Werewolf Mates [Pack Law 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (15 page)

“You think I don’t know that? I’m not stupid, Jarrod. I’ll call you and Malcolm if we need help, but right now I need to go after my mate,” Justin snapped and slammed out the door, heading toward the truck. His angry strides ate up the distance rapidly. He jumped into the truck and barely waited for Roan and Chet to get in before peeling away from the curb.

“You have to get your fear and anger under control, Justin. You can’t think straight if your emotions are taking over,” Roan stated calmly. “We are going to find our mate and bring her back, but you have to get your wolf to back off.”

“How the fuck am I supposed to do that when that fucker has our mate in his clutches? He’s already stabbed her once. God knows what he’ll do to her this time, what he’s doing to her right now.”

“We are just as scared and torn up as you are. You’re letting your imagination run away with you, Justin. Jarrod was going to call us as soon as Malcolm called in. You know as well as we do that Long is still on the move. You have to start thinking logically,” Chet said. “Come on, bro, take a few deep breaths and calm down.”

Justin knew his brothers were right. He concentrated on calming the turmoil roiling in his gut and pushing his wolf back down so he had better control of his emotions. When he was able to think more clearly, he prayed to God Sam was okay.

* * * *

Opening her eyes and then squinting against the light as it penetrated her retinas, she tried to focus her gaze while licking her dry lips. She had a nasty taste in her mouth, and her tongue felt like it was glued to the roof of her mouth.

Looking down she realized she was lying on a bed, and, being careful not to alert her captor she was awake, she looked about. She ascertained she was in some sort of open-plan vacation cabin.

Gerard was sitting in an armchair across the room and looked like he was reading the paper. Her gaze skittered about the room, looking for a weapon she could use to aid her in her own escape. There wasn’t much in the place, but her eyes landed on a lamp near the armchair as well as a candlestick on the small dining table. There was a small kitchen off to one side, which could hold carving knives. If she were able to get up and about, she might be able to use one of those items.

Shifting quietly and minimally so as not to alert Gerard she was conscious, she nearly groaned with frustration when she realized her hands and ankles were bound. Looking down to her wrists, she saw there was duct tape wrapped around them.

Shit, what are you going to do now, Sam? Come on, girl, don’t just lie there scared out of your wits. Start using the brain God gave you and think of a way out of this!

A noise across the room alerted her, and she looked up to see Gerard staring at her as he placed the paper on the coffee table.

“Hello, Sam. I’m so glad you decided to wake up and join me. We are going to have such fun together. I have waited for you for months, and nothing and no one is going to stop me now. Not even those three men you’re living with, you little whore. You know, you really surprised me when you moved in with them after only just meeting them. I thought you had more morals. Just goes to show, no one is what they seem on the outside. You’re a little slut just like all the others were. Peter obviously knew what he was about when he dumped your ugly ass.”

Sam whimpered as he rose and stalked toward her. She could see evil intent and insanity in the depths of those blue eyes, and he scared the crap out of her. Using her hands even though her wrists were bound, she pushed and scuttled back across the bed. It was a difficult undertaking, but the farther away from him she was the better. The false security didn’t last long, because before she knew it, her back was to the wall and he was standing before her, his thighs touching the mattress.

Sam cursed the fact that she hadn’t told her mates she loved them when they meant the world to her. She had been so stupid, and now she didn’t know if she would ever get the chance to tell them.

Closing her eyes as he reached out toward her, she flinched, waiting for the pain to begin. She had already had a taste of his violence and knew that had only been the tip of the iceberg. He reached over and grabbed her breasts in a painful grip. She bucked away from him, moisture in her eyes that he was touching her when that right belonged only to her mates, the men she loved with her whole being.

Fear permeated her soul when he pulled his hands away and reached for the knife strapped in a sheath on his belt. His eyes were so cold. Now that he had her all alone, a long thin blade in his hand, she knew she was done for.

