Chapter 34

“What the hell is going on with the human?”

Rafe ran a hand through his hair, loosening it from its tie. “It doesn’t matter.” He needed to get out of here. He needed to get back to Ruby.

“It clearly does matter if helping her brought you all the way back here,” Knox pointed out, still leaning against the counter. So still. So calm. But Rafe knew his brother. Once provoked, Knox was a mean son of a bitch and could shift in seconds.

But Rafe didn’t come here for a fight.

Even though his fists were curled at his side and his blood was screaming through his veins, begging him to let the beast out.

“She was in danger, so I wanted to help. That’s it.”

“Oh Rafe, always the hero.”

“Fuck you.”

“Well, fuck you too, little brother.” Knox threw back the rest of his beer and pushed away from the counter. The space was too small for two oversized men. The smell of sweat and beer filled Rafe’s nose. “You left me here to pick up the pieces.”

His brother’s words were more shocking than a punch to the face would have been. “And what should I have done?”

Knox shrugged, but his tone was anything but casual. “You could have stayed. You could have … helped.” Was that a flicker of uncertainty in his brother’s eyes? What the hell was that about?

“Devon would have never allowed it.”

Knox huffed. “The old bastard had one foot in the grave. We never should have let him manipulate us for as long as he did. I’ll always be ashamed of that.”

Knox’s words hung between them. The truth of it. The shame of what they did to each other. Of what they’d allowed their father to do.

“I’m sure you’re doing a better job than he ever did.” Rafe cleared his throat. “Or than I could have done.”

Knox held his gaze a moment longer, his silver eyes seeing more than Rafe wanted him to. Rafe had the same eyes, the eyes they’d inherited from their father. But maybe those eyes could be where their father’s legacy ended. Maybe they could finally put the man to rest.

Knox glanced toward the door. “Tell me honestly, what’s the deal with the girl?”

“I think she’s my Mate.” The word stuck in his throat, the confession too heavy for the thick air of the trailer.

“Please tell me you don’t believe in that bullshit.”

How did his brother have the ability to ruin every damn moment between them? After centuries of it, Rafe supposed he should be used to it.

“I didn’t. Until I met her. And now I do.”

“It’s fairy tale nonsense, Rafe. Fated Mates are a lie.”

And just like that their father raised his ugly head. Again. The old Alpha scorned the idea of a fated Mate. He called the shots in his pack. He had to approve every pairing and he only cared about strength and power.

But his father had been so wrong.

Rafe had never felt stronger than when he was with Ruby.

He shook his head. “It’s more real than anything else.”

“Look, I believe that you’re attracted to this girl. That you want to fuck her. Maybe even that some ancient wolf part of your brain, or your dick, wants to claim her in some way, but there’s no way you have some sort of cosmic connection.”

“Fuck you, Knox. I’m out of here. Thanks for the lovely visit.”

“Wait.” Rafe turned to go, but Knox grabbed his shoulder. “Just be careful.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I know what happened with your other little girlfriend and I wouldn’t want Ruby to end up the same way.”

Rafe spun to face him, every nerve in his body begging him to attack this arrogant bastard. “Is that a threat?”

“Of course not.” Knox dropped his hand. “But if there’s one thing I agree with Dad about, it’s that humans and werewolves shouldn’t mix.”

“He was wrong.”

“Really? And have you told Ruby yet?”

Rafe stiffened.

Knox smirked. “You haven’t. Because deep down you already know. You know this thing between you won’t work. It can’t.”

“You don’t know a fucking thing about it.”

“I know that humans are weak. They live short little lives and then they die. Even if this one seems different.”

Rafe was silent, thoughts of Lena and the magic blood that must run through both sisters racing through his mind.

“Fate wouldn’t make a mistake. She’s meant for me,” he said, more to reassure himself than to convince Knox.

“And she wants you? Forever? You’re certain of that?”

Rafe’s stomach pitched and rolled as his brother laid his every fear out in front of him. Of course he wasn’t certain and Knox knew it. His brother didn’t bother to say it, just patted him on the arm like he was offering his pity. Rafe shook him off and strode toward the door.

“She’d be safer without you.”

Knox’s words stopped him in his tracks. He froze with his hand on the door knob.

“I’ll send out some wider patrols to keep an eye on things. You should stay away from your human friend. For her own good.”

“You don’t know what she needs,” Rafe growled.

He could hear Knox’s low laugh, but he didn’t stick around to hear any more even as his brother’s words burrowed deep under his skin and began to fester.

* * *

Rafe flung open the door to find Ruby sitting in the dirt with a pile of pups in her lap. Three little balls of fluff wriggled and yipped as they vied for her attention. Werewolf pups were rare and Rafe’s heart turned over at the sight of them. Three babies made a blessed year for sure. Figures everyone would be right about Knox being good for the pack.

Ruby giggled as a gray and white puppy licked her face. She scratched him behind the ears, and Rafe’s anger drained out of him at the sight. He wanted to get in line for his turn.

“We should go.”

Ruby’s gaze shot to his, the joy dropping off immediately. “We need to ask about Lena.”

“It’s not a good idea.”

