The Omega's Mate: (14 page)

“But, what if he doesn’t?”

“For your sake, he will.”

*

Cain picked up a desk and hurled it across the room.  The people around him huffed but weren’t surprised.

On finding the photos of Carly at Ethan’s apartment, Cain called her, repeatedly.  She didn’t pick up.  Panicking, he called the Sheriff’s station.  The Sheriff went over to the shop to find Carly gone, the back door wide open and small spots of her blood in the alley.

Cain, to say the least, was a little angry, as was the Alpha, the Beta, Hans and Don.

They were at the Sheriff’s station, trying to calculate their next move.  Her scent was lost after she was taken away in a car.  Mrs Martin recalled seeing a red saloon speeding away from Carly’s shop, but couldn’t recall the license plate.  Carly didn’t have her cell phone on her; that was left behind.  They had no idea where she could be. 

Cain tried to explain about Ethan.

Hans shook his head.  “If he was your fan, why would he take Carly?”

Cain’s face was grim.  “I don’t know.  Maybe because I’ve decided to quit fighting…”

Adam scowled.  “How could you let this happen?  How could you not have known what he was doing?  How did you not know what kind of man he was?”

The Alpha decided to blame Cain for the situation, and wasn’t afraid to let him know.  If Alec’s expression was anything to go by, he agreed with the Alpha. 
His bear was with them on that; he’d failed to protect his mate.

Cain raked his hands over his head.  “I’m sorry okay!  I’m fucking sorry!  But I don’t give a shit what you think of me, I only want to find Carly.  Please, help me find her.  Then you can beat me fucking black and blue for all I care.  Just help me find her!”

The room went quiet, the wolves looking to their Alpha for his reaction to Cain’s outburst.

Adam nodded.  “Where would he take her?”

Cain slumped into a chair.  “I don’t know…”

“Think!” roared Adam.

Cain racked his brain, trying to remember the things Ethan had told him.  Hell, why hadn’t he paid more attention to the young bear? 
Why had he acted like a dismissive ass?

“I don’t know… he talked about growing up with an older brother, I think he was in the army and he died a few years back.  Umm, he said they grew up in a cabin somewhere near here, a couple of hours drive.”

“There’re no buildings in his name,” piped Mac, tapping away at a computer keyboard.  “A-ha!  I have a house here in the name of Ellis Morrow, looks like that was Ethan’s brother, and yeah he died just over four years ago in a bar brawl.”

Mac jotted down the details and passed them to Adam.  “It’ll take a couple of hours to get there, but she might be here.”

“What if she isn’t?  What if we waste time and she isn’t even there?”  Cain’s bear was whining; he could feel Carly’s weak feelings of fear and worry.  They were driving him wild.

Adam fixed him with a cold stare.  “Do you have a better suggestion?”

Cain let out a throaty growl, unflinching under the Alpha’s accusing glare.

“Then let’s go.”

*

At that moment, Carly was suffering through a very surreal dinner.  The bear, who told her his name was Ethan, had cooked a surprisingly delicious stew.  At least the few bites her nerves allowed her to eat were delicious.

Ethan didn’t seem to notice her discomfort, he gladly chattered non-stop about his favorite subject, Cain.  Excited to find someone as interested in Cain as he was, he described every one of Cain’s fights, interspersed with bits of Cain’s advice.  Such as, which were the best all-you-can-eat buffets in Darlington, and which bars let you run a tab.

Carly tried to smile, nod and let out an ‘ooh’ or an ‘aah’ at suitable intervals, all whilst trying to think of a way to make Ethan let her go.  She tried to probe his emotions again, but they were still too confused to get a lock.

At least he wasn’t hurting her. 
Not yet, but she was smarting from that sucker-punch
.  He was still keeping her prisoner; she needed to get out of there.  Her wolf was hounding her to get away.

Carly laughed half-heartedly; Ethan finished telling her an anecdote about Cain getting drunk and streaking during a Darlington police softball league match.

She licked her lips and began speaking in a soft, soothing voice.  “Maybe, if I spoke to Cain in person, I could make him see that…”

“No!”  Ethan banged his fist down on the table; he scowled.  “Cain has to make this decision; you can’t force him to do something he doesn’t want.”

