Pack Rogue by Crissy Smith (9)

Chapter Nine

Kiley hugged Jesse for the millionth time in the last hour. She knew she needed to let go of the little girl but she didn’t seem to be able to. She had tried so hard not to get attached to anyone there but it hadn’t worked.

Jesse had yelled and argued when she’d found out that Kiley would be leaving. She’d calmed down a little when she’d learned she would be living with Austin’s Pack. Apparently she spent a lot of time there visiting. With the help of Austin and Tyler, they’d even made plans for Jesse to go down there in about six weeks.

Kiley had told her she’d need help learning the territory and since Jesse had been there so much, maybe she’d be able to show her around. The girl had happily agreed.

Kiley supposed she would have things a little better controlled by then. Oh, she’d known she would be going. Austin was an Alpha and he’d told her all about his Pack, but it hadn’t actually sunk in until he’d told her they needed to get home.

Home, she thought bitterly. She hadn’t had one of those in so long, she’d forgotten what it felt like. As much as she’d enjoyed the apartment she’d rented, it wasn’t the same as having a house, a place that was hers and her family’s, a place to be comfortable and feel safe.

She’d got so used to closing herself off that she hadn’t realised how much she had missed her wolf—until she’d found Austin. Now, for the first time since she’d left her family, her wolf wanted to play. Wanted to run and dance. Wanted to mate.

It was a good feeling.

But still her chest felt tight, and she could feel the panic wanting to set in. She’d sworn she would stay away from all Alpha-type men. Not only had she broken that rule, but she’d mated with an Alpha.

Now she was moving to a new territory she knew nothing about and found herself in a position of power.

Whether she wanted it or not.

Gray and Dominic stepped out of the front door and joined her and Jesse on the steps.

“We’ll miss you,” Dominic told her in his relaxing, deep voice. He didn’t speak a lot, except to Jesse, but when he did, it was a pleasure to listen to the cadence of his voice.

“I’ll miss you all too,” she admitted softly. She had to fight the urge to get teary-eyed.

“You’ll always be welcome, Kiley. Don’t forget that,” Dominic told her and bent for Jesse. “One last hug. Austin’s on his way out.”

The two females hugged each other. Finally Kiley pulled away and placed Jesse in his arms. “I love you, little cub,” she whispered to the girl.

She turned away quickly as she heard Dominic and Jesse leave. She wiped at the tears that had fallen.

“Kiley,” Gray said her name softly. She dropped her head—this was going to be just as difficult. She took a deep breath and turned back to him. The emotion in his eyes surprised her. They had spent a lot of time together and cared deeply for one another. Her heart broke a little at the look of loss on his face.

“Oh Gray,” she murmured, cupping his cheek. “I’m so sorry. I have been terrible to you.”

He shook his head but she wouldn’t let him argue. She hadn’t once stopped to think about how her finding a mate would affect him. Although they weren’t in love, they’d still been close. All the other had had, at one time.

“I am so sorry, Gray. I didn’t think…”

“Shh,” he told her, pulling her into his arms. “It’s okay. I’m just going to miss you like crazy. I can’t hold your own mate against you.”

His tone was kind, so Kiley believed that he didn’t blame her, but that didn’t make her feel any better. She vowed she would do something special for him. She’d make up for her awful behaviour one way or another.

She wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him tightly. “I’ll always love you,” she said sincerely.

“I know,” he told her as he released her. “I’ll always wish I was your mate.”

A tear slipped down her cheek. “You’ll find her,” she promised. “And I hope she’s ten times as stubborn as you say I am.”

He laughed like she’d intended. “Me too.”

With two fingers under her chin, he placed a soft kiss on her lips. There was nothing sexual about it—it was a goodbye to how they once were.

They smiled into each other’s eyes. That’s how Tyler and Austin found them.

Kiley was pleased with Austin’s reaction. While almost every other wolf she knew would have felt threatened and attacked, Austin didn’t. He calmly walked down the steps. Gray dropped his hand from her face, and when Austin offered his, the two men shook.

“Best of luck in your hunting,” Austin told him.

Gray nodded. “Thank you, Alpha. I won’t let the threat remain any longer. No one will get to Tyler or Jesse.”

Austin turned to Tyler and shook hands with the other Alpha. “I’ll talk to you soon,” Austin told him.

“Be careful driving,” Tyler told Austin before addressing Kiley. “Just take what you want now. I’ll make sure everything else in your apartment is sent in the next couple of days.”

Kiley gazed up at him. She owed Tyler so much. He’d given her sanctuary in his territory without asking anything in return. He’d opened up his home and shared his family with her. She could never pay him back for everything he’d done for her over the last year.

“Tyler…”

He just grinned and spread his arms. Kiley carefully embraced him, holding back as much emotion as she could. She’d break down later—not in front of the others. She could hold on until she was alone.

Tyler hugged her and even kissed the top of her head. “We’ll see you in a month or so, kiddo,” he promised.

Kiley nodded, rubbing her cheek against his chest. She’d never touched him like that before but it made her feel protected. She managed to break away and, without looking at anyone, walked to her SUV.

