Healing Their Mate (The Love of a Shifter) (21 page)

*****

Reece couldn’t take the polite chitchat anymore.  He looked over at Jonas who wouldn’t make eye contact with him.  “Jonas.  I’m going home.  I need to think about some stuff.  I will meet you here in the morning.”  Jonas didn’t even acknowledge him as he told the others he couldn’t stay and excused himself from the table.  Then walked out the door. 

River was about to get up and go upstairs when she heard the front door open and watched as Reece walked outside.  He pulled his coat tighter around him then walked down the steps toward his SUV.  River watched as he got into his vehicle and drove off. 

“Well it is official, old girl.  Go get your stuff together,” River whispered to herself.  She couldn’t believe it.  She was leaving the only place that felt like home. 
Running from Paddock never hurt as much as this did
, then she wiped the tears that stung her eyes.  Inhaling the cold air, River folded up the blanket, putting it back in to the pine box.  She walked inside and rode the elevator up the stairs to her room.

*****

Mary could tell that Jonas was fighting himself wanting to go and check on River and staying here with his nieces and friend.  Patting his hand, Mary leaned over toward Jonas.  “Give her some time, Jonas.  She needs some room to breathe.  This is a lot to take in.  Just give her some time then go to her tomorrow and this will all blow over.” 

Jonas smiled then nodded.  He needed that assurance from someone who knew River a lot more th
an he did. 

*****

River was thankful that Ash had put her car in the shop and had some of the problems fixed.  She spent the rest of the night packing her car up while everyone else slept. 

Taking a shower did nothing to control the guilt she was feeling for leaving without saying goodbye.  A feeling of belonging in her heart was telling her to stay, but she knew that if she told Ash she was leaving she would try to talk her out of it.  River stayed up all night writing letters to everyone.  Thanking them for all the kindness they had bestowed on her.  She would never be able to thank them enough for it.  River explained to Ash that she would be sending her money when she got her first paycheck.  She would take the letters down before she left and leave them with the front desk.  She decided to make an excuse if anyone asked why she was up so early.

River took her to-go bag and took the letters to the front desk.  A new girl was working the front desk.  This had worked out better than she thought.  She felt it was all working out the way it should since she walked right out the front door without anyone seeing her.  Her heart ached as she cranked up her car.

River looked up at the lodge one last time before she pulled out of the driveway.  The snow had fell during the night and it glowed as the sun started to rise.  Smiling to herself, she remembered listening to all the kids who played outside in the snow.  This was a magical place that she would never forget.  The lodge would always be the place she called home.

She always seemed to cry around these people.  She fell in love with all of them, but her heart broke when she thought about Reece and Jonas.  She would love them until she died.  River vowed to never love anyone again.

Paddock and Rick pulled up in the town of Meadowland.  Nothing was moving on the roadway this early in the morning as Rick pulled into the parking lot.  Looking around, Paddock watched as a car pulled up in front of one of the stores.

“
Fucking unbelievable,” Paddock muttered.

“
What?” Rick asked.

Looking at the vehicle, Rick watched the woman exit the car with a bunch of bags then go into the store. 

“That’s her.”  Paddock laughed as he watched the woman go in the store.

“
Who?”  Rick still didn’t catch on that the girl was the one they had been looking for.

“
That is River Channing and that is her car.”  Paddock grinned as he looked over at Rick.

“
Too fucking easy, man.  Are we going to take her now?”  Rick leaned forward in his seat scanning the area.

“
Let’s see where she goes next and then we will get her there.  I’ll get out and get her and you keep the car running then we will go back to the safe house.  Contact Phil and get him to bring our little friend to the safe house.  I feel that they should see each other one last time,” Paddock instructed.  “I’m going to love this day.  I’m getting hard thinking about it,” Paddock added as he smiled at Rick.

A few minutes later, Paddock and Rick watched River come out the door unaware of her surroundings then get back in her car and pull out.  Rick followed but not so close that she would get spooked.  River drove down the road then parked at another store.  Paddock told Rick to get ready that he was going to take her now.

River waited for the sales clerk to unlock the front door then turn the open sign on.  River got out of the car and walked into the store carrying all the bags with the clothes and shoes in it.  “Can I help you?”  River held up the bags to the lady. 

“
I need to return these please.”  Placing the bags on the counter, River paced in front of the counter as the woman counted everything then put it in the register. 

“
It looks like you got these on a credit card.  I will only be able to credit the card back the money.  I can’t give you cash back since you used it to pay for them.” 

