The Trail Back (16 page)

“True. I’m glad it’s not my decision on where to place him for this fight.” Lachlan raised his eyebrows in question at Caleb.

“I haven’t decided yet. I’ll make my decision once everyone’s had their say.”

As they parked outside Brayden’s house, they found the yard was already full of trucks and cars. He sighed. He didn’t want to get anyone killed, didn’t want anyone to lose a mate. He reached for the calm ruthlessness of his Alpha cat.

He needed to outthink and outmaneuver a stronger, faster and highly motivated foe. His cat relished the challenge, the battle, and the victory. It would fight mercilessly to keep each and every member of its pride safe and alive.

Caleb entered the living room and faced his assembled pride with his cat front and center in his mind. He was no longer burdened by any fear. He was the Alpha, and he would lead. It was who he was.

“Thank you all for coming here. Brayden’s mate needed to heal, and we could not ask him to leave her at this time,” Caleb said.

Josh and Shane both growled loud enough to shake the windows.

“Brayden, Josh, and Shane’s mate needed to heal.” Caleb was happy for them. It wouldn’t alter his decision to take Shane and Josh with him to Canada, though. They were the pride’s fiercest fighters. His canines descended a little at the thought of the upcoming battle. He was a predator, and he would protect what was his.

“It is time to end this threat to the pride. We do it now and we do it on our terms. I will listen to all and any suggestions, but the final decision on how we proceed will be mine alone.”

The scent of vampire came from behind him at the same time as he heard Kaitlyn’s gasp. He turned to see Isabelle and Ray walk hand in hand into the room.

“I’d like to petition for my mate, and I to join your pride, Alpha Mabry,” Ray said. Kaitlyn’s father lowered his head and bared his neck, and Kaitlyn’s mother followed his example.

“I’m pleased to see you both together, and I will conditionally accept your petition,” Caleb said.

“I’d also like to ask that you allow us to join in any attack you may be planning,” Ray said. He looked at his mate, and she nodded for him to continue. “We would like to help free our daughter from the threat she’s under, as well as free all the hybrids left in captivity. Isabelle will also be able to lead us directly to them.”

“Done. Make it back alive and you can both consider yourself members of my pride. Now I have a petition of my own to make.” Caleb watched as all eyes turned to him. “Aiden, I would like to offer a blood bond to you. You have proved yourself to be an honorable man and an asset to our pride. You have nothing further to prove.”

“I accept, Alpha, and I thank you. My bond will also allow us to communicate directly, a distinct strategic advantage.”

Aiden and Caleb exchanged nods.

The only contentious issue of the whole meeting came from a surprising source, Brody. He was determined to go to the vampire’s camp to protect his Alpha, and his mates were equally determined that he remain in Pine Falls. Caleb had to call a halt to their heated debate.

“As a member of my pride you have stated that you will accept my decisions, Brody.”

“Of course, Alpha. But I am your best weapon. Why would you leave me here?”

“The reasons for you staying far outweigh the reasons you should come.” Caleb turned his Alpha stare on the demon as Brody opened his mouth to argue his point. Brody was too powerful for it to have any effect on him, but Caleb was pleased that he respected pride hierarchy and remained silent nonetheless.

“Our most powerful weapon is you, Brody, and you are tasked with keeping the pride’s very heart alive. You are to guard our mates. You must be with them at all times. We all die if they do.”

Brody nodded solemnly and Landon and Elliot each put an arm around their mate. Prescott placed Meg on Lachlan’s lap as he rose to stand by Caleb. Kaitlyn held tight to Sean and Aiden’s arms.

“I have been discussing things with Sean,” Prescott said. “We both think we should ask Finn Frederick to send a couple of people our way. We’d benefit most from Samson Reed and Calder Wilder, but any help he can offer would give us an advantage. I don’t want to leave the human population of Pine Falls vulnerable when half of us leave.”

Caleb hadn’t considered that, but that was why he had enforcers. They were chosen for their defensive and offensive skills. “I would also like you both to consider adding Aiden as an enforcer for the pride. I will, however, leave that decision to both of you.”

“Yes,” Sean and Prescott said at once.

