Wolfe's Mate (4 page)

“He hated that group
. He knows the members are evil. He wouldn’t work for them.”

“Are you sure? What if they
’d been willing to help your brother cure your cancer? Wouldn’t he have worked with the devil to save you?” Jared would have done that if he’d been in Norris’ situation.

“I
... I don’t know … maybe, if he thought there was no other way.”

“Let’s assume that Norris did w
hat was necessary to help you. I’m not going to make a snap decision. I think we both need to hear what Laurel knows about this situation.”

Esme bit her lower lip, looking so damn adorable
Jared wanted to gobble her up. “Okay, let’s go find out what she knows.”

Jared led Esme down the stairs and back to the kitchen.
When they entered, everyone in the room turned to look at them.

“Esme, I never meant to hurt you.” Laurel rushed up and hugged her. “
Your brother doesn’t always see things the same way everyone else does. Come sit down at the table and eat.”

Anton turned
away from the stove. “There’s a manila envelope on the table, Jared. You and Esme need to look at what’s inside.”

Jared walked around the
hugging women and picked up the parcel. He slipped three photographs out of the envelope. Anton moved a pan off the stove and wiped his hands before coming over to the table.

Granger walked over and patted Jared on the back. “Is she al
l right?” he asked.

“She will be
, once we figure out what’s really going on here.” Jared looked at the pictures and growled low.

Esme and Laurel walked
over, arm-in-arm. Anton took the photos and rearranged them. “If you look at the time stamps, you can see this is the order they were taken,” he said. “The first one was taken two hours after the accident. This last one was taken at a petrol station on the outskirts of Aberdeen. You can see that Norris is not injured, nor is he being restrained. The men seem to be talking, but there is no sign of aggression. From what we can tell, they seem friendly.”

“I don’t understand. Why set up the whole kidnapping scenario if
Norris was friendly with these people?” Jared asked.

“Maybe the point was to get away from us,
the lycans,” Granger pointed out. “Norris employed a lycan driver and worked with lycans. Did you have pack members watching him?”

“It was for
Norris and Esme’s protection,” Laurel said, glancing at Esme. “They almost died in Paris when those men sprayed their house with bullets. That’s something else I don’t understand. Why would Norris go back to the group that almost killed his sister?”

“Maybe he feels he doesn’t have a choice.” Jared rubbed his jaw. “Esme
, did anything happen lately that seemed weird to you? Did Norris’ behavior change at all?”

“The only thing I can think of was in the car before the accident. He asked me if I could be happy here in London. He’
d never asked my opinion before. Then, he talked about a trust fund my parents set up for me and gave me the name of the lawyer in charge of it before he suggested I take some classes.”

“That’s interesting,” Granger said. “I wonder if your brother
tried to leave you with information that would help with your future. Not only did he make sure you felt safe in London, he told you about money you could draw on.”

“I don’t know.” Anton shook his head. “That seems kind of convoluted.”

“Norris knew I would search for him even if he did set this up. I wouldn’t abandon him.” Esme shuddered.

Jared
reached and pulled her into his arms. He held her close, his head resting on hers.

“He would expect you to search for him. So we have to assume he wants to be found.” Anton looked from the pictures to Esme. “I wish we knew more. Grigori’s people are keeping an eye on
vehicles leaving Aberdeen. To the best of our knowledge, your brother is still there.”

“I don’t like this. It feels wrong
,” Granger suggested. “All Norris has to do is call, and Esme would go to him. If he left her here, maybe it was for her protection.”

“I think Granger is right
,” Laurel said. “Norris left Esme with us because he knew we would protect her. He’s afraid these men will harm her in some way.” Laurel smiled at Esme.

Jared looked at Granger and saw him nod. No one would harm his mate while he and Granger lived. He brushed his chin against her hair and breathe
d deeply, taking her sweet scent into his being. “Esme must be protected. I think someone needs to go to Aberdeen and find out what is happening there and, if possible, talk to Norris.”

§

“Jared, I want to go find my brother.” Esme felt like shaking Jared. She paced back and forth at the end of the bed in Norris’ old room. Every time she saw the picture of her and Norris she wanted to howl. How could Jared think she would sit here in London while someone else went to find her brother?

Jared sat in a chair next to the window.
“I think you would be safer here. I don’t want to put you at risk. Granger and Pierre will go find Norris. They can call us the moment they learn something.”

“
No, you aren’t listening to me.” Esme crossed the room. “I want to go. I need to see for myself that Norris is working for this group again.” That would break her heart, but learning the truth was crucial.

