Devi: Matefinder Book 2 (3 page)

                 I shook my head no. Adrian went over to the two women and placed his hands on their heads. He lowered his head and chanted under his breath. A fine white mist left his hands and wrapped around the women’s heads. He walked over and did the same to his partner.

                ‘Kai, go! If they see you they will shoot you,’
I urged him.

                He looked at Adrian one final time and let a low growl rip from his throat before crashing through the window. The sirens were closing in.

                Adrian finished with the spell and walked over to me. “Your boyfriend doesn’t trust very easily, does he?”

                “My mate, actually. No, he doesn’t. I can’t imagine he is happy to leave me with a man in uniform.”

                ‘I heard that!’
Kai shouted in my head. I smirked.

                “The women outside saw you, so I want you to give a quick statement,” Adrian told me.

                “Thank you for your help. If we can repay you in any way let me know.”

                Adrian nodded. “I could use some powerful Alpha blood for my spell castings.”

                I nodded in return. “Consider it done.”

                Witches were always after werewolf blood or hair for their spells. Hopefully Kai didn’t mind me just offering his up.

                After filling out the report, I gave and small speech to the women about the rabid wolf and got in my car. I drove down the street to a protected strip of forest and spotted Kai. He was hiding near the bushes and was naked save for a welcome mat over his private parts.

                I laughed when he got in the car. “
Welcome
to my car.”

                He glared at me playfully. I grabbed some pants from the back seat and threw them at him.

                “Put these on. Although, I’m sorry to see you cover up,” I flirted.

                At that, he dropped the welcome mat and fully exposed himself inside the car. He leaned over the armrest and grabbed my neck, pulling me in for a long kiss.

                “When is our wedding night? I’m not sure I can wait any longer,” he confessed in a husky voice.

                I smiled. But behind my smile I was worried. I wanted to marry him. I wanted to set a date, but … Layla. “You know we don’t have to wait to do it until we are married. This is the 21
^st
century.” I laughed at his nakedness. “Cover up before someone sees you!”

                Kai slipped into his pants and gave me a side glance. “Call me old fashioned. I’ve waited hundreds of years for my mate. They say the first time you go to bed with your mate after the mating ceremony, it transcends this reality. The mating ceremony opens the bond forever.”

                Whoa. Having a link with Kai I could never close sounded terrifying. I was a stubborn, private woman with daddy issues. He would know everything, all the time. I drove the rest of the way home in silence thinking about his words.

                ‘Pack meeting, now,’
Kai sent to the pack. The merge of the Portland pack with our Mount Hood pack had made our family larger, more powerful. Kai was never after power or large numbers, but it did help.

                Kai stood on a picnic table and looked down on all of us. We were clustered in our large backyard surrounded by hundred-year-old trees. The moss was thick on the branches and the fog was settling on the ground. God, I loved this mountain. I held Kai’s tablet pointed at him so that the werewolf council on the other end could see him as he spoke through video chat.

                “There has been a vampire attack on Safe Haven. A human was killed. Mutilated is a better description.” Kai’s voice was deep and boomed with the power of the Alpha. The pack members were outraged.

                “For many decades, we have lived separately from the vampires and witches. Our concern was with our territory, our own dwindling population. We have been concerned with finding our mates and having children. I fear now that if we don’t deal with the vampires properly, than we will be leaving our children to a world of chaos. They will grow up as warriors and their childhood will be taken from them. Their parents may not live long enough to show them the way of the wolf.”

                The pack roared their agreement. I spotted Devon, who placed his hand on Emma’s swollen belly and nodded to Kai.

                “Legend says that Spirit created werewolves to protect humans. There are tales of werewolves guarding the heavily populated human streets from thirsty vampires. Of werewolves being so big in number that the vampires feared
us
! We have relaxed and become complacent. We let the vampires feed off of the humans and only intervene if they kill a few and it makes it in the news. When is the last time we guarded a human night club or bar from the bloodsuckers?” He let the silence linger.

                “This stops today! From now on, we are the guardians of humanity and of werewolf culture. We protect what is ours! Our way of life, our females, our traditions will not be taken! It’s time to live out our legend. It’s time to go to war!” Kai screamed and the last part came out in a half-wolf howl.

                The council coursed their agreement. “We will spread the word to all packs. By next week, we will start making our presence known to the vampires. Send a message that killing the humans is off limits,” his father, a council member in India, said over the tablet.

               
Holy shit.
My mate could be inspiring and scary. God help whoever tried to take from him the things that he wanted. I knew then that I would marry him. I couldn’t let fear dictate my life. I couldn’t let the vampires win. I was second in command. I was a dominant. That meant I did whatever the hell I pleased, and I didn’t take crap from anyone! The pack began undressing. It was time for a run. I put the tablet down.

                ‘Two months,’
I sent to Kai.

                ‘What?’
He caught my eyes from across the crowded lawn. I took off my shirt revealing my teal lace bra.

                ‘I’m setting a date. I’m going to marry you in two months. It will be spring. There will be flowers and good weather.’
I unclipped my bra and smiled. His eyes roamed over my body and I shifted in seconds.

                ‘This will be the longest two months of my life,’
he groaned. I trotted over to him and nudged his neck. The pack was still shifting. Breaking bones could be heard all around us. Kai was a
changed
wolf, not born of two werewolf parents, and so he had a gift. Because I was the Matefinder, I was able to absorb his gift as well as have my own. Kai trotted out to a well-worn path into the thick woods. The rest of us followed.

                I took in a deep breath through my nose. A rabbit was nearby. I was a vegetarian while in human form but my wolf had other appetites. I allowed her to catch a rabbit last week and as long as I let my full wolf come to the surface and not my human self, it didn’t bother me. I debated going after the rabbit and enticing Kai with a little race for it, when I smelled something else. I took in another deep breath. It was another wolf, but not a foreign wolf smell. I was trying to figure it out when Emma whined behind me.