“I’m going to see if I can contact Sam through our link again,” Roan said just as Justin’s cell phone rang.

“Hold that thought, Roan,” Justin replied and then answered his cell, putting it on loud speaker. “Jarrod, what have you got?”

“Malcolm followed them to the rental cabins about ten miles this side of Nageezi. Looks like Long had it all planned out. He’s going to scout the area and will meet you out front. He’ll be looking out for you, but he has my orders to go in and get your mate out if you don’t get there in time. Malcolm will keep me informed, and just make sure you do as he says so you don’t go putting your sorry asses in danger.”

“We’re not stupid, Jarrod. We have been involved in pack security before, and we know what we’re doing.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, but from what I’ve heard from the other newly mated pack members, including our Alphas, it’s different when it’s your mate. You’re too involved to think clearly. Just watch your backs,” Jarrod said.

“We will. Thanks, cousin.” Justin ended the call.

“According to the GPS we’re only five minutes from the rental cabins. When you get close, turn the lights off, Justin. No need to alert Long that we have him in our sights. There is no way I want that fucker escaping. He’s going down one way or another,” Roan said in a deep, garbled, growling voice.

“Your wolf is showing, Roan. Get control,” Justin said in a calm voice, glad he was finally back in charge of his emotions. “You don’t want to go off half-cocked and have your wolf take over. The last thing we need is for Malcolm to have to call the coroner and trying to explain a wolf attack.”

“There’s Malcolm’s car,” Chet pointed out as Justin killed the lights and coasted the truck to a stop.

Roan was the first one out, his brothers quickly following. He took a step toward the cabins he could see a hundred yards ahead just as Malcolm came out of the trees off to the side of the driveway.

“What can you tell us?” Justin asked.

“He has her in the first cabin. Her ankles and wrists are restrained and she’s unconscious, but your mate doesn’t look like she’s injured,” Malcolm explained. “There is only one entrance besides a couple of windows. He’s reading the paper.”

“Let’s go.”

Roan took the lead, and when they were outside the cabin he looked at his brothers. They gave a nod just before Sam’s scream reached his ears.

He didn’t hesitate. He kicked the door to the cabin open and scanned the interior. Sam was bound to the bed, every muscle straining away from the man looming over her. Gerard turned toward the sound of the door slamming into the wall. Roan took in the knife in the man’s hand and leaped forward.

He threw himself between the knife and his mate, and the metal of the blade slashed into the flesh of his arm. Roan barely felt it.
With adrenaline running through his system and his wolf empowering him, he shoved Long back with a mighty push.

Watching dispassionately, Long went careening into the far wall. He bounced off it, and then his momentum sent him tumbling forward. As he hit the floor, the knife clattered free of his grip. With a deranged snarl, Gerard lurched toward the knife. Justin dove toward it at the same moment.

Gerard’s hand closed around the knife. Roan was dimly aware of Chet speaking to Sam behind him, but he couldn’t take his eyes from the action. Justin threw himself on top of Long, eliciting a grunt from the madman. He couldn’t quite reach the knife clasped in Long’s sweaty
grip, though. Roan wanted to jump in but was afraid of making matters worse.

Justin rolled onto his back, taking Gerard with him, moving far faster and more efficiently than any human could. For a moment, Long was on top of him, his arms waving as he tried to twist free of Justin’s strong hold. Then Justin rolled them again so that he was on top.

Roan looked for the knife. At the same instant that he realized it was underneath Long, the human let out a strangled gasp.

Justin rolled to his feet, looking down. Gerard Long flopped on the floor, his hands scrabbling ineffectively at the blade of his own knife, embedded in his chest.

His eyes widened in shock, his mouth opened, and he gasped. In the next instant he lay still, his face twisted in a grimace of pain. He stared at nothing with unseeing eyes. As far as Roan was concerned, poetic justice had been delivered.

