Chapter 35

The trip back was tense and quiet and horny as hell. Hiking back to the truck had only taken a few hours, so they decided to forgo another campout and just drive home. But the whole day felt like it lasted at least a month.

Now that it was all out there, Ruby didn’t want to waste any more time. Mates were forever. And that felt so right to her, so exactly right, she couldn’t wait another minute for it to start. For Rafe to be hers. It was like every atom in her body called to every atom in his. And the best part was, she wasn’t just a kinky weirdo who wanted to be stalked through the woods—although she definitely was—it was so much more than that. It was fate! It was love! It was magic.

Ruby hadn’t stopped touching him the whole trip, even as he drove. She ran her fingers over his arm, through his hair, up and down his thigh until Rafe had grabbed her hand and warned her with a low growl that she needed to stop or they wouldn’t make it home.

She’d voted for pulling over and fucking on the side of the road, but he said no. Not in the truck, not in the middle of the day on the side of the highway. He kissed the back of her hand while she pouted, and she soaked in every lopsided grin he sent her way. It was the longest drive ever.

But now they were home and Ruby dropped her bag in the living room, leaning her back against the front door. She closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath. Her whole body was vibrating in anticipation. Rafe was her Mate. And they were about to seal the deal. She was ready to mate the hell out of her werewolf.

It was like some part of her had known all along, like the little girl who loved ghost stories and haunted houses, who liked to stay up late watching old werewolf movies had known exactly what was waiting for her. A small, smug part of her was vindicated by Rafe’s existence. She was right. Things did go bump in the night and they were sexy as hell.

“Hey, you’re back!” Theo’s cheerful voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

Ruby opened her eyes to find him smiling at her as he came down the stairs. “Hey, Theo.”

“Where’s Rafe?”

“Unloading the truck.”

Theo nodded. “How did everything go?”

“Uh … well, I met your mom.” It was the first thing that came to mind that didn’t involve entering into a mating bond with Rafe or bringing up their terrifying third brother.

The smile fell from Theo’s face. He ran a hand over his curls. “Oh yeah? How is she?”

“I think she misses you.”

It was the wrong thing to say. Theo’s expression darkened and for the first time since she met him, Ruby could imagine him as an animal.

“Lena’s a little shaken up,” he said, gesturing up the stairs and bypassing Ruby’s comment. “But I think she’ll believe you now.”

“What did you do?” Thoughts of mates left her mind as worry for her sister crowded back in. What if the stress worsened her condition?

Theo shrugged, his casual charm returning. He flashed Ruby a smile. “Seeing is believing. So I showed her a few things.”

“You shifted in front of her?” Ruby strode through the living room, already heading for the stairs. “I wanted her to take me seriously. I didn’t want to kill her!”

Theo laughed. “She’s not dead. Just a little … surprised.”

“Surprised? Shit, Theo. You’re the worst babysitter ever.”

He laughed again before opening the front door. “She’ll be fine. I gotta go. See you around, Ruby.”

He was gone before she could tell him he was an asshole like his brothers. She took the stairs two at a time until she reached the top. Lena’s door was closed, and Ruby hesitated, not really wanting to face her yet, but also needing to know if she was all right. Or as all right as she could be after witnessing a man turn into a wolf and back again.

She knocked and held her breath.

“I’m not letting you in.” Her sister’s voice was strong and angry from the other side. At least she wasn’t cowering in fear or worse, slipping into another episode.

“It’s me. I’m back.”

Stomping footsteps approached, and then the door swung open. Lena’s eyes blazed bright and her hair was a wild pale halo around her head.

“Jesus, Lena—”

“No.” She held up a trembling hand in front of Ruby’s face. “No, Ruby. I’ve had enough for one day. No more of this … this … whatever the hell this is.”

“Okay, Lena, I’m sorry. I just—”

“Nope. No more. No more strange men staying here with us. I don’t need a babysitter. I need everyone to leave me the fuck alone.”

The door slammed in her face before Ruby could speak again. Shit. Ruby had never seen her sister that angry before, especially not lately, not with all her strength leached from her body. Maybe anger was better than submission to whatever this power was that was eating her from the inside.

Ruby knocked again. “Lena, I know it all seems crazy but—”

“Go away, Ruby.”

She blew out an impatient sigh. “I tried to tell you.”

“Ruby, I swear to God…”

“Okay, okay … you need a little time to process this.”

Her sister scoffed and Ruby heard it loud and clear through the door. “I did warn you,” Ruby muttered. “Just try and remember you liked Rafe before. And he’s the same guy now. And you have to admit, Theo is pretty charming.”

“Ruby…”

“Okay.” Ruby held up her hands in surrender even though Lena couldn’t see her. “I’m going. We can chat more about this … uh … later.” She hesitated a minute longer outside Lena’s door just in case she changed her mind. At least she was safe for the moment, Ruby told herself as she backed away from Lena’s room. Safe and sound. And Ruby had unfinished business with Rafe.

Business she intended to finish very soon.

