Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

R iver awoke to a bang on her bedroom door. She bolted out of bed and grabbed the bat by her dresser. Her heart pounded as she anticipated the door bursting into splinters. Her grip tightened on the bat when another bang slammed her door.

"River! I know you're in there. Get up."

River let go of her bat as she sighed. It wasn't the Lycan- though all things considered, she wasn't sure if she wished it was him instead.

She walked to her door and undid the padlock.

Cherry stood naked in front of her, sweat beading on her skin.

"Nice to see you too, Mom."

"Don't give me that shit. What did you do?"

River shook her head. "What are you talking about?"

"You know damn well what I'm talking about."

The blood rushed from River's body to her toes. "He found you?"

"If you mean the Lycans, yeah, they found me. They came into town all high and mighty and looking for you. We told them we hadn't seen you in more than a year, and after sniffing around for an hour, they left, satisfied we weren't harboring you. So, what the hell happened? Did you forget your spray? Your pills? What?"

"Why do you think I did something?"

"Because Lycans wouldn't be looking for you if you hadn't."

River rubbed her forehead. "Can you please put some clothes on? You may not be big on modesty, but I've seen you naked enough to give me a permanent inferiority complex."

Her mom snorted and stalked down the hall to her bedroom.

River glanced in the mirror. She opened a drawer and pulled out a brush, trying to flatten the tangled mess of curls from the night before.

"Did you tell them where I am?" she called.

Her mom walked back in, pulling a tank top over her breasts. "I may be a shit mom, but I'm your shit mom, and I'm not going to hand you over to some Lycan assholes." She sat on River's bed. "I didn't let the last one take you, did I?"

River brushed her hair for a moment.

"Did you become lazy? Stop following our protocols?"

River rolled her eyes. "You must think I'm a dumbass."

"What then?"

She caught her mom's eye in the mirror. "Worse."

Her mother paled in a way River had only seen once before. Fear tainted the air.

"River, no."

"Yup."

She jumped to her feet and turned River around, looking over her with genuine concern. She moved River's hair and checked River's neck and breasts.

"Did he mark you?"

"No."

"Did he rape you?"

"No, mom. He didn't do anything to me except…"

"Except what?" Her mom searched her face.

"Called me his Omega and hugged me."

Confusion crossed her mom's face. "But he didn't take you? Mark you? Hurt you?"

She shook her head. "I ran. Hence the reason he is searching for me. He's Zeke's boss."

"Zeke? Bianca's soon to be mate?"

River nodded.

"How could Bianca be so stupid? Why would she introduce you?"

"Because you and Strider thought it was better she not know what happened to me. Zeke is a hybrid. His boss is an Alpha Lycan of some sort."

Her mom opened the closet and tossed a duffle bag into the room. She retrieved clothes River hadn't worn in ten years and piled them on the bag.

"Mom, what are you doing?"

"I'm getting you out. You can stay with your Uncle Jape in Alaska. It should be far enough away." Her mom pushed past her, opened her drawers, pulled out a handful of cotton underwear and socks, and shoved them into the bag.

"I need to buy you some winter stuff. No. I'll call Jape. I'll have him pick you up stuff when you arrive."

"Mom-"

"I'll have to buy you a ticket, but it can't be in your name. You'll need a fake I.D. Strider can do it."

"Mom-"

Her mom ran from the room, and River followed her to her bedroom. Cherry pulled up the rug and removed several wooden planks, exposing the safe below.

"I have money I can give you, and you have your trust fund, but I'll need to figure out how to send you money without them finding out-"

"Cherry!" River shouted. "I'm not going to Alaska."

Her mom huffed. "The hell you aren't."

"No. I have an art show tomorrow night. I have to go. I've spent six months getting everything ready."

"River. What is more important? An art show or your life?"

She didn't answer.

"Now you are being a dumbass. Do you not remember what happened the last time an Alpha Lycan found you? This one will be no different. He will take you, enslave you, chew you up, and spit you out, River." Her mom stood and moved to her. "And I know you, River. You won't submit. You won't give in. You'll fight and fight and fight until one of two things happens. He breaks you, or he kills you. And I won't let that happen to any daughter of mine."

River's wolf whined.

No. He won't.

Nothing about the male's actions has suggested he meant her harm. She remembered the look in his eyes as he'd gazed at her. Like she was the only thing in the world. The way he'd touched her, sniffed her, protected her from the cameras.

"Maybe not all of them are like the stories."

Cherry snorted. "If you believed that, you wouldn't have come here."

Had she been scared of mating or scared of him?