Turning toward Sam, he rushed to her side just as Chet removed the tape from her limbs. He scanned her body, looking for blood and injuries. His breath left in a great rush. His mate looked to be unscathed.

“Are you all right, honey? Did he hurt you?” Justin asked as he ran his hands over her body, checking for injuries.

“N−No. Y−You were j−just in t−time,” Sam sobbed.

Justin pulled Sam onto his lap and embraced her. She sank her face against his chest, clutched his T-shirt in her fists, and cried. Roan moved into one side of her and rubbed his hand up and down her back, trying to offer comfort, and Chet did the same from her other side.

When the storm had finally passed, Roan scooped Sam up into his arms and inhaled her familiar scent. Her limbs were still shaking as the adrenaline coursing through her system looked for an out, but then he realized she wasn’t the only one shaking. He sank down onto the side of the bed and buried his face in her hair, against her neck. He breathed deeply. His wolf backed off when he didn’t smell any blood on his mate, and he exhaled on a sigh of relief.

“Are you sure you’re okay, sweetheart?” asked Roan.

“Yes, I’m fine. Can we go home now?” Sam lifted her head, her tears finally abating, looking from him to Chet and Justin and finally to the floor of the cabin. Malcolm was standing over the corpse, shaking his head slightly. His radio squawked, and Roan knew the place would soon be overrun with police.

“Are we done here, Malcolm?” Chet inquired.

“Yeah, we’re done for now. I’ll come by the house later to get your mate’s statement. I have to hang around for the coroner. It’s nice to finally meet you, Samantha. I only wish it was under different circumstances.”

“Me, too.”

Roan stood with Sam in his arms and headed out. He carried her to the truck and got into the backseat with her. After buckling her in, he sat right next to her, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. She leaned into his side with her head resting against his chest and snuggled up. Moments later her breathing evened out and she fell asleep.

“How’s our mate doing?” Justin asked as he glanced up in the rearview mirror.

“She’s asleep. She’s totally exhausted. I think I would be, too, if I’d been through what she has,” Roan replied.

“As soon as we get home we’ll put her to bed. Our Alphas are going to want an account from us, but I don’t want Sam left alone for a minute. She’s going to need all our attention and love to get over this,” Chet said.

“Shit, it nearly tore my heart out when she started crying. She’s had to be so strong for a long time and with no one to lean on. I don’t ever want her to be in such danger again. I’m just glad it’s finally over, and hopefully she can put this all behind her.”

“I can’t believe her ex-husband did that to her. The fucking bastard!” Roan snarled. “If I ever lay eyes on him, I am going to rip him apart piece by piece. How that fucker could ever tell Sam she was ugly is beyond me. The guy must be blind.”

* * * *

Jolting awake to the sound of screaming, she bolted upright in bed only to slump when she realized she was safe. The bedside light was switched on. Three sets of hands ran over her body with soothing motions, and three sets of eyes looked at her with concern.

“Are you okay, honey?” Justin asked from beside her.

“Yes. I’m sorry I woke you all,” she answered huskily. Her throat was slightly sore, and she knew she must have screamed really loudly. A banging noise from a door slamming open echoed in the silence, and then there were nine large men trying to see into the bedroom.

Sam shrank down and pulled the quilt up over her chest, thankful that she actually had a T-shirt covering her breasts. Usually she slept nude, and even though she was confused, at this moment she was actually grateful for the clothes.

“What’s going on? We heard screaming,” Jonah asked.

Sam’s cheeks heated with embarrassment at having screamed loud enough to wake the whole house. The place was massive. No wonder her throat was hurting her.

“Everything’s fine. Sam just had a nightmare. Thanks for coming to check on her,” Justin replied.

“I’m sorry.” Sam lowered her eyes to the bed.

“Don’t worry about it, honey,” Jonah said. “We’re all glad that you’re back home where you belong, safe and sound with your mates. Try and get some more rest. Come on, guys, let’s leave them be.” They all left again.