Taken: True Mates Book 2 (BBW Wolf Shifter Romance) (A Craggstone Paranormal Romance) (2 page)

Voices filtered through the wood. “—keeping him?”

“Shut up and play your card, Si. He’ll be back when he’s done…” a muffled voice growled impatiently.

“He’s been gone a fucking long time, Dez. Maybe one of us—”

“You’re not paid to think—”

“I’m not fucking paid
at all
, so if I want th—”

The scraping of heavy furniture on the bare floor, as posturing growls reached my ears.

“Enough!” a deep voice declared. “Pick the fucking chairs back up and sit down, the both of you. We’ve got our orders from Eric. If anyone’s gonna do any thinking — it’ll be me.”

Muttered grumbles along with the sound of chairs being righted.

“She smells so sweet, can’t we just have a little taste?” one of the wolves whined.

“No touching. Not until the alpha has his prize. Then we can do what we want…”

Prize? They must mean Kara! She’d better be keeping herself safe, or I’d have—

“Well, well. What have we got here? A little sneaky eavesdropping…” the voice came from behind me, and I whirled around, my heart threatening to burst out of my chest.

Standing and gripping the bars at the window was the wolf shifter I had heard prowling outside. He leaned forward with a leer, pressing his face against the steel. “Boys!” he shouted, his eyes burning amber with his wolf, teeth still elongated into fangs.

With a start I felt the vibrations of feet and jumped over into the corner, as far away from both the door and the window that I could find. The door clicked as the lock was turned, then it burst open.

“What the fuck’s the matter, Gregg?” the shifter with the deep voice demanded, his tone brimming with annoyance. “Why are you shifted? You shouldn’t be talkin’ with her—”

“She was listening…through the door.”

“So what? Not like she’d learn much,” Deep Voice glanced at me, a sneer on his face. “And anyway, she’s not going to get a chance to tell anyone
anything.
Once Eric gets back, we get to party — and I think this little pussy is going to be mine…” He licked his lips in anticipation, and my stomach rolled.

“But Gary, Eric said we could share—” a voice whined.

“And I’m Beta, so I get first dibs…and if she’s as tasty as she looks…” the shifter I now knew to be Gary stalked toward me, his muscular frame blocking my view of the room, crowding me and adding a sour muskiness to the stench of the air, “…then I’ll be keeping her.” He stopped, his arms trapping me against the wall and forming a cage. His eyes, deep set and faded blue, squinted at me as if I were a bug under a microscope, and he was trying to decide which leg to pull off first.

I bared my teeth at him, all the while trying to shrink back into the wall.

“Yes, I think she’ll be a feisty one. I won’t break her, because then she’d be boring.” He tilted his head in consideration, grabbed a fistful of my hair, and wrenched my head to one side, exposing my neck. His eyes travelled from my ear down to my chest, and I cursed the fact that I still had the slinky party dress on — the one I had specifically worn for Sean. What I wouldn’t give for a thick woolly turtleneck, or even a damn balaclava!

My heart thudded in my chest. I would not let this happen, not willingly. He wanted feisty? Well, I had that in spades…

My hand shot out, nails shifted to claws, raking deep furrows down across his cheek and jaw. “Get the fuck away from me, you stinky-ass-bottom-eating-mongrel!” I hissed, letting my jaguar flash in my eyes. She was pissed, prowling and twitching beneath my skin, her jaws stretching wide in a throaty roar.

Gary didn’t move; he didn’t even twitch. His tongue snaked out, licking at the bloody gashes, his brows arched in amusement. “That’s what I’m talking about, little pussycat. We’re going to be great together…” He leaned forward, his mouth hovering above mine, puffs of stale breath assaulting my nose. “Do it again…I dare you…” he whispered, his eyes burning with a sick kind of lust.

“Uh, Beta…Eric said no touching, remember?” called a nervous voice from the door.