“It will only hurt you, Esme. No
, it is better that you stay here. Laurel has asked the English Alpha to provide some of the single lycans for your protection.”

“Don’t you mean guards?” She
would have to do something drastic. Jared needed to know she would allow him to dictate to her only when she agreed with him.

“No,
mon coeur
, they are for your protection. The only one guarding you will be me.” Jared rose from his chair and stalked forward. Esme felt a shiver of awareness. This man was her mate, and he wanted her. She took a step back. A frown marred Jared’s face. “I would never harm you, Esme.”

Esme knew that. She did, but sometimes Jared seemed so intimidating. She lifted her chin and stepped forward. “I’m not afraid of you, Jared. I know you won’t hurt me.”

He stepped closer, searching her gaze for answers. His blue eyes mesmerized her. She could feel the warmth of his body, smell his scent of fir trees and meadows. Her wolf rushed to the surface, wanting to play, to run and chase, until they came together, sharing their bodies as they linked their souls.

T
here was no safe place here on the outskirts of London. She pushed her wolf back with a twinge of regret. She loved her wolf and missed the sense of power she had when she shifted. Feeling off balance, Esme lowered her head. “I think I should lie down. I don’t feel well.”

“Are you al
l right? Should I ask Laurel to come back?” Jared grabbed her by the forearms, his worried tone making her wince.

“I’m fine, Jared. I just need some time to rest. I’ll
feel better after a nap.”

He gently lifted her face, his hand on her chin. Then
, he kissed her nose and her lips. Little butterfly kisses that made her heart ache and her pulse race.

He lifted her up in his arms. “Sleep in here. I will go down and speak with Granger.”
He lowered her to the bed.

“Jared
, I have my own room and my own bed.”

“I like you in my bed.” He covered her with the qu
ilt lying at the foot of the mattress.

“This is my brother’s bed.” She didn’t fight him though she probably should
have. Jared thought he could get away with anything.

“Not when
you’re in it, then it’s my bed … all mine.” She stilled. Her body quivered as she looked up at his face, not in fear but in … desire. The wolf was apparent in his gaze, and it was hungry. She clenched her thighs together, hoping to hide her response.

His nostrils flared
, and she felt her cheeks warm. He knew. “It’s normal to respond to your mate,
ma petit louve
. Rest now. We will get to the claiming when you’re ready.” He walked to the door and let himself out.

Ready?
Would she ever be ready to give herself to this man?

Holding a small bag and shoes, Esme crept down the back stairs. She made sure to skip the tread that creaked. Jared planned to keep her here while he sent Granger out to find her brother.
Not happening
. She was going. Heading out on her own was the one way she could force the issue.

Jared would follow. She was almost certain of it. But
in regard to Norris, she couldn’t allow Jared to dictate to her. She owed her brother too much. It was hard to believe that he worked for a group of fanatical doctors. Her chest tightened at the thought. She would prove everyone wrong and clear her brother’s name. She’d free him from this group and bring him back to London. Norris could finish his work with Laurel on the lycan breeding problems, and Esme could breathe normally again.

Esme
opened the back door and slipped outside. She ran a few steps and hurried inside the dark interior of the garage. The English Alpha had replaced the limo with an old sedan. She followed the contour of the car until she came to the door on the driver’s side. She pressed the handle and sighed in relief when the door opened. Digging in her purse, she searched for the key that had been given to her that morning.

“Miss Esme, is everything al
l right?”

Esme slammed her hand over her mouth to stop the scream
bubbling up her throat. It was only Pierre. Now, if she could drive away without his telling Jared.

“Pierre, you scared me.” She turned to study the young man who was only a few years older than
she. His light-blond hair fell to his collar. His sky-blue eyes looked pensive. Although he was handsome, he wasn’t as tall or as broad as Jared and Granger.

“Should you be out,
Mademoiselle? I thought you were supposed to be guarded at all times?”

“I have to
go to Scotland and find out about my brother. Please don’t tell Jared.”

“I won’t,
Mademoiselle. But you can’t take this trip alone. You need someone to protect you. I didn’t do a very good job of keeping you safe. I should have known something wasn’t right when I passed that truck in the alley. I never thought the truck would purposely ram us. I’m not an Alpha.”

“That’s okay, Pierre. I am an Alpha. Now
, get in the car, and let’s get out of here. I don’t want Jared trying to stop me.”

Pierre frowned
, then did as he was told. Esme let him take the driver’s seat. She walked around the car and got in the passenger side. They needed to hurry. Jared would check on her soon, and they must be on their way.