"Okay," River said. "I'll go to Alaska. But I must at least stop by the gallery."

"River-"

"Mom, it may be the only chance I ever get. I've spent my whole life dreaming of this. I can't walk away and never know if I was good enough. I have to do it for Dad."

Her mom stared at her. "Okay. It will take about a day to organize your paperwork. What time is it?"

"Five."

"I'll find you a flight at eight from JFK. But you can't arrive any later than six thirty, or you won't make take-off."

"I understand."

Her mom tossed her the duffle bag, pulled a gun from the safe, and handed it to her.

"Stay here. Lock yourself in your room. There's food in the pantry. I'll have Strider come for you tomorrow to take you to the gallery and then to the airport."

"You're not taking me?" River didn't like how little her voice sounded.

"If they will be watching anyone, it will be me. I snuck out and got here by shifting in the woods and keeping to the back roads. But once I return, there's no telling where they are or who might be watching me."

They stood awkwardly before her mom reached out and tugged on the end of the River's remaining curls.

"You can do this. You're my daughter, after all."

River nodded as her throat tightened. She gripped the duffle bag harder to keep from reaching for her mom.

"Believe it or not, I do love you, River."

River nodded as tears flooded her eyes.

"We'll get through this. I promise. I won't let anything happen to you."

Strider arrived to pick her up at three thirty the next day. He produced a bag and a dress on a hanger.

"I brought you a few things I thought you might want to use for your big night. I don't know if they are helpful or not. They're Bianca's, so I figured they might be useful."

River smiled at him. "Thanks, Strider."

"And here." He held out Bianca's bright red prom dress. "It's all I found that was fancy."

"This is perfect," River lied.

He nodded. "I'll watch T.V. while I wait."

"Okay." She closed the door awkwardly. She loved Strider; he was a wonderful guy, but he just… wasn't her dad.

River tossed the prom dress onto her bed and dumped out everything in the bag.

She thumbed through the various makeup items, hair accessories, and nail polishes- as if she had time to paint her nails.

She scrutinized the red dress and picked out a matching red rose clip, mascara, and lipstick. Guess red was her color for the evening.

It didn't look bad after River removed the poufy sleeves and mermaid tail from the red dress. The sweetheart neckline made her boobs appear bigger, which was a plus, and the skintight dress showed off her svelte figure and slender arms.

She pinned her hair to the side and clipped the red rose behind her ear. A sweep of mascara and the bright lipstick made her ocean-blue eyes pop.

She inspected herself and realized it might be the last time she saw her old bedroom for a long time.

She went to the windowsill and wiggled the rotted wood board at the bottom. It popped off, revealing a small space in the wall. She stuck her arm to the bottom and retrieved a small tin box. She sat it on her lap, running her fingers over the vintage scene whose paint had chipped off years before.

A light knock on her door pulled her from her thoughts, and she shoved the tin box into the duffle bag with all her other stuff and went to the door.

She pulled it open, and Strider took her in.

"Wow," he said. "I like it."

"Thanks."

He took the bag, put his arm around her shoulders, and kissed her head.

"Come on, Kid, let's get you to the party and off to safety."

River leaned into his shoulder as they walked, and for a moment, she didn't miss her dad so much.

They pulled up in front of the art gallery at five-o-five. River sat in the car, scanning the area and watching the people inside milling about, looking at the artwork.

"I can take you straight to the airport if you want," Strider offered.

Part of her wanted to say yes, but she couldn't. She'd worked too hard for this moment and needed to see at least what people thought of her work.

"I'll be back." She opened the passenger door.

"I'll circle the block until you come out."

She turned and smiled at him. "Thanks, Strider, for… everything."

He gave her a lopsided grin. "You're my girl, River, just like Bianca. Always have been."

Her heart constricted, wishing she'd done more to let him in. She kissed his cheek and exited the old muscle car.

The busy street bustled around her as she stepped up on the curb and pulled open the glass door. Her boss's assistant, Tiffany, raced to her with a frantic expression.

"Oh my gosh, there you are. Andrea has been calling you for two days."

"I… lost my phone."

"Thank heavens we got to your studio and packed up your last piece. It's amazing, by the way. I'm so glad we could bring it here and get it up in less than six hours. You did want it here, didn't you?"

River patted Tiffany's arm. Tiffany always rambled when nervous, and she was ultra-nervous from the sound of it.

Tiffany linked her arm to River's. River's heartbeat so loud she was sure everyone in the room heard it. People drank champagne and snacked on canapes while looking at paintings by various new artists from around town.