Gary froze, our lips a hairbreadth apart, then he chuckled, the sound strangely high-pitched compared to his voice. “You have a reprieve, little pussycat.” He let go of my hair abruptly. “Until next time…” he murmured. Stepping back he signaled his men and they left the room.

Muttering under his breath at Gary’s command, Gregg shifted back to wolf, his claws clattering on the stone wall as he dropped down to four paws.

The door closed, lock clicking into place. I was alone again — for now. I sunk to the filthy floor, hugging my legs to my chest. Was anyone looking for me? More importantly, how would anyone know where to look?

CHAPTER TWO

Sean

The trail stopped dead, not a flattened leaf or scent marker to be found.

Shifting back to human, I rose onto two feet, searching the surrounding forest for a clue —
any
clue. “Dammit!” I cursed under my breath. What good was it being the pack tracker, if I couldn’t track the one thing
I
wanted to find the most? I had to be looking in the wrong direction, false trails…
or something
. They couldn’t have just upped and disappeared into thin air. She had to be
somewhere!

Rage clouded my vision, fueled by the frustration bubbling inside my chest.

Think!

They weren’t in our boundaries, and I’d checked most of Smithrock’s land. James had people combing Craggstone, on the off chance they were hiding in town, in plain sight — but I didn’t think Eric was that stupid. Though, he had been stupid enough to go up against James, Alpha of the Colstone Pack, the biggest pack in the area. I snorted, wishing I’d been there to see the fight. Tarq had called, giving me his version of the evening, high on scoring a chance to be Beta with, and this was the funniest thing I had heard in years…Amanda! Fuck, yeah. I shook my head, a smile pulling at my lips, despite my foul mood. Never saw that one coming!

I grabbed the bag that was still looped around my neck, pulling out some jeans and thumbing my cell from a pocket.

No updates.
Shit.
We were running out of time. Once word got back to wherever the hell they were hiding, Eric’s lieutenants were going to—

I abruptly cut off
that
train of thought, unable to stomach going there.

I tugged on the jeans, snapping the buttons shut. Maybe Tarq would be good for Amanda, get her to loosen up, get over losing James, and enjoy life a little. I smothered another snort. Like I was one to talk…

Whatever. I had a job to do, a promise to keep.

I quickly dialed a number, waiting impatiently for it to connect.

“Yup, Sheriff’s Department,” a male voice answered on the third ring.

“Ryan, Sean here. Any news?”

I could hear the other man shifting in his chair, the frame squeaking in protest. “Nope. Sorry, man. We’ve checked the town, and I’ve spoken to my brothers. She’s not on Everson land.” His voice was rough and growly, a bit like the bear shifter himself.

“So, we’ve ruled out Colstone, Smithrock, Everson, and Craggstone Town.” I listed the areas, picturing them in my head.

“Yeah. And your Alpha has been in talks with the Council — he says that the dragon and horse Council members have been in contact with their local…herds…wings…whatever the fuck they are. They haven’t seen her either.”

Shit. “Good to know, they were next on my list.”

“What about the local jaguar pride?”

“The
what
? Where?” To my knowledge, there wasn’t one near here.

The man chuckled on the other end of the line. “Keep forgetting — cats tend to stay away from dogs.” Ryan laughed.

“Get on with it.” I growled, near the end of my patience. My skin was starting to feel tight, tension thrumming through me. “Why would they take her near a jaguar pride? They might be Eric’s goons, but they’re not stupid. Those cats would eat them alive for harming one of their own.”

“You might be right, but it’s worth a shot. The more people we have looking for your Lisa, the better, I’d say—”

“She’s not
mine
—” I snapped back quickly.

“He doth protest a little
too
much.”

I cut him off, the singsong phrase shooting a little too close to the truth for comfort. “
Where
is the damn pride?”

“Other side of Smithrock, but further south — near the border. You’ll see a valley, behind a large rock formation. It’s a little hidden, they like it that way—”

“I’ll find it—”

“Be careful, they don’t like outsiders coming in. And like I said, they don’t like dogs.”