Carly clasped her hands together, to stop them from shaking.  “Yes, of course, you’re right.  I’m sorry.”

Ethan watched her, warily.  “Okay then.  Aren’t you going to finish your food?  Don’t you like it?”

“It’s really nice; I’m just not very hungry.  I had a big breakfast.”

He nodded absently.  “Well, if you get hungry later help yourself, there’s plenty of food in the kitchen.”

“Thank you,” she said, unenthusiastically.

God she wanted to cry, and scream, both at the same time.  She desperately needed to get away from him.  “May I use the bathroom?”

Ethan gathered up their plates and gave her a stern glare.  “Of course, you don’t have to ask.”

“Thank you.”

Carly slowly got to her feet and walked to the bathroom, forcing herself not to run, or stumble.  She was convinced he was tracking her every move, because he knew what she was trying to do.

With trembling hands, Carly locked the door.  Turning the water on, she pushed the tiny window open.  She had to hurry; she didn’t have long before he realized what she was doing. 
She doubted he’d be pleased.

She angled herself against the bath and pushed herself through the open window.  Damn it was tight, if only she were a couple of inches thinner, if only she’d managed to stick to a diet!  Her skin scraped against the window frame.  Half way through she was starting to feel like Winnie the Pooh. 
Damnit, if she’d known she was going to be doing this, she would have had freaking liposuction!   

Impulsively, she kicked off her pumps.  There was one way she could fit through.  She bit her lip, to hold back the soft moans as she shimmered through her shift.

The she-wolf shook her head and wagged her tail.  Her paws scrabbled as she struggled through the window, the shouts of the bear on the other side of the door inciting her to move more quickly.  She whimpered as she scrambled through, and inelegantly fell to the hard, cold ground.

She quickly pelted away from the cabin, running for all she was worth.  The wolf dodged trees and leapt over broken branches, not even thinking about where she was going.  Dimly she was aware of a bear’s roar behind her, but she barely registered it, focusing only on getting one paw in front of the other.

The wolf knew she wouldn’t outrun the bear; she just hoped she would come across someone who could help before he caught up with her.  She felt a dull ache as the scenery flew past her.  What if she didn’t? 
What if he caught her and he… and he…

She whined; an image of her mate flashed through her mind, the thought of never being held in his comforting embrace was distressing.  Carly sharply told the wolf to pull herself together, they were going to make it back to their mate, they were going to see him again, and she was going to get her happily ever after damnit!

The booming noises of the large bear tearing after her increased, he was catching up to her.

But just in case, Carly sent a barrage of love to Cain through their bond.  She didn’t know if he would receive it, but if it was the last thing she did, she wanted her mate to know how she felt, how she loved him more than anything else in the world.

The wolf yelped as she caught her paw on a fallen tree branch.  She hurtled to the ground, her paw twisting painfully, the sound of the angry bear getting closer and closer.

Chapter Eighteen

Cain’s bear growled as a rush of Carly’s emotions swept through him. 
They were stronger than before, they must be getting close
.  He whimpered at feeling her love for him, but snarled for the shred of fear.

A small cabin came in sight; without waiting for the truck to stop, Cain leapt out and ran to the open door, the Alpha and Don hot on his heels.  He moved round the cabin, drinking in Carly’s delicious scent, along with the scent of the male who took her.

“Fuck!”  He roared; she wasn’t there.

His heart hurt from the torrent of emotions she was sending him.  It gave him hope; she was alive and waiting for him to rescue her. 
He had to find her, he just had to.  Living without her… no, that didn’t bear thinking about.

They ran outside; Don started shedding his clothes.  “Her scent and the bear’s are still strong; I can follow them.”

The other males tore their clothes off as Don shifted and sniffed the ground.  Don barked and sprinted away, following her trail, with the other males shifting and following.

*

The she-wolf whimpered and slunk along the ground, trying to hide from the irate brown bear.  He was stomping around, pounding his paws against trees and roaring angrily.