Pierre slipped the key in
to the ignition, and in moments they were pulling into traffic. “Where are we going, miss?”

“Head north
. We’re going to Aberdeen.”

§

“I think you should let Esme come with us to find her brother.” Jared started to speak, but Granger held up his hand. “Let me finish. I know you want to protect her. She’s devoted to her brother. She’s an Alpha. She won’t take our word for it that her brother is a traitor to our race. She’ll need to see it with her own eyes. Come on, Jared. Wouldn’t
you
have the same need?”

“Nothing can
be allowed to happen to her, Granger. I have to keep her safe.”

“Yes, but you can’
t smother her. If you knew how her brother treated her, you would know restricting her will never work. She rebelled against her brother, and she will rebel against you.”

“I’m not trying to control
her. Dammit! You don’t know how hard this is. I want her so badly, it hurts. I’m trying to woo her while my wolf is screaming at me to take her. When she became aroused upstairs, it killed me to walk away from her.”

“Maybe you should have gone for it
,” Granger said. “You’ve been making love to her in your shared dreams for months. Are you sure she didn’t want you to claim her? The mating bond works both ways, you know.”

“But that’s it. I don’t want to
just
claim her. I want to love her, adore her, cherish her …”

“Put her on a shelf, keep her safe and contained.”
Granger smirked.

“That’s not true. I don’t want to own her.
I’m not an idiot. I know Esme is a smart woman, who is an Alpha. I know we will clash. However, I also want her to know that no matter what happens, I love her. She may drive me crazy, or run me ragged, but there is nothing she can do that would make me stop loving her. Wait. Do you hear a car?”

T
he front door burst open, and two young men ran into the house. From their scents, Jared knew they were lycans. From their faces, he knew they were twins. They must be the guards the English Alpha sent over. Jared frowned. The boys appeared to be little more than eighteen.

“Esme just left with Pierre. The
y were heading for the motorway,” the twin with the slightly darker hair said.

“Be
careful what you wish for,” Granger commented. “It looks like your mate is on the run.”

§

Jarred couldn’t believe he was crammed into a tiny car with Granger and two young adult lycans. He wasn’t even driving. One of the twins took the driver’s seat. He knew Esme was an Alpha. But there was one person she needed to submit to, and that was her mate.

Jared sighed and ran his hand through his hair.
He glanced over at Granger and wanted to growl when he saw the amusement on his friend’s face. Sighing, Jared closed his eyes and leaned against the headrest.

“I don’t understand why Pierre didn’t stop her,” Granger said.

“Oh, Pierre is a nice guy and all …” one twin said.

“But he’s not an Alpha
,” the other twin said. “Esme could tell him to jump off a bridge, and he would probably do it without question.”

The
twins introduced themselves as Donny and Adam MacDonald. Both were blond with blue eyes. A slight difference in hair color was the only way to tell the two boys apart with Donny’s hair being a shade darker than Adam’s.

“Besides,” they said
in unison, “Pierre has a terrible crush on Esme.”

“WHAT!” Jared roared. He
would kill Pierre. He would rip him to shreds.

“Easy, Alpha
…” Granger gripped Jared’s arm.

“Don’t worry, Esme is kind to
Pierre, but she isn’t interested in him,” one of the twins, maybe Donny, said.

“We could tell when they came out to Somerset for pack dinners,” Adam added.

“Yeah, Pierre practically drooled, and Esme never paid him any attention.” Adam glanced back at Jared and Granger.

“Eyes on the road, if you please,” Granger pointed out.

Jared wanted to beat his head against a wall. Why did Esme run from him? Maybe Granger was right, and Esme needed to see for herself that her brother worked for those doctors.

Esme, please answer me,
mon coeur. I know you’re angry with me, but it hurts when you shut me out of your mind like this
. Would she answer him? For the past twenty miles, she’d remained silent.

If I
were really your heart, you would have listened to me. I need to see for myself what’s going on with Norris.

Of course
, you are mon coeur. I was wrong not to listen. I tried to protect you. I need you, ma petit louve.

Don’t ‘little wolf’ me. You think you can walk into my life and tell me what to do.

No, Esme, I just want to protect you. I want to hold you in my arms and make love to you as we have dreamed. I want only what is best for you.

What you
think
is best, you mean.

I am
used to thinking as an Alpha, not as a mate. I will try to listen, Esme. Please stop and wait for us. I will go mad if I have to stay in this tiny car with these twin louveteau.