“Well, they don’t have a choice. This canine is coming visiting,” I replied firmly, wondering if this was Lisa’s pride. And why the hell didn’t I know about it — it was practically on our fucking doorstep!

“Good luck, call me if you need any more help,” Ryan broke into my thoughts. “And, Sean?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re lucky to have found her. You have a chance most of us would kill for. Don’t fuck it up, alright?” Then he hung up, leaving me staring at the cell in my hand, stunned.

Fuck it up? There was nothing to fuck up.

Find the girl. Get her out. Move on.

Easy. Right?

***

Sean

I paused at the top of the ridge, looking down at the valley sprawled below. Ryan had been right. It was well hidden, but I didn’t smell any big cats.

I took another deep sniff, sorting through the scents. Fir trees, grass, fresh rain, the old scent of a rabbits trail. Maybe he was wrong, or I had got my directions mixed up, but I didn’t think so. Something about this place just seemed
off
. I couldn’t put a finger on it but—

“Who are you, and what do you want?” a low voice demanded, from somewhere…above. I glanced up, clamping down on any visible reaction — only years of training stopped me from jumping a mile. Where? My eyes narrowed, scanning the tree. There! Camouflaged by tree branches, a man crouched, his sun-licked skin coated with a sheen of sweat, a cloth looped loosely around his waist.

How the hell?

“Now, where the hell did you pop up from?” I replied, keeping my tone even, betraying nothing. “I’m just out for a nice walk, taking in the beautiful scenery, minding my own business—”

“Like hell you are, canine,” the man growled, baring his teeth.

Canine. Well that answered one question. But, who was he — and why couldn’t I smell him?

“Why don’t you come down here and we’ll talk, like civilized people?”

The man stared at me, his face still hidden by foliage with only his eyes burning bright. Almond shaped eyes, the color of stained oak…

“Lisa,” I whispered, shock jolting through me as recognition struck. I had found her pride, now I only had to find her kin.

“What did you just say?” The man swung himself easily down from the tree, landing silently on his feet. He was of average height, packed with a sleek kind of muscle that you didn’t notice at first — until he moved, and then you could see power rippling beneath his skin. His face was angular, from his sharp nose down to a square jaw, one that was gritted in annoyance. His eyes though — they were all Lisa. And his mouth…and his skin…

“I said —
what did you just say?”
the man barked out, stalking toward me.

I shook off my surprise, pulling myself together. “You look just like her, y’know,” I drawled, baiting the man. I could easily take him, and my beast rumbled in agreement.

He stopped sharply, hands twitching by his sides. “Watch it canine, you’re trespassing. Now, who do I supposedly look like?”

“Do you know a woman by the name of Lisa?” I asked casually, pretending to brush a speck of dust from my jeans. Direct the conversation — first rule.

“Lisa? No, I thought you said something else…” he muttered, confusion flitting through his eyes. “Now, leave — you’re not welcome here. Not without an invitation.” Confidently turning his back, he sauntered away through the long grass toward the sloping walls of the ravine.

I had to admire his balls. I was nearly twice his size and at least a foot taller, yet he dismissed me like I was a human!

“How do you hide your scent?”

“None of your business,
wolf
,” he threw the words over his shoulder.

“Oh, I think you might find that it is. Especially if you’re harboring kidnappers in your pride…” I growled, letting my beast’s power carry the warning.

He stopped again, his back betraying his sudden tension. “Kidnappers? Who’s been kidnapped? This ‘Lisa’ you’re talking about?”

“If you know where she is…”

He spun around. “What does she look like?”

“Why the fuck should that matter? Either you have her, or you don’t!” I took a step toward him. If he had her…

“We don’t— It’s just— Shit…” he muttered. “My sister— I think she might be missing. She hasn’t answered my calls — and she always does. And now you show up…something’s wrong. What does this ‘Lisa’ look like?” He repeated the question urgently, worry clear on his face.