“
Great.  That’s even better.  Please credit it back to the credit card.”  River waited as the woman printed her receipt.  River hesitantly walked out the door with the receipt in her hand.  Sitting in her car she took the envelope she had already made up that would be mailed back to Reece and Jonas.  She couldn’t take the chance of running into anyone if she went back to the lodge.  Her note and now the receipts were in the envelope.  She only needed to take the shoes back to the store down the road and she could drop the envelope in the mail and leave the state.  River decided she would go south this time and see about getting a job at the beach.  They were always looking for cleaning ladies to clean the hotels.  Then she could pay Ash back for the room and food.  A clean slate was all she needed now.  Why was her heart breaking in two?  She knew she was taking the cowardly way out, but she couldn’t face them.  She didn’t want to hear them say they had made a mistake and she wasn’t really their mate. 

Driving down the road, River pulled up at the last store.  Getting out with the bag, River turned around and Paddock was standing in front of her.  Her heart dropped as his hand came up so quick covering her mouth then knocking her in the head.  As the bag dropped out of her hand, blackness was all she remembered as she fell.

*****

Jonas couldn
’t wait any longer for Reece to get to the lodge.  He grabbed his wallet and keys then opened the door.  Reece was standing at the door with his hand in the air.  “What took you so long?” Jonas growled out.

“
We need to talk before we go see River,” Reece said as he walked into Jonas’s room before Jonas could argue.

“
Talk?  What is there to say?  You were a little bit rough on her last night then you got cold as a fish toward her.  You hurt her feelings and now she is probably in her room crying.  I tried to call her but she wouldn’t answer the phone.”  Jonas pointed at himself, “We shouldn’t be talking.”  Pointing at Reece, “You should be apologizing to her.  Begging her to forgive you.  You asshole.” 

Reece looked up at Jonas, hurting as he thought about River crying over what he had done. 
“Maybe I shouldn’t be her mate.  I was too hard with her yesterday.  I couldn’t stop myself.  I like it hard and she…”  Reece couldn’t finish what he was going to say.  Thinking about how he treated her crushed him.  His heart hurt so much he couldn’t breathe.

“
Reece!  Get it together man.  She is your mate.  She loved every fucking minute of it.  Didn’t you hear her begging you to go harder?  Made me want to fuck her hard too, but just starting out, we both shouldn’t do that.  She loved it.  What got to her was how you pulled away from her after that.  She probably thinks you think badly about her now.  She is new to this stuff and relationships are foreign to her too.  We have to take things slow with her.  Pulling away was your mistake and me not going after her was my mistake.  I listened to Mary who told me to give her some time by herself and now I know that was a mistake.  We should have never left her alone to wonder what she did wrong when she did everything right.” 

Reece looked up relieved at what Jonas had said.

“I left bruises on her hips from holding her too hard.  I should have never lost control with her.  She is a human and her body is frail, not like vampires and werewolves.  God I can’t believe I did that to her.  I’ve never lost it like that before.  I wanted her so badly.  Do you think she will forgive me?” Reece asked concerned.

“
Look, I saw the bruises but she loved it that way.  I’ve never seen her so turned on.  Remember, River isn’t just human.  She has magic inside her and she heals quickly too.  If she didn’t like it, she wouldn’t have told you harder.  Fuck, I hope she will forgive us both.  So let’s get out of here and go see our mate and get on our hands and knees and beg if we have too.”  Reece went over to the door and opened it.

“
After you.” 

Jonas smiled then together they left and got on the elevator.

Standing outside her door, Jonas and Reece knocked without any answer.  “Where is she at?” Reece asked.  He looked over at Jonas with concern showing on his face.  Jonas grabbed his keys out with a couple of pins on it and inserted it in her door.  The door popped allowing Jonas to push the door further open.  The lights were off and none of River’s stuff was in the room.  The closet door was open with no clothes hanging inside.  Panic began to set in as Reece bowed his head looking at the floor. 

“
Let’s go get her,” Reece said through clenched teeth.  As they rode the elevator down to the lobby, Reece started getting angry about River leaving without any word at all.  Just left without a fucking goodbye, kiss my ass, or stick it where the sun doesn’t shine. 

Getting off the elevator, Jonas ran into Ash who was coming out of her office. 
“River left.  The staff said they saw her leaving this morning around seven.  Now, Larsen called asking if River was here at the lodge.  They had someone call in saying that a girl looked like she was taken from her car out in front of Carousel.  What if—”

“
Paddock!” Reece said out loud.

“
Activate the unit, Ash.  Call Larken, tell him we need some of his best.  Reece—”

“
I’m already on it.”  Reece had his phone to his ear already giving orders to Levi on the phone. 

Ash called Larsen back telling him that River
’s stuff was missing from her room.  Larsen advised Ash that it was River’s car and her pocketbook was lying on the ground beside the car.  Her car door was still open.  Larsen added that he found an envelope that had Reece and Jonas’s name on it. 