Twins? You mean Donny and Adam? Wh
y are you with them?

They were sent to protect you. I
’m not sure who will protect them. They are children.

Don’t under
estimate them. They turned eighteen two months ago. Grigori, the English Alpha, trains them in physical endurance and hand-to-hand combat. He feels that helps them learn to control their wolf as well as their bodies. I wanted to be trained, too, but Norris wouldn’t permit it. I was allowed to go out and run with the pack only once a month.

Yes, they mentioned that they knew you. Please, Esme. Stop and wait for us.

Do you promise to let me go to Aberdeen?

I will take you,
mon coeur, now that I know how much it means to you.

Fine. I’ll tell Pierre to stop in
Luton. We’ll wait for you there.

Jared opened his eyes.

“She answered you that time?” Granger looked over, worried.

“Yes, they
’re going to stop in Luton and wait for us.”

“Good, I’m getting hungry. We can stop and eat.”

“We’ll be taking Esme to Aberdeen, and we have a long drive ahead of us.”

“I didn’t pack a bag. You rushed us out of the house so quickly
, I have nothing to wear.” Granger stared at Jared.

“We
’ll buy something once we get there.”

“We can send your bag up by train
, Mr. Wolfe. Just call when you arrive and let us know what hotel you’re staying at.” Donny flashed a smile.

“You too
, Granger, and a bag for Esme if she needs anything,” Adam added.

“Thank you, boys. That would be most helpful. Remind me to give you money for petrol, and I will buy you lunch before you head back.
” It was the least Jared could do after he’d ordered the boys to follow Esme. She didn’t know about the grieving that would take place if she and Jared got too far apart. The mating bond required that the linked couple be in close proximity or touch each other’s minds. Also, he didn’t want Esme out of his sight until he knew she was safe.

§

“I don’t think you should trust him, Mademoiselle Esme.”

“Oh, Pierre
, Jared is my mate. He would never harm me. Now, pull off at the rest area. I’m hungry. We can get something to eat while we wait for them to catch up with us.”

How
did Jared discover her missing so quickly? She’d been very careful not to let anything slip through the mating bond to alert him. She sighed. At least, he’d agreed to take her to Aberdeen. She got out of the car. Pierre hurried over and took her arm.

“
You don’t have to mate him. The Paris pack would give you asylum. They would never force you to accept this Québécois.” A scent like wild onions filled the air. Was Pierre jealous of Jared?

“Pierre, Jared is my heartmate. I would never choose another over him.”

“He’s an Alpha. He will control your life and tell you what to do. I would never do that. I would adore you and do anything you asked of me.”

“Pierre, you
’re very sweet. I’m sure that one day you’ll find your heartmate.”

“I don’t want another. I want you, Esme.” Pierre suddenly grabbed her
. His lips came down hard on hers, crushing them into her teeth. She tasted blood. She tried to pull away. He only tightened his grip. His fingers dug into her arms. If he’d been human, she could’ve broken free easily. But a male lycan was stronger and bigger than a female. Terror engulfed her. She struggled harder. She couldn’t breathe. This couldn’t be happening. She’d trusted Pierre.

S
uddenly, she jerked backward, out of Pierre’s embrace. She gasped, trying to fill her lungs. Nausea made her stomach roil. Pierre stood frozen in place, his eyes wide with terror. Jared turned Esme’s trembling body toward his. He rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip, and she gasped at the sting. “Breathe,
mon coeur
. I’ve got you.”

“What do you want me to do with this one?
I like this new trick of freezing someone in place Asena’s handmaiden shared with us,” Granger said as he glared at Pierre.

Esme put her hand on Jared’s chest. He was being
gentle with her, but rage churned under his skin, waiting to explode. “Send him back to Paris, Jared. I don’t want to see him ever again,” Esme said.

Jared glanced from her to Pierre
. Jared’s eyes grew cold as he looked at the man brazen enough to put his hands on her. “You’re lucky my mate is tender-hearted, Pierre. If I had my way, you’d be dead.”

Fear
washed over Esme. Jared wasn’t kidding. She could feel violence swirling in his system. Jared looked at Granger, and Esme knew Jared gave him telepathic instructions. Her teeth began chattering and her shaking increased.

“Jared, y
ou need to get her warm,” Granger said. “I’ll take care of Pierre. You take care of your mate.”

Jared swore and lifted Esme into his arms.
Unwilling to see the reaction bystanders were having to Jared carrying her around, Esme put her face against his chest. Tears came from her eyes, and she hated it—hated that she felt so weak, so confused.