"Come on, you must see your space. Andrea couldn't get your final approval on the placement of the pieces, and she's been having a total conniption fit over it. I told her it looked amazing, but she wouldn't believe me. Only you can reassure her." Tiffany dragged her into the back gallery.

River stopped, and her breath caught for a moment. The six best pieces she'd ever created were among the brick walls and antique wooden floor. People gathered around each one, pointing to various aspects and smiling.

River couldn't help but smile at the reactions.

Strings of Edison lights hung from the ceiling, adding a warm glow to the space and bouncing off the steel and iron sculptures. River took it all in for a moment, entranced by what she'd created.

"River!" Her boss's sharp, sultry tone brought her out of her reverie.

River blinked, and her boss bustled over, a smile plastered too brightly on her face.

"Here she is everyone. The artist and my own protégé River Whitetail."

Clapping and cheers erupted all over the room, making River's cheeks heat. She dropped her gaze to the floor, and the clapping died down. Andrea took her arm and showed her around, introducing her to more people than she could remember the names of. People oohed and ahhed at her work and craftsmanship. She thanked each in turn before being swept away to meet someone new.

"River," said Andrea. "I'd like for you to meet a dear friend of mine, Ed Simons. He's the director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art."

He bent his head and kissed the back of River's hand. "Charmed, my dear lady. Your work is quite remarkable."

River's throat dried so fast she couldn't form words.

"I told Andrea I would love to have one outside my house in my garden. We've redone our estate with a full garden in the back, complete with a hedge maze, and I think one of your sculptures would be the perfect surprise to stand in the center of the maze for my guests to discover."

"Well… I… I don't know what to say. I am so honored. Of course, these are all for sale, or if you want something different, I would be happy to make it for you."

Ed nodded. "The one of the wolf and the rabbit in the corner would be perfect, but Andrea has informed me it's sold."

River swallowed hard. "It is?"

Andrea nodded. "Yes. All of your pieces sold within sixty seconds of the doors opening."

"I… I don't understand. How? Who-"

"I bought them," a low voice boomed in her ear.

Shivers ran over River's body as a warm palm landed on the small of her back, and the delicious scent of smoke and vanilla filled her nostrils. Her wolf howled in delight, but River's heart sank. How had she not caught his scent when she'd walked through the door? Better yet, how had he found her? How had he known about the exhibit? It wasn't like they put up ads across Central Park or anything.

Andrea smiled at the man standing so close to River his thighs pressed against hers from behind.

Heat wafted through her again at his nearness, and she fought the desire to turn and look at him. Damn, he smelled amazing, and as his thumb traced a circle on the small of her back, her body threatened to betray her.

Stop! Just Stop!

"River. This is the gentleman who has so amazingly bought your entire collection. All you have to do is agree to the price and sign the contract."

River thought she might faint as she faced those beautiful, intense green-blue eyes. His eyes softened as he took in her face, and she fought the need to rake her fingers through his soft hair again. Not that she would have been able to since he'd slicked it back. He had also shaved, revealing a stronger jawline than she'd thought.

"Excuse me for not introducing myself," he said. "My name is Prince Ares Wolvenguard of the Montreal Wolvenguards."

Prince. Prince? Did he say, Prince?

River's legs committed mutiny, and Ares slipped his arm around her waist, steadying her.

He chuckled. A warm, rumbly sound. "Seems I have caused the lady to swoon. I think she might need a moment. Can we use your office, Andrea?"

It wasn't so much a request as a statement. But the award-winning smile he aimed at Andrea made Flynn Rider's smolder look like nothing more than puppy dog eyes from a toddler.

Andrea smiled. "Of course, Your Highness. When you are done talking price, I will witness the contract for you."

He shot Andrea a toothy smile, lighting up his face and making River's heart forget its job.

He gripped River's hip tightly as he escorted her out of the gallery and down a short hall to Andrea's office. The sensation sent waves of fear and desire coursing through her.

What the hell was wrong with her? Her body had a mind of its own. Heating and wanting to be touched, though it was beyond inappropriate. She'd never been a PDA kind of girl.

River scanned for an exit, but there wasn't any. He held the door for her as she stepped into the office before closing and locking it. No escaping him this time.

Within a heartbeat, he had her pinned to the cold brick wall, his hard body pressing against hers gently. Terror overtook her, and she once again couldn't make her legs work. She closed her eyes and waited for what he might do next. Would he yell at her? Strike her? Reject her?

His hot lips slid down her throat, and she involuntarily let out a moan.

"You ran from me," he growled into her skin.

He pinned her arms above her head, her pulse kicked up as his palms wrapped around her skin.