She was minutes, or possibly only seconds, away from being discovered, and she was clinging to those last few moments for all she was worth.  Her paw hurt like hell; running wasn’t an option.  Inwardly she sighed and shifted back to her human form.  The only option left was to try reasoning with him.

The bear stilled before howling and looking in her direction.  Steeling herself, Carly pushed through the bush she was unhappily trying to hide behind, and limped out.

Shivering from the cold and a little self-conscious due to her nudity, Carly raised her hands in surrender.  “Ethan, why don’t you shift so we can talk?”

The large bear huffed and slouched toward her, his cold, black eyes bore straight through her.

“Please Ethan, I’m sorry.  I was scared.”

He bared his fangs at her and stood on his hind legs, hulking over her.

Carly tried to search his emotions, but they were even more mixed up than before.  She was about to give in, to slump to the ground and let whatever was going to happen, happen, but that’s when she felt it.  She felt her mate; she felt his anger, worry, determination and above all love.  He was here! 
He was coming for her!

Renewed hope shot through her as her wolf yipped.  She just needed to hang on, just for a few more minutes.

The bear reached a clawed paw out to her.

“What about Cain?” Carly cried.

The bear stopped and cocked his head on one side.

Carly gulped and licked her lips.  “I doubt Cain would be very happy if you hurt his mate.  He loves me, and I’m his true mate.  If… if anything happened to me, he’d fall apart.  He’d probably never fight again.”

The bear growled but didn’t move; he appeared to be listening, and pondering what she was saying.  Carly could feel Cain’s emotions strengthening, as well as numerous other pack members. 
They were getting closer.

“Why don’t we go back to the cabin and talk?” 

Carly sent him some soothing tendrils.  Sadly they didn’t have the desired effect.  The bear felt what she was doing and roared.  He swiped a paw; Carly fell back to the ground, narrowly missing his slicing claws.

The bear snarled mightily, towering over her.  A wave of terror swept through her, she squeezed her eyes shut and tried to shield her face with her arms. 

The pain never came; she felt a whoosh of air and a feeling of relief overcame her.  She peeked her eyes open to see her massive bear mate looming over the brown bear, cowering on the ground.  The Kodiak bear roared heartily, half in triumph, half in rage.

Her wolf pack mates prowled round the two huge bears, edging their way in front of Carly.  She started laughing and crying in relief.

Her mate saw her, and his eyes flickered to her, his stance softening slightly.  Carly dragged herself to her aching feet; she started limping to him, gently repelling her Alpha and Beta as they tried to stop her.

The brown bear shifted back to human, and he was curled on the ground in a fetal position.  The Kodiak stood over him threateningly.

He stilled as his mate’s hand stroked his thick, dark fur.  He turned to find her tiny human form looking up at him.  She looked tired and bedraggled; her hair was messy, her body covered with cuts and bruises, but she had never looked more beautiful to him.

“Cain…”  Her big, round eyes looked at him beseechingly.  “Change for me, please.”

He growled softly, eyes flitting back and forth between his mate and Ethan.  He was torn between shifting and holding his mate in his arms, providing the comfort she dearly needed.  But he desperately wanted to punish the male who had taken her from him,
who had hurt her…

The Kodiak snarled and reached a paw toward Ethan.  Carly darted in front on him and snuggled into his furry chest.

“Please Cain, please change for me.”

He felt a swell of affection from her and groaned as his muscles shrank, fur receded, and he changed to his human form.

Carly craned her neck to look at his fierce, brown eyes; she beamed at him.  Cain folded her into a loving bear hug.

He rested his head on hers.  “I’m never letting you go, beautiful.”

“Same here.”

They clung to each other as the wolves shifted and tried to coax Ethan up off the ground.  Cain tightened his grip as his hands roamed down her body, cupping her ass.

Not that she wasn’t enjoying it, but…  Carly wiggled in his grip, whispering furiously.  “What are you doing?  The Alpha’s right over there!”

“Exactly!” he grumbled, throatily.  “You’re naked!  Only I’m allowed to see you naked!”

“Oh Cain!”

She chuckled, of all the things to focus on!  She considered saying something, but really what was the point?  She doubted he would change. 
And honestly, she prayed he never did, he was perfect just the way he was.