Reece and Jonas sped to the scene to find the street was packed with
sheriff deputies and wolves from Larken’s pack.  Running up to Larsen, Reece asked for the envelope.  Larsen hesitated before handing him the envelope.  Inside was a handwritten note addressed to Reece and Jonas. 

Dear Reece and Jonas,

I have enclosed the receipts where I used your credit cards to pay for the clothes I purchased.  I understand that you made a mistake so don’t worry about me.  I know how to survive.  I would like to tell you that I had the time of my life and I will never forget the happiness and joy you showed me.  I knew it was too good to be true and I understand, Reece, that you had second thoughts at the end.  I’m not a wolf or vampire and you both need a strong mate who can help you run the clan and help with the unit.  Please tell Ash and her mates that I will send her some money when I find a job.  I don’t know yet where I’m going, but I will never forget you guys and all the love you showed me.  Please tell Mary that I will be in touch with her soon.  I didn’t have the guts to say goodbye to anyone and that makes me weak.  Your mate should be strong.  I never was and although I’m stronger, it’s because of how good you were to me.  Have a happy life and if I was honest with myself, I fell in love for the first time in my life.

Thank you,

River

Reece dropped the note to the ground. 

“
Fuck.”  Jonas bent over placing his hands on his knees.  He felt sick.  She thought they had changed their mind?  About her?  “How could she think that we didn’t want her?  I’m so pissed right now.  All I want to do is blister her ass for thinking that.”

“
It’s my fault, Jonas.  It was me who put that doubt in her head.  She just reacted to my dumb ass.  I’m to blame not her.  Now Paddock has her.  God knows what he is doing to her.  We have to find her.”  Jonas put his hand on Reece’s shoulder. 

“
We will get our mate back.”  Jonas turned around and asked Larsen, “How long?”

“
I would say no longer than thirty minutes.  He has thirty minutes on us,” Larsen advised.

“
Let’s meet back at the lodge down in the war room.  We are getting our girl back and I’m going to kill that son of a bitch…” said Reece. 

Jonas grabbed Reece and hugged him close.  He could feel his fear.  Hurting for his mate, Jonas knew they had to keep a level head and work together.  Anger wouldn
’t help right now.  River needed them.  He was afraid that Paddock would drain her dry once he tasted her blood.  “Yes we will.  Let’s go.  I need your head in the game now,” Jonas said as he let Reece go so they could race back to the Lodge.

Ash, Larken, Pelton, Banks, Jansen, Nash, and Levi were waiting in the room when Reece and Jonas jostled through the door. 

Levi ran up to Reece putting his hand on his Prime’s shoulder.  They were best friends and he cared about the man.  “The Guards are on standby outside waiting in their vehicles.  I’ve got people tracking, asking around about seeing anything unusual.  I’ve checked and no one has rented anything lately that hadn’t already made reservations from months out.” 

Reece couldn
’t control the anger he was feeling.  He couldn’t let Paddock take someone else he loved from him.  His fangs descended from his mouth as he closed his eyes trying to breathe in the air to clear his head.

Ash and Pelton went to the board and started putting out suggestions of how they would find River.  When something got accomplished, they would mark it off.  News of the kidnapping had gone out to Larken
’s pack.  Members were reporting to the lodge to help search.  They were waiting upstairs in another room for orders and news of River.  She had made a lot of friends since she arrived.  She was always sweet and helpful to everyone. 

Mary came downstairs for breakfast and Ash explained to her what was going on.  Ash had to beg her not to go outside and try to find her.  Mary started crying and it broke Ash
’s heart.  She escorted Mary to the war room so she could be included in the search.  Even if she just sat there, she would always be included in everything.

*****

River tried to open her eyes but her eyes felt like something was holding them down.  Her eyes fluttered open then closed again.  She tried again to open her eyes.  She wanted to use her hands but she couldn’t seem to move them. 
Open your eyes, River, now.
River blinked then opened her eyes.  It was dark in the room she was in.  She looked up and saw her hands were tied to the bedpost.  The events of what happened came rushing back to her as she remembered Paddock standing in front of her.  Her biggest fear had come true.  Paddock had taken her when she was leaving the store.  She would never be able to say goodbye to Jonas and Reece or Mary.  She knew Paddock would kill her.  He waited too long to get her.  He would punish her and make an example for running from him. 

River looked down at her feet and they were tied to the bed too.  Listening, she heard someone coming.  She closed her eyes, trying to act like she was still out.  She heard the door open then close.  Her heart started beating faster as she heard something being dragged across the floor. 

“Open your eyes, River.  I know you are awake.”  River shivered, remembering the voice she had been running from for over a year.  She turned her head and opened her eyes.  Paddock was sitting in a chair beside her bed.  He was still good-looking but she knew the real Paddock.  He was a killer and the vampire who would kill her.