“He’s saved both our lives in the past few weeks,” Prescott said. “He’s fast, strong, and ruthless. He also has the added gift of being able to communicate with pride members over long distances, even if we remain in our human form. Having him as an enforcer will make the pride stronger.”

“I think the idea of asking Alpha Frederick for assistance is a good one,” Caleb said. “With Aiden, Isabelle, and Brody in our pride we will be able to reciprocate with aid if ever he has need of it. I’ll speak with him now, and I’ll return when I’ve made the final decision on who stays and who goes.”

Caleb reached for his cell and walked to the front door. He stopped and turned before walking outside. The conversations that had started all silenced immediately.

“Say good-bye to your friends and family now, we are leaving before dawn. The vampires are fast, and I won’t let them make the first move. We fight on our terms this time.”

* * * *

Abbie woke when she felt the bed dip and sway beneath her. She sniffed and scented the pine and musk scent of all three of her mates. She felt them all stroke her as they lay around her.

“I’ll miss her,” Shane said. “I feel a pain in my chest when I think about leaving her. That’s missing her, right?”

“Yes, Shane, that’s missing her,” Brayden said softly.

So it was done. The meeting was over, and Shane was going to fight the vampires, fight for her, fight to keep her safe. Abbie’s heart hurt at the thought of him going. She did love him. She hadn’t wanted to, and he’d hurt her, but that was because she’d already started to care for him.

Opening her eyes she found the room was lit by the soft glow of the bathroom light. She made her decision and shifted. They all moved back as her naked body ended up sprawled on top of them.

“You’re leaving?” she asked.

“Shane and I are going to Canada in a few hours,” Josh said. “Brayden is staying here with you. You won’t be alone.”

It was worse. As tears filled her eyes, Abbie’s heart felt tight and heavy. They were both leaving. “Why both of you?” she said softly. Shane sat up and reached for her. She climbed into his lap. He wore nothing but boxer briefs and every inch of her skin sparked to life where it touched his.

“Josh and I are the best fighters of the shifters in our pride. We can fight equally well as men or wolves. We will kill the ones who hurt you, Abbie. You will never have to fear them again.”

“He’s being modest,” Brayden said. “They are exceptional fighters. They aren’t as fast as vampires, but what they lack in speed they make up for in strength and ferocity. They are merciless in the face of an enemy. Caleb needs them with him if he is to succeed.”

Abbie nodded her understanding. Her throat was too tight with fear to speak. Brayden told her that Aiden, Isabelle, and Ray, Kaitlyn’s father, were going to Canada, as well as one of the bears, Elliot, and a cougar shifter from Colorado called Calder. Josh and Shane had heard of the one called Calder and sounded pleased he was going with them.

She swallowed the lump of fear in her throat. Her last sexual encounter with the vampire still tainted her, despite her recent bath. It had been added to the horrors of her imprisonment, and she was fighting her wolf for control. It understood her pain but needed its mates on a truly primal level. To her wolf, its mates were the only thing that would finally heal her.

Abbie knew that if she didn’t let her wolf guide her into this mating they may all die without ever having touched each other’s hearts and souls as true mates should. She couldn’t let the vampires rob her of her life, her future, her mates.

Shane and Josh had hung onto the pain of their past for decades, she wouldn’t do that to herself, or to her mates. She had to be a survivor, not a victim, and she had to reach out and take her mates.

“I want you to be fighting for your mate.”

“Abbie—” Brayden said.

Abbie cut him off by leaping on him and crushing her lips down on his. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pressed herself to his chest. As soon as she felt his tongue lick across her lips, she opened for him and moaned at the taste of him in her mouth.

“You are so small and soft, sweetheart,” Shane said. He caressed her shoulders, stroked his hands down her back, and cupped her ass. “This ass was made for my hands.”

He squeezed, and she felt the heat build in her core, a heat that drove away all memory of the evil that had touched her. She trusted her mates to replace all memory of the vampire’s touch with the joy of their joining.

Brayden released her mouth and turned her head toward Josh. His eyes were blazing red with his desire. She reached out an arm and hooked it around his neck, drawing him closer so she could kiss his plump, soft lips. The kiss started tentative, but once she opened for him, he thrust his tongue in and licked and tasted every inch of her mouth.