"Did you realize what had happened between us?"

She nodded.

"And still, you ran from me." He searched her face. "Though you knew you were my mate."

Her wolf howled. My Alpha. My Mate. Mine.

The longer he pressed against her, the closer she came to giving in to the mating bond and letting him take her against the wall.

"Say something. I want to hear your voice."

"Something."

A slight smirk crossed his lips. "A smart-ass as well as a runner. Interesting."

River couldn't make her brain work. Every fiber of his body pulled on hers like a magnet, forcing her to focus on him and only him. She didn't like feeling so out of control.

He scoured her face as if committing it to memory in case she got away again.

"Please let go of me," she said.

He lowered his mouth to her neck again and placed a hot kiss on her skin. "Why?"

The sensation snapped River back to reality like a lightning jolt to the lady parts. She wriggled in his grasp as anger bubbled inside her.

"Because I asked you to." Her voice came out stronger than anticipated, and his head whipped up. "You do know about consent, right? You say you want to do something to me; I say no, you comply."

"But you're mine, Little Wolf. You can't say no to me."

River clenched her jaw. "I can, and I do. Now let me go before I scream bloody murder."

His gaze steeled. "I could have marked you the other night or the moment I got you in this room. As heir to the Lycan throne, there are few rules about what I can and cannot do."

Seriously? Shifter rules didn't apply to him? Human decency didn't apply either, presumably.

"Your point?" she asked, wrenching her wrists from his grasp.

He blew out a harsh breath and took a step back from her. "My point is I didn't do those things. I didn't rip apart your pack and demand they find you for me. I waited. Hell knows it's the hardest thing I've ever endured, but I did. I waited for you to come out of the shadows."

"And what? I'm supposed to thank you for not being a monster?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Thank you for doing what any normal person would do, not being an asshole rapist like the last one."

He was back on her in a flash, teeth bared, eyes black as pitch, but to River's surprise, the sight didn't scare her like last time.

"What do you mean the last one?" His Alpha aura and rage flowed off him like molten lava.

River moved her hair to the side, revealing the ragged scar on the side of her throat.

A painful whine cut off the roar rumbling through him. "Who did that?" he demanded through clenched teeth.

She shrugged, but his eyes flashed. It wasn't time to be flippant. She had to knock it off if she wanted to make it through the story without him destroying everything in the room.

"I don't know," she whispered. "A rogue. He showed up about four and a half years ago. He found me in the kitchen with the pack wives preparing a meal. He bit me without consent. Until then, I'd not known I was an Omega."

He watched her, his breath drawing in and out in sharp bursts. "What did you do?"

"Well, first, I stabbed his ass with a potato peeler about half a dozen times. Then my pack Alpha came in with his Betas, and they pulled him off me. My mom shot him, I slashed his face open, rejected him, and stabbed him again."

She couldn't tell if Ares wanted to kiss her or kill her from the deadly confused gleam in his eyes.

"You rejected him," he repeated.

"Of course. My wolf screamed he wasn't the one. Plus, you heard the part where the asshole tore into me without permission, right? Yeah, I'm kind of funny about things like that."

His eye twitched, and he swallowed hard. "And what does your wolf say about me?" His voice came out gentler than she'd expected it.

"She hasn't made up her mind yet."

A low chuckle escaped him. He took in her face for a moment and then sniffed her. "Doesn't smell that way to me, Little Wolf."

"It's the stupid mating bond, only, trust me," she lied.

He bent in until his mouth brushed hers. "Is it?"

Her breathing hitched as he ran his tongue over the seam of her lips.

"I taste you, Little Wolf. Your words may deny me, but the rest of you can't lie. Your wolf is telling you the same thing mine is telling me. We belong together. The chemistry between fated mates is too sacred for anything to cover it up. And once we are mated, nothing will keep us apart."

Without warning, he slammed his lips onto hers, and for a split second, River's body exploded, and even her wolf howled for him to take her. But as his tongue claimed her mouth, she turned her head away, breaking the kiss.

He groaned, and she turned back to him defiantly.

He traced one hand up her thigh and under her dress, grabbing her hip.

She bit her cheek until blood welled on her tongue.

"I will not take you today, River Whitetail, though it is both my right and my overwhelming desire. But I tell you now, before long, you will be my mate, and you will beg me to take you."

"They will chew you up and spit you out, River."

She smiled. "And I assure you, Prince Ares Wolvenguard, I will not."

A cocky smirk crossed his lips, and his eyes faded back to their mesmerizing bluish-green.

"We shall see, my beloved. We shall see."