Bound to Be Taken [Rock Wood Pack 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (13 page)

The pack cried out in pleasure at the sentence Micah had rained down. He looked to see Micah offering his hand. “We’ll do this together.”

Going to his knees, Cade took the hand presented to him and kissed it. He showed the whole pack where his loyalty lay. “I’ll protect everyone in this pack. Misty will die tonight and the next full moon I’ll be claiming Titania.”

“Please, go and get her. I don’t know how long she will last when Misty finds out I escaped.”

Cade followed his alpha out of the door. It was time to show that bitch who was boss.

* * * *

“So, David just got out of these chains like they were nothing?” Misty asked. Titania closed her eyes. Tatum was the only man with Misty. He held her up by the hair to look at the other woman. Her face hurt from being slapped and punched. She’d long lost feeling in her lower body.

Where’s Cade?

“You know, this could be a lot easier for you if you told the truth. David disappearing means nothing to me. It won’t stop anything I’ve planned. He’s as good as dead.” Misty stood in front of her.

“Fuck you.”

Whack.

“When I get my hands on David, I’m going to cut his dick off and feed it to my wolves and all the time I’m doing it I’m going to let him know it was your fault.”

Titania laughed. “Do you really think this pack is going to win against Rock Wood?”

“Micah is a weak alpha, Titania. The pack is weak.”

“Cade is not.” She saw the flash of fear in Misty’s eyes. “He’ll tear you apart limb from limb and laugh while he does it.”

Misty swallowed. Titania scented the fear rolling off her. She wasn’t afraid of Micah but she was afraid of Cade. Titania could work with that.

“Your man will be dead.”

“No, nothing can kill Cade. The only person strong enough is me,” Titania said.

The other woman laughed. “You’re nothing.”

“No, I’m the only one who can get close enough to hurt him. Everyone else is fresh meat to Cade. You’ve got no chance of hurting him.” Titania would never hurt the man she loved and she was totally in love with him. Tears filled her eyes. She never told him the truth about how she felt about him. Cade didn’t know she was in love with him. He was her protector, her first and only man. She loved him with her whole heart and instead of being in his arms, she was going to die in a shitty, rundown house. Life was so unfair.

“Cade isn’t afraid of hurting a woman, Misty. Look what he did to you. You know what he’s capable of and you’ll be the one he comes after.”

Misty grabbed her out of Tatum’s arms. “You know nothing.”

Another punch landed to her face followed by a swift kick. Titania went down and stayed there. “Next time I come up you’ll be dead.”

Titania didn’t bother moving. She was dying and if she didn’t change into a wolf soon she’d be dead.

So much wasted life and time. She let her mind wander over the past couple of days with Cade. Remembering the way he held her as they lay in bed sleeping. She’d woken up a couple mornings with his arms and legs wrapped around her. He looked so peaceful in sleep.

She thought about the way he felt against her as he made love to her. They could have had so much. She hated not knowing what they’d lost. Biting her lips she let the tears fall freely down her face. The tears were not from the pain. They were from lost opportunity. Her lost opportunity to be with the man she loved.

The time passed. Titania didn’t know how much time but too soon Misty and Tatum were back upstairs. A gun was in Misty’s hand.

“Hold her away from you. This bitch is almost gone. I may as well put her out of her misery.”

Closing her eyes she pictured Cade. The gun cocked, ready to shoot.

“I love you, Cade.” Titania spoke the words in hope Cade could hear them. She never expected him to have brilliant hearing but she hoped he knew the truth about how she felt.

The sound of snapping and Titania was suddenly on the floor. Tatum was thrown across the room. His neck snapped.

“I love you too, Titania,” Cade said.

Misty looked petrified.

Titania listened to the fighting going on in the house. The Rock Wood pack had come for them all. They were going to be saved. Cade dropped the weapon he’d been holding. It looked like a long hunting knife.

“So, you turn on the pack, take our women, and then take my woman as some kind of revenge for the fact your cunt wasn’t good enough.”

“Do you think I can’t kill you?” Misty asked snarling.

Titania stayed on the floor. She couldn’t run for cover or beg to be let out of the room. There was no other choice other than for her to witness what was about to happen.

“I know you can’t. You see, Misty, you’re weak. There is nothing good about you at all and that is why I’ll beat you. Tonight, you’ll die at my hands and I’ll laugh on your fucking corpse.”

“My men will find you and hurt you.”

Cade laughed. “The Eagles came to the house and begged for us to spare them, Misty. They couldn’t stomach what you’d made them do. You’re the monster here and the men helping you.”

“We didn’t do anything,” Misty said.

This was new for Titania to hear. It almost sounded like the other woman was begging to be spared.

Her man wasn’t listening. Cade advanced in the room. His movements were silent. Each step he took was light. “You got the sick bastards to rape and torture our women. I saw Tabitha. She’s a good woman and a great fighter and yet she looked broken. The only justice for what you’ve done is knowing I’ll be the one to kill you.”

Misty hit first, slapping her fist against Cade’s face. He didn’t go down. The battle was on. Titania rested her head on her hands. The stale stench of the carpet beneath her turned her head. Cade threw the other woman into the wall. Misty cried out in pain.

“No one touches my pack or my woman.”

Another hit, a jab and screams filled Titania’s ears. She wanted to block all the sounds out. It was terrifying to hear.

Don’t look. Don’t look.

The sound of a neck snapping and Misty’s breathing stopped. Lifting up, Titania turned to the side and watched Misty’s body fall to the floor. The other woman was dead.

Titania looked up to see Cade staring at her. “I’m sorry you had to witness that.”

“I don’t care. She hurt me and the pack. I heard what she was doing. Misty likes the pain and she can’t hurt anyone else.”

Cade pulled her into his arms.

She cried out. Her legs were useless.