Shane’s hands moved over her hips to her stomach, leaving a trail of fire on her skin. She was getting hotter. Everywhere they touched sizzled with pleasure, then burned when they pulled away.

“Your breasts have tortured my thoughts,” Shane said.

He cupped her breasts, molded them, and ran his thumbs over the hard nubs her nipples had become. She moaned loudly and pushed her breasts into his touch.

“So sensitive when I touch them. I want to taste these hard nipples.” He pinched her nipples, and she let out a cry of pleasure into Josh’s mouth.

“Please. It hurts.”

Shane released her breasts, and Abbie cried out with the pain. She was now actually burning. Her claws erupted, and she dug them into Josh’s and Brayden’s shoulders. She didn’t want them to release her. She knew she’d die if they left her like this.

“Did I squeeze too hard?” Shane asked.

He kissed her shoulder and Abbie moaned and pushed her ass against him. She could feel the hard length of his cock and her mouth watered. Her pussy clenched painfully. She needed him. She needed them all.

“We started the mating,” Brayden said. “Last chance, is this what you want? Are you going to stay with us forever?”

Abbie released her claws from Brayden’s shoulders and moved to hold Josh lightly with both clawed hands. She kissed his neck and sucked his flesh into her mouth. He tasted amazing and she felt herself becoming lost to her instincts.

She bit into his flesh, her blunt canines making him moan, but she didn’t break the skin. Her wolf howled and she dug her claws deeper into his shoulders. Abbie would not force Josh into something. After being captured and helpless herself, she’d never do the same to him. This would be his choice. If he said no, then she’d just die. She’d rather that than have him regret mating her.

But she would enjoy him while he was considering it. She licked down his neck and chest. She released her claws and ran her hands over his muscled shoulders and chest. He was magnificent. Pale hairs covered his chest. They were soft and springy. She reached his pale pink nipple, pinched it, and then sucked it into her mouth to tease it with her tongue. She shivered when he softly moaned.

“I want you,” Josh said. “I’ve wanted you since we came back to give you blood. I’ve just been sacred.”

She released his nipple and smiled up at him. “Scared? But I’m such a little thing.”

He growled and reached his arms around her to cup her buttocks. He pushed his hard cock against her stomach. “You’re perfect—perfect for all of us.”

* * * *

Josh couldn’t believe she was smiling at him, teasing him. She was a tiny thing, a soft and sexy tiny thing. She’d forgiven him for all the crazy shit he’d put her through while he worked through his issues.

“I can’t believe I have such a forgiving and sexy mate. I’ll never let you down again, Abbie.”

He lowered her to the bed and took her lips for a deep, probing kiss. Her taste was addictive and arousing. His cock was hard and leaking. He knew he’d come the second her tight pussy was wrapped around him.

“I’ll be the best mate ever created. My years of rage are now focused on keeping you safe.” He rubbed a hand across her flat belly. “Keeping our pups safe.”

She moaned and wrapped her legs around his hips, rocking herself against his groin. He growled as the musky scent of her arousal wafted up between them.

“Josh, I’m hurting. Make it stop.”

Abbie moaned as Shane knelt by her head and placed his cock next to her lips.

Fuck, what is he doing?

“Just do what feels right, Josh,” Brayden said. “You know what to do to please her, to mark her. Listen to your wolf. It’s been trying to tell you from the beginning. Stop fighting him.”

Brayden lay down next to Abbie and kissed a path down her neck to her breast. She moaned as he licked and then gently teased her hard nipple with his teeth. She arched up into Shane’s hand as he played with her other nipple with his fingers.

Josh kissed a path down Abbie’s stomach. He took note of which spots elicited moans and gasps. He was learning about his mate, about what she desired, about what gave her the most pleasure. He glanced up at Shane and saw him watching as Abbie licked the head of his cock. He was learning, too. They would both gain mastery of their mate’s pleasure, and she would reap the rewards.

“I need to taste your pleasure, Abbie. I need to drink you in. The smell of your pussy is making my wolf wild.” He left unsaid that his wolf was always wild. It was just usually wild with rage, not lust.

“I need something, please,” Abbie said. Shane growled as Abbie reached for his cock and sucked it into her mouth.