him know it.

Standing, she moved to the kitchen. She’d wash the few dishes they’d used. Wipe down the counters. Anything to get her mind off of—

“I know it’s there, underneath all the shitty wasted years. Your passion. And you’re going to find it.”

She turned to stare at him.

“One day, you’re going to tell me what the fuck you want, and baby, I’m going to give it to you. And you’re going to let me, and it won’t be a favor. You won’t owe me. It’ll just be me, loving you, like before. And if we’re lucky, you’ll love me back.”

She braced herself on a chair back. Her wolf whimpered inside, wishing things could be right between her and Cael. Needing it to be. “I already love you. I don’t know what else to do.”

“Tell me what you want. For your life. For our young. Take back your power. What do you want?”

“I don’t know,” she shouted. The lie reverberated through the cabin. She knew exactly what she wanted. She just didn’t think she deserved it and didn’t have the spine to ask. Which made her even more worthless.

When did she become satisfied with being weak? The strength it took to survive all she’d been through was enormous. Mountains and oceans and universes enormous. But now, where was all that?

Sitting under a dog-pile of guilt and regret, slowly getting the life squashed out of it. That’s where.

Cael was quiet when he responded. “That’s what you’ve got to figure out. Who do you want to be now, Isa? When you can answer that, he loses.”

She took in a long breath. He was right. She needed to remember who she was. Needed to take control of herself, her life, her body. It was the only way the damage Jax caused would begin to truly heal.

She had to take back her power.

Now, if she could just figure out how.

“It’s getting late,” Cael said. “We should sleep.”

Besh nodded. “I’ll grab some more wood off the porch.”

“No, I’ll go.

Now was as good a time as ever to exert her power. “I want to. I need the air. And there’s no danger now that my heat is gone.”

He frowned, considering.

“It’s just the back porch, Cael.”

He went to the coat rack and grabbed her parka. “Here. It’s cold.”

Besh stood a little taller as she slipped the coat on. She’d figure this out. For the sake of her family, she’d be strong again.

She nodded at Cael before slipping quickly out the back door.

The air was so cold, it felt like breathing tiny razors. She needed it though. Like ice on a wound, it was good. She took a deep cleansing breath…

And then froze with fear as her mind registered the scent.

She opened her mouth to scream but it was too late. A gloved hand covered her face, jerking her backward into a hard, angry body.

“My little bitch went and got herself knocked up, I see.” Jax’s ghost-like voice in her ear was all her fears wrapped into a single sound. “It’s okay, mate. I’ll take care of that.”

She struggled against his grip, harder than she’d ever fought before. Her wolf—
she
—would never let him harm the young.

She kicked backwards hoping to land a blow to his shin, but instead, he lifted her off the ground. Clawing at his arm only seemed to excite him more, as he dragged her farther and farther away from the cabin. From safety.

Damn it.

Panic set it, and her struggle became desperately real. Her foot landed a kick to a mystery body part but it didn’t slow him down in the least. She’d never win against him. Not like this. She was out powered.

Besh went limp as she realized what she had to do, as she realized what she
wanted
.

She
wanted
to kill the bastard who’d tormented her for seventeen years. She didn’t want Vesh to do it, or even Cael. It had to be her.

She
wanted
a safe and happy life for her young. For her child to be cherished and never used.

She
wanted
to love Cael without guilt and regret getting in the way. To mate with him, bond with him fully. Like they should have done all those many years ago.

She
wanted
forever.

And Cael… Cael had given her the tools to make it happen.

Besh
let
Jax pull her deeper into the forest. It was a wholly different thing to bend to his will this time, knowing how this would all play out. The power was already transferring from his hands to hers.

In the next few minutes she’d have it all. And he’d have nothing. Not even the power to say sorry.

***

Cael stirred the fire while he waited for Isabesh to bring the wood. Their conversation left him unsatisfied, but his girl was strong. Always had been. She’d find her way out of this eventually, and when she did, he’d be right there.

He heard her moving on the porch, heard the logs. Hopefully she wasn’t carrying too much at a time.

He gave her another few minutes, but when she still hadn’t returned, he went to check on her.

Opening the back door, it took him less than a second to realize something was very, very wrong. Isabesh was nowhere to be seen, a random log had fallen off the stack, and the thing that made every hair on his body prickle with unease? The scent of an alpha who should be absolutely fucking dead.

Cael didn’t remove his clothes before he turned. The wolf wouldn’t wait and neither would he. Isabesh needed them
now
.

His body changed in an instant, becoming fur and instinct and raw power. Catching the trail of their scent was easy, and he took off in the direction of his mate. His
mate
. Oh yes, she was fucking
his
, intended or not.

Cael crossed the field, like an arrow aiming for the tree line. Just across the ridge, he took in the scene with fury tinged eyes. His mate was… was… aiming the .9 millimeter directly at Jax’s broad chest. Her hand was rock steady but tears streamed down her face.

“You took everything from me,” she screamed. “But I have more now than I ever could’ve imagined. And now… now I’m taking everything back.”

She was going to kill him. Isabesh was going to shoot him dead.

“You don’t have what it takes to win against me,” he sneered. “Not even with a gun.
Bow, bitch
. Or I’ll make this a million times worse on you.”

Wolf pawed at the ground. The desire to rip the fucker’s throat out was nearly unbearable. He wanted his revenge. He wanted to protect what was his. He wanted to save her. He wanted…

He wanted her to heal, and wolf recognized this was the way.

“Never. Again,” she ground out.

Before Cael could rethink the situation, he bolted forward, lunging at the disgusting piece-of-shit excuse for an alpha, dragging him to the forest floor. His teeth clamped down on the bastard’s throat drawing blood, but not ripping. Restraint had always been Cael’s strong point and right now, he was fucking glad he’d had so much practice at it.

Jax struggled, but wolf applied enough pressure to his trachea to make him docile. He was no more threatening than a fly.

Isabesh ran over, and Cael caught her eyes, conveying his message: this kill was hers. He’d always give her whatever she needed to be stronger. Whether it went against his instinct or not. He cared too much to worry with his ego.

She nodded, understanding, and he waited for her shot. His ears were going to hurt like hell, but he couldn’t care.

Jax snarled, trying to turn into his animal, but Cael had too tight a hold on his throat. He shifted slightly to the right, giving Isabesh room to get her shot off. Close range. It was a sure thing.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

The sound exploded, causing Cael’s ears to buzz. He pulled back to find Jax stunned but not dead. She’d missed. On purpose.

Isabesh spat in his face, words being said, but not heard. But as soon as she turned to check on Cael, Jax’s wolf sprang forward, snarling, and snapping. Skin becoming fur, and fingers becoming claws.

Grip. Aim. Squeeze.

Her shot hit Jax in the ribs, and Cael clamped down on his throat again. This time, Isabesh unloaded the gun in the wolf’s head. A wound that wouldn’t heal.

Cael felt the alpha’s heartbeat slowing, slowing, slowing until it was no stronger than a thread. And it was done.

The threat eliminated.

Isabesh dropped the gun and backed away.

Several breaths later, Cael shifted, returning to his human state.

“Were you really going to let him live?” he asked skeptically.