                ‘Rogue wolf. Protect the females,’
Kai told the pack. Max and the other dominant wolves immediately formed a circle around the females. There weren’t many of us. Anna’s power was extreme strength, she hardly needed protecting, but she found her way inside the circle. Izzy was a badass fighter and didn’t need protecting either, but she trotted into the circle and positioned herself next to Emma. Emma was our first pregnant female and also a submissive wolf. A few other females from the Portland pack trickled inside the protective circle. I tried to make my way out of the circle, but Max tightened it, blocking my way. I met Max’s eyes and growled.

                ‘What’s a rogue wolf?’
I asked Emma. We could communicate telepathically while in wolf form.

                ‘A wolf without a pack. Usually very vicious if they have survived this long. They are very dominate, usually Alphas. They keep to themselves. They don’t really have a territory so they don’t smell foreign,’
she told me.

                I continued to stare at Max, and gave him a little growl. He lowered his eyes and backed up to let me out of the circle. Max and I had a history. I hated to throw my pack rank in his face, but I wasn’t about to let my mate meet some vicious rogue wolf alone.

                Kai saw me and let out a small growl.

                ‘I figured you wouldn’t listen.’

                ‘Nope. So what’s this rogue want?’
I asked him.

                ‘If he’s a recent rogue, he will want to join a pack. If he has survived being rogue for a long time, then he only wants to be left alone or to cause trouble. I will know when I see him.’

                ‘Survived? Is it hard to be rouge?’
I pondered. The smell was stronger. It wasn’t unpleasant like a foreign wolf, but my hairs were rising. My wolf didn’t like it.

                ‘Wolves need a pack. It’s in our nature. Rogues who have been that way for a long time are usually mentally unstable. They end up killing themselves or going crazy and trying to kill others. The council puts them down.’

                ‘Jesus.’

                I could see him. He was trotting right toward us with amazing speed. He was a huge wolf, like Kai, and all black. Only a few white whiskers around his mouth gave him any color.  I inhaled deeply. Whisky. Smoke. Pine. Kai stepped in front of me.
‘He’s been a rogue for a while. Smells like an Alpha. Stay back. I’m not kidding, Aurora. These guys have taken out entire packs.’

                I stepped behind Kai and watched. The wolf stopped in front of us and stared behind Kai, directly at me. Kai let a growl rip from his throat. A few of our wolves behind me howled. The rogue shifted into human form. It was slow and painful, but he didn’t flinch. We couldn’t talk to other wolves in wolf form unless they were pack. Kai shifted instantly.

                Both men were staring each other down.
The rogue had dark black hair that was wild and dreadlocked; it hung halfway down his back. He was chiseled and buff with scars that littered his deep mocha skin.
 Not a word was spoken. A dominance challenge was in place. When a wolf wants to test someone’s dominance without a fight, it begins with a staring contest. Having been through many myself, I knew how tempting it was to test other wolves, but it was rude. You didn’t stare at an Alpha of another pack. Wanting to prove he was more dominant than Kai pissed me off! I could see sweat on Kai’s brow. Oh, this jerk! I shifted instantly without thinking.

                “You’re trespassing, rogue! What do you want?” I shouted at him. My voice came out gruff, still going through the
change
. The man grinned from ear to ear. He broke eye contact with Kai to look at me. I hid my body behind Kai but stared at him.

                “I’m here looking for you,” he said, holding my gaze.

                “What do you want with my mate? Choose your next words carefully.  They may be your last,” Kai told him boldly.

                I could hear rustling behind me. Max and the dominants were coming closer, no doubt. I held the rogue’s gaze even though I was beginning to feel the strain. Anytime someone wanted to test my strength or my dominance, it only served to make me stronger.

                The rogue grinned at me again. “There is a rumor going around that the Matefinder is here on Mount Hood. That she has found hundreds of mates already. I’m feeling a little left out.”

                “Lower your eyes!” Kai told him.

                My hands were feeling shaky. How long had I been holding his gaze? I wanted to kneel, to bow my head. It’s like he was putting those thoughts in my mind. No! A larger part of me wanted to prove I was stronger than he thought. Was that sweat on his upper lip?

                “You’ll have to excuse me, Alpha. I don’t get company often. This is my idea of fun,” he told Kai.

                “Well, it’s not mine. Take your eyes off of my mate, NOW.” Kai stepped forward and the man broke eye contact immediately. He looked at Kai and smiled.

                “Just seeing what dominant females are like these days. You’ve got a strong one there, maybe even stronger than you.”

                “You don’t have the greatest set of social skills, do you?” I mocked him.

                He grabbed his belly and laughed manically.

                ‘He’s crazy,’
I told Kai.

                ‘They all are,’
he replied.

                “May I join your run? I promise to be nice,” he asked suddenly.

                I could tell Kai needed to tread carefully.

                “What is your purpose here? Are you looking to join a pack? Are you setting up territory nearby? Or are you just bored and looking for trouble?” Kai questioned him.

                “No, no. I don’t want to join your big, fancy pack. I like my small territory in Washington. No. I’m looking for something more …
eternal
.” His eyes found me again. There was a sadness there, but just as soon as I had seen it, it was gone.

                “Explain,” Kai grumbled.

                Then it hit me. “You’re looking for your mate. You want my help,” I exclaimed, stepping forward. One of the pack members, Jake, had run to a nearby cache of clothes that we kept hidden in the trees and handed me a large shirt. I slipped it over my head.

                “Guilty.” He took a pair of sweatpants from Jake’s outstretched hand.

                “She doesn’t find mates on command, and she cannot do it under force,” Kai told him through clenched teeth.