“Micah.” Cade yelled the word and she heard them running. In no time at all the room was surrounded with their men. They gasped when they saw her legs. She must look a fright. Titania couldn’t bring herself to look at them.

“I’m dying,” she said, looking at Cade.

“No, you’re not.”

“I can’t turn at all. I’m not going to last much longer. The blood is…” She couldn’t finish her words.

“I can change her,” Micah said.

“I love you, Cade. If I don’t survive, I want you to know I love you.” She saw his jaw clench.

“The next time I tell you my feelings you’ll be waking up in my bed.”

Cade sat beside Titania’s bedside several days later wondering if she would ever wake up. After she’d been turned into a wolf, she’d simply laid on the ground and slept. In the morning he’d woken beside her in human form to see her still asleep. Not knowing what to do with her, he’d picked her up and carried her inside.

She still hadn’t woken up. He hated not knowing what was wrong with her. Her body was healed and her legs were fixed. Charlotte, David and the rest of the pack visited her constantly. He was surprised by their support. All of them were deeply indebted to her.

In the meantime, they’d rounded up the remainder of the Eagle pack. They were no longer any threat to Rock Wood or the pack. The ones who worked for Misty were put to death. The men they killed were too dangerous to let go. Cade followed his pack and, seeing the state their women had been in, it was more than a fitting punishment. Tabitha was healing slowly. She’d been beaten and raped during her capture. Cade sensed her strength and knew in time she’d pull through. All the pack had banded together and they were stronger than ever. Over fifty residents were currently living in the house. Their members had returned when they heard the news of the damage done to their own.

David spent the most time with Titania. When Cade couldn’t stay, the other man was waiting to take his place.

“Come on, you’ve got to wake up, baby. I need you.” Cade spoke the words against her hands. Tears filled his eyes and fell down onto her arm.

Someone cleared their throat and Cade looked around to see David waiting. He carried his laptop. David was looking down at the floor.

“She’s not responding,” Cade said, turning back to his woman. The bruising was disappearing but slowly.

“Titania will make it through. She loves you, Cade.”

“Loves me? I’ve never given her any reason to love me.” Cade rubbed at his face, trying to hide the tears.

“I saw the way she smiled the last few days. When you took her for training she was so happy to be spending time with you. She loves you a lot. You have to believe that.” David placed a hand on his shoulder.

His first instinct was to push him away. He didn’t. Cade sat there looking at his woman and felt empty inside. She was his only reason for existing.

“I failed her. I promised to protect her and look what I did.”

“You didn’t do this. Misty and her thugs did this. Titania begged me to run. She told me you’d come. Even in pain she thought about you, Cade. She trusts you. What happened is no one’s fault. Misty made her choice a long time ago. I’ve looked at her room and nothing any of us could do would have stopped her. This was her decision and she paid the ultimate price.”

“Death was too kind,” Cade said. He stood up and faced her friend. “I’m needed.”

“Yeah, work needs to be done to prepare for your mating.”

Biting his lip, Cade didn’t speak. He leaned down and kissed her warm lips. “I’ll be back soon.”

Stroking her hair, Cade left her in the capable hands of David.

He passed several pack members who nodded in his direction and sent words of encouragement his way. Cade smiled as best he could and made his way into the study where Micah and the others stood.

“How is she?” Micah asked.

“There’s no change. David is with her now. I thought she’d wake up by now. I don’t know what else to do.” Cade ran fingers through his hair. He hadn’t gotten around to getting it cut and the length was down to his neck.

“She’ll come around. Titania is a lot stronger than we gave her credit for,” Jordan said. His words offered Cade little comfort.

“For the first time in my life I wished she’d run away. Misty got one of her goons to beat her to the point she broke her legs and was bleeding out.” Cade swallowed past the lump in his throat. “Yeah, she’s brave but I wish she had run away and maybe she wouldn’t be lost to me at the moment.” Shaking his head, Cade turned back to Micah. “How’s Tabitha?”

“She’s doing fine. She spends a lot of time in the garden looking around. The men don’t go near her. Their presence unnerves her. I’ve organized the apartment block in town to take some of our people. David will be leaving in a couple of days. He’s dealing with the money to fund the place. I need you to go and do a recon on the town and the apartment building. I want to make sure everything is above board. Also, Charlotte wants to know about her parents and if they’re okay. Will you do that for me?” Micah asked.

“Consider it done.”

Jordan, Wilson, Paul, and Peter filed out of the room. Cade headed in the same direction when his alpha called him back.

He stood in front of Micah, waiting for him to speak.

“You could be alpha of this pack. You’re a lot stronger than I am and if it really came down to it you’d win in a fair fight.”

“So?”

“Why haven’t you ever challenged me for the pack? It could be yours.”

Cade burst out laughing. “Micah, I’ve got the skill and the strength to be alpha but I don’t have everything else.”

“What do you mean?”

“I love this pack. I don’t want the responsibility of running it. I’m not cut to be that kind of leader. Send me out in a fight and I’m your guy. These wolves need more than a fighter sitting at the top. Rock Wood needs you, Micah. You can handle this and my loyalty is to you. If you’re thinking of stepping down then I’m taking my woman and I’m out of here. I don’t want your pack and I’ll fight to the day I die keeping you at the top.”

“You confuse me, Cade. I thought you wanted to be alpha. I’d gladly give it to you. It’s your choice.”

He slapped his alpha on the shoulder. “Micah, you’re the alpha and I’ll fight for you but come between me and my woman then you’ve got an issue. Enjoy the hot seat. It’s yours.”

Walking away, Cade felt relaxed. The tension between him and Micah had been annoying him. He didn’t want the pack. He never wanted the pack. Rock Wood was his home, the pack was his family, and now that he had Titania, everything was perfect.