Ruby nudged the wolves from her lap and they scampered off, tumbling over each other to chase a chipmunk through the trees. She stood up, hands going immediately to her hips, fighting stance. “Why the hell not? We came all this way and all we found out was some very vague shit about Canadian wolves!” Ruby’s voice rose with each word and Rafe could feel the pack perk up around them.

He tugged her closer. “Keep your voice down,” he warned.

Ruby blew out a frustrated breath, but whispered when she spoke. “I thought we came to help Lena. We need to figure out her visions.”

Rafe glanced around them, but the camp was quiet. “You need to trust me.” He waited, his gaze locked on Ruby’s. She wanted to argue. He could see it in the grim set of her mouth and the furrow of her brows and the anger flashing in her dark eyes.

“Fine,” she ground out. “I trust you. Let’s go.”

He took her hand and they strode back through camp, not bothering with goodbyes. His need to leave was stronger than his need to mend fences right now. Maybe someday he’d come back and try again, but five years hadn’t been enough to close his old wounds. He still couldn’t forgive what had happened here. Or his own role in it. Maybe he was a step closer than before, but today wasn’t the day he rejoined the pack.

When they were finally far enough from the camp that Rafe felt safe again, he tried to explain. “I remembered something.”

Ruby turned to look up at him. Her cheeks were pink with exertion. Rafe slowed the fast pace he’d set since they left.

“Oh?”

“The pack comes before everything else, Ruby.”

“Okay. But what does that have to do with Lena? We still don’t know what to do.”

Rafe flinched at the accusation in her tone, but he went on. “If we told Knox what Lena was, the first thing he would do with that information was figure out how it could benefit the pack.” He’d seen it in his brother’s eyes, the calculations he’d made when Rafe told him about the wolf attack. He only agreed to increase patrols because it would keep his pack safe, not for Ruby. Not for Rafe.

What he would do with information about the first seer in over a century was anyone’s guess, but Rafe didn’t think it was worth the risk. A seer could be valuable to a leader, someone to guide the Alpha in his decision-making. Werewolves lived a precarious life. Whatever small assurance a seer could give would be welcomed. The more Rafe thought about it, the happier he was that he hadn’t told Knox the whole truth.

“You think he would hurt her?”

“I don’t know. But I do know his first thought would be for the pack. Not for helping Lena.”

Ruby sighed, pushing the wispy hairs from her face. Curls stuck to the sweat on her brow. “Well, fuck.”

Rafe grunted. “Yeah.”

They walked on in silence, the afternoon hot and sultry around them, before Rafe spoke again. “I’m sorry I didn’t think of all this before we left. I can be impulsive, I guess. Act before I think sometimes.” More so when she was involved.

“You were trying to get away from me again.” He hated the words, but Ruby’s tone was light like she was trying to tease him.

“I’m sorry about that too.” He said it even as Knox’s warning rattled around in his head. Exhaustion settled heavily on his shoulders. He was so tired of fighting this thing between them. He wanted to sink into it, to give in and crawl into her lap like those damn puppies.

“Rafe, stop.” Ruby tugged him to a standstill on the narrow trail.

“What is it?”

Her face was tipped up and he couldn’t stop himself from brushing the damp tendrils from her brow.

“I know,” she said, never taking her dark gaze from his face.

He swallowed hard, his blood suddenly speeding through his veins. “You know what?”

“I know what we are. To each other, I mean. At least I think I do.” Her forehead scrunched in hesitation and Rafe pressed his lips to the creases, unable to stay away, to stay back, to resist.

“Say it,” he whispered, needing to hear the word from her blood red lips.

“I think we’re … Mates.”

His mouth crashed down on hers, all restraint breaking. Mates. And she felt it too, dear God, she felt it too.

She jumped into his arms, wrapping her thick thighs around his waist. “I thought I was going crazy,” she said between kisses. “It was all so much, so fast.” Her breath was coming in short gasps as he backed them up against a tree. He kissed down her neck, nipping and biting her soft flesh. She writhed against him and he pushed his hardening cock into her center, heat and need pulsing through him.

His Mate. His fucking Mate. Every instinct was clamoring at him to claim her, to make her his forever. But her words rang in his head, even as her body called to him. So much, so fast. This was all new to her, to both of them really. He pulled back, panting. Ruby stared at him with hungry eyes.

“Wait,” he growled. “Slow down.”

Ruby stilled in his arms.

He leaned his forehead against hers, their breath mingling between them. “Once we do this, that’s it. There’s no going back. Mates are forever.”

“There’s no going back for me regardless of whether or not you stick your dick in me, Rafe.”

He huffed a laugh at her fearlessness. It was exactly how he felt too, that it was too late for them anyway, that nothing they did now would change what they were to each other.

“I’m serious.” She wriggled from his grasp and put her feet back on the ground. “I want you. Mated or not.” She wrapped her hands in the front of his shirt and tugged him close. “This thing between us is impossible to fight and I don’t want to fight it. I want to be with you.”

Rafe swallowed the emotions rising rapidly in his throat. It was everything he’d wanted to hear from her, but still his doubts lingered.

“I couldn’t keep Scarlet safe.”