She hurried down the stairs and into the kitchen. Rafe was still out front with Theo. Ruby paced the small kitchen, her heart thundering in her chest. What the hell was he doing out there? Holding some kind of werewolf summit? Her foot knocked into the cat dish as she walked and it rattled across the floor.

“Shoot,” she muttered. The dish was empty so she pulled out the catfood and gave it a shake, expecting Lucy to come running, but the little demon was nowhere to be seen. She poured it and still no cat. That was odd. The glutton always came when he heard the kibble hit the dish.

“Lucifer? Where are you, buddy? Did you return to the depths of hell?” She made the universal cat kissy-face noise, but still no cat. Ruby blew out a long sigh and opened the back door. It wouldn’t be the first time he got out. Damn cat had a deep love for sparrows. Not to eat, just to stare at for hours on end. Sometimes he liked to get a closer look.

“Lucy? Lucy, where are you?”

How long had he been gone?she wondered as she stalked out into the yard. She hadn’t even noticed with all the insanity of the past few days. A small stab of guilt hit her at not realizing sooner he was missing. She was a horrible cat mom.

“Lucifer, come on home. Who wants belly scratches?” she cooed.

She walked to the edge of the yard where she’d let the grass grow far too tall.

“Is that you, buddy?” She peered into the weeds and a set of golden eyes peered back. “Holy shit,” she whispered. The eyes flashed and the beast’s mouth tipped into a wolfy grin. That thing was not her pet. And she was so fucking screwed.

She turned to run, but the creature pounced faster than she could think. Her scream tore through the quiet evening as the werewolf knocked her to the ground.

* * *

Rafe froze.

Ruby.

Another scream.

And then, on the soft breeze of a summer’s night came the scent of blood. His Mate’s blood. Rafe was shifting faster than he could think, howling like his own heart had been ripped from his chest. He raced to the back of the house, a lone wolf once again. Theo was gone, already on the road back home. It was up to him to save Ruby. It was up to him to succeed where he had once failed.

He turned the corner of the house into the backyard and his world crashed down around him. Ruby was on her back in the grass. A huge brown and white wolf growled on top of her, his paws pinning her to the ground. Rafe nearly choked on the smell of her blood. It stained the grass around her and his reality flipped, circling back to the most horrific moment of his life. Scarlet dead in front of her home. Murdered by wolves. Except this was worse. So much worse. Because it was his Mate that lay in the grass. It was his own life that spilled out into the night.

“Rafe!”

Ruby’s voice yanked him back to the present. She was alive! She fought from beneath the wolf, but he didn’t budge. Just turned and snarled at Rafe, keeping Ruby pinned beneath his giant paws. He could have killed her by now but he hadn’t. Why not? What the hell did he want?

“Rafe, get this bastard off of me!” Ruby tore at the wolf’s fur, ripping out tufts of hair with her fists.

He leapt, a growl escaping his lips, and he knocked the other wolf off Ruby’s body. She rolled away, panting and holding her arm. Blood, bright red and smelling like Ruby and life and eternity, seeped through her fingers.

He would kill him. He would kill this wolf and any others that dared to hurt her. He would fucking kill everyone.

His mind went blank of everything except the burning desire to destroy anyone that came near Ruby. He was only vaguely aware of her yelling at him. He only distantly heard her words pleading with him not to chase this bastard of a wolf into the woods. He only barely understood that she stood at the edge of the treeline, begging him to come back.

* * *

Rafe saw nothing but the wolf in front of him. He smelled nothing but the fear coming off the animal as he tore through the woods. He heard nothing except the wolves behind him panting as they closed in on him.

He knew their scent. It was the same one that had been around Ruby’s house for days now. And one of the wolves on his tail was the wolf from the first attack. But he didn’t recognize these wolves from anywhere else, not from his pack, not from any lone wolves within a fifty-mile radius.

Some distant human part of his brain realized that he shouldn’t have run after them, that he needed these wolves alive to get answers about who they were and what they wanted. But he couldn’t hear that part anymore because the rest of his brain was screaming for blood.

These bastards had attacked his Mate. Over and over again they’d come for her and they wouldn’t stop until he made them.

He opened up his stride, gaining ground on the first wolf, dirt and pine needles flying beneath his paws. The coward should turn and fight him, not make Rafe chase him down like a fucking chipmunk, but he nearly had him now. He was nipping at the first wolf’s heels when one behind him pounced, landing hard on Rafe’s back. He rolled through the dirt and crashed into a tree. The impact slammed the air from his lungs and left him gasping for breath.

The lead wolf, the one with Ruby’s blood still on his lips, stood over him now, the other two by his side. Rafe growled low in his throat. A warning.

The lead wolf growled in return and pounced but Rafe rolled and avoided his gnashing jaws. The two other wolves circled him as Rafe pushed to his feet, the trio surrounding him.

Again a distant part of his brain warned that it would be worse if he ended up dead, that it would hurt Ruby more if he never returned. But his wolf side howled for revenge.

These wolves threatened his Mate and neither side of him could let that go. He’d lost one woman in his life to the savagery of his kind, he sure as fuck wasn’t going to lose another.

Rafe bared his teeth and pounced.