“I don’t want a bodyguard. I want a partner.”

Rafe’s heart pounded in his chest as though it were trying to leap directly into Ruby’s hands. A partner. Such a human concept.

“After everything I’ve done—”

“It’s your turn to trust me. Trust that I want you. That I know what I’m doing.”

“I won’t age like you,” he said, the words burning his throat.

“I’ll take as much time with you as I can get.” She smiled weakly, tears brimming in her eyes. His brave girl.

He brushed away a tear with his thumb. He leaned down, kissing along the line of her cheeks. “Lena has magic in her blood,” he whispered. “Maybe you do too.” It was too much to hope for, that Ruby would have an extended lifespan, but it wasn’t impossible.

“Fate doesn’t make mistakes.” He echoed the words he’d spoken to Knox earlier and they felt even more true with Ruby pressed against him.

“I feel it,” she said, her breath skating across his neck. “I know you’re mine.”

His body trembled at her words. He would never be able to watch her age and die without him. It would be torture. “Seers, nymphs, werewolves. We all have extended lifespans. If you’re one of us…” It had to be true. Of course she was one of them, she was his. “We’ll figure it out.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck. “We’ll figure it out together. Please, Rafe. Don’t run from me anymore.” Her words were so sweet, so desperate. He’d made her feel that way: afraid that he would keep pushing her away. It was all he’d been doing since they’d met.

“I’m done running.” He nuzzled her neck, breathing in her cinnamon-spiced scent. He’d known her for a week. He’d known her forever.

She sighed, dreamily, running her fingers through his hair.

“But Ruby…”

“Yeah?”

“I’m not fucking you for the first time up against a tree.”

She pulled back, looking so indignant Rafe had to bite down on a laugh.

“What the hell kind of werewolf are you?”

“One that doesn’t want to fuck his Mate so close to his shitty pack.”

Ruby nearly growled and the sound shot straight to his cock. “Damn it. Fine. But maybe we could…” Ruby reached between them, gripping Rafe through his jeans.

“Shit, Ruby.” He leaned his forehead against hers again, watching her ruby lips spread into a smile.

“Just to take the edge off. We’ll be quiet. And quick.” She rubbed up and down his length and he had no doubt he could be quick.

He captured her mouth again, pressing her against the trunk of the tree and her gasp tickled his lips. He slid his tongue against hers, lapping up her sweet moans. Her fingers fumbled with the fly of his pants and he reached down to help, freeing his aching cock. Ruby wrapped her fist around him and stroked.

Static filled Rafe’s brain. Static and the overwhelming need to spin Ruby around and fuck her against this goddamn tree. But he was determined not to be a complete animal. Not their first time anyway.

Ruby picked up her speed and Rafe groaned.

“Stop.” He wrapped his hand around hers and stilled the motion.

“Please, Rafe. I want to make you come.”

Rafe struggled to control his breath, to control everything. Every muscle was rigid, every atom at attention. And then Ruby rubbed her palm over his tip, spreading the moisture that had gathered there and he let her. He let her slide her slick hand up and down a few more times. He let her bite and suck the skin at his throat while she did it.

“Shit, Ruby. Shit, shit, shit…” He growled as he came all over her hand like a goddamn adolescent. Pleasure shot through him and left him shuddering against her.

“Was it good?” Ruby peered up at him with dark eyes.

“Good?” Rafe leaned his forehead against hers, unable to right himself yet. “Jesus, Ruby. I just came faster than I have in the past two hundred years. Yeah, it was good.”

Ruby’s grin made up for his embarrassment. She stooped to wipe her hand in the grass before standing to face him again.

“You deserve to feel good, Rafe.” She ran her fingers through his hair and he sighed, his muscles relaxing.

“So do you,” he murmured, sliding his hand down the front of Ruby’s shorts. She was warm and so wet for him. He growled, scraping his teeth against her neck. He didn’t waste time. Even through his lust fog, he had no intention of getting caught by his pack with his pants down.

He circled Ruby’s clit and she arched into him. She had gotten this close to coming just by getting him off. That was so damn sexy. He worked faster, mimicking the things he’d seen her do to herself, remembering how her fingers had moved.

“That’s it,” she gasped. She tugged on his hair, her back arching away from the tree. She bit down on his shoulder to stifle her screams as she came, and the feel of her teeth on his flesh sent another bolt of lust to Rafe’s cock.

“Holy shit,” she said, pulling away. Her lipstick was smudged and her cheeks were flushed pink.

Rafe grinned. “Better?”

“Not really,” Ruby huffed, fixing her shorts. “As soon as we get back, we’re doing this mating thing.”

Rafe’s heart nearly burst. “Don’t say shit like that, Ruby.”

“Why not?”

He shook his head, but couldn’t hide his smile. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “It just doesn’t seem real.”

“You’re stuck with me,” she said, taking his hand again. “Fated Mates or not, okay?”

He nodded, but words stuck in his throat. He wanted to believe her. He wanted to put his father and his pack behind him. He wanted to leave Scarlet to rest and forget the sins of his past. But the way Ruby looked at him still seemed too good to be true.