Austin said something else behind her, then rushed up to catch her. He threw his arm around her but didn’t comment on her lack of control. It seemed like her mate kept seeing her at her worst. She had no idea why he wanted her.

When he stopped at a black Explorer and opened the passenger door, she just looked up at him blankly.

“Come on, baby,” he urged. “Climb in—we need to get on the road.”

She started to follow his instruction before her brain connected. She stepped back. “What about my car?”

“Tyler will take care of it,” Austin told her. He pressed his hand on the small of her back trying to get her to move.

“But I need it,” she argued, her feet firmly planted.

“Kiley,” Austin said as if he was tired. “Get in. We will get you another vehicle if you want. You can have this one. Or someone else can drive yours. I don’t care.”

“I need a way to get around,” she tried to explain. She wasn’t trying to be difficult.

“You can drive anything you want at home,” he countered.

She hesitated. She didn’t have much. Even her apartment was furnished. Some clothes, pictures and knick-knacks, her computer, and odds and ends. Her biggest possession was the new Tahoe. “I want to take my ride.”

“Fine,” Austin agreed without pause. “One of the men will drive it.”

“That’s silly. I can just follow behind you,” she offered.

“No,” he dismissed. “Now, hop up.”

“No?” Kiley repeated.

Austin’s grip on the door tightened. “Don’t make this an issue,” he said in a voice so low that he might have been talking to himself.

“Or…” She was unable to resist the challenge.

“As long as we are on the road and off territory, you are not to leave my side,” he snapped.

“Excuse me?” Kiley cried.

Austin gently grabbed a handful of hair and pulled her forward. It didn’t hurt but surprised her. That was a move he hadn’t used before…and she kind of liked it. It made her hot when he showed his strength but didn’t hurt her.

But she wasn’t going to let him know that.

“Austin,” she warned instead.

“For once, just listen to me. I promise that I will make sure you have a vehicle available at all times. You will not be stuck alone without a way into town or anywhere else you want to go. But right now you need to trust me. As your mate and the Alpha, you need to take me at my word that this is what is best.  We need to get in the vehicles and on the road. We’ll stop by your apartment and grab what you want, but standing out here, in the open, we are a target. Please get in the car.”

Kiley pressed her lips together. Well, when he put it that way…

She climbed in, refusing his help.

Austin closed her door and went to the driver’s side. He jumped in and locked the doors. “Put your seatbelt on,” he ordered.

Kiley almost refused, just out of spite, but then she noticed his tension—something she hadn’t noticed earlier.

“Austin, what’s wrong?” she asked, hoping he would tell her. She didn’t want him to hide anything from her. If they were going to be equal partners, it needed to start now.

“We’re being watched,” he told her as he started the ignition.

Kiley clicked her seatbelt into place. She needed to stop thinking about herself all the time. Her mate was the Alpha and that position came with a lot of stress. She’d agreed to move with him. She needed to stop being a problem and come up with a way to help.

She leant back in her seat and thought. She was a licensed private investigator. She would figure it out.

Kiley sat silently beside him as he drove, and Austin had almost all he could stand of her silence.  They’d rushed through packing a couple of bags, her laptop, and some pictures, loaded them up and left. She’d said she had everything she needed for a few days until Tyler got the rest of her stuff sent.

Still, she hadn’t said more than a dozen words to him since they’d hit the road. He was glad no one else rode with them so he could try to figure out what to say. All he’d wanted was for her to obey a simple command.

He didn’t blame her for wanting her own vehicle but there hadn’t been time to discuss it, and as soon as he’d realised they were being watched he’d just wanted her out of there. He’d seen Colt and Cain sneak out the back way and around the house. He knew even as he drove away that the men were chasing down the threat.

It did nothing to ease the tension he felt about his mate being in danger once again. God, how he wanted to get her back home and lock her in the bedroom for the rest of her life. Realistically he knew he couldn’t, but that didn’t stop him from daydreaming about it.

He glanced in his rear view mirror and saw the two cars following him. Right behind him was Kiley’s SUV, and behind that was his black truck. There didn’t seem to be anyone else driving down the two-lane road.

He actually jumped when Kiley’s hand covered his. She was still staring out of the side window but when he turned his hand over, she laced his fingers through his.

Austin relaxed for the first time since they had started the drive home.

They stopped for gas and to go to the bathroom halfway to his territory. He let Kiley go inside alone but kept an eye on her the entire time. Once he was done filling the tank, he headed inside. They met again as she came out of the women’s restroom and he was going into the men’s. He pulled out his wallet and handed it to her.

“Would you get me a large coffee and some snacks?”

She smiled and as their hands touched, she sighed, “I’m sorry, Austin.”

He shook his head. Really there was nothing to apologise for. He gave her a quick kiss on her lips. “I’ll be quick, love.”

Her eyes sparkled and she nodded.

Austin quickly took care of business and washed his hands. He couldn’t wait to get Kiley home. In his heart, he knew she would love his territory.

Kiley had two coffees, bottles of water, and several snacks at the register when he joined her. He watched his men take turns watching the vehicles, using the restrooms, buying supplies, and watching his mate.

He nodded at his men, letting them know he appreciated it. He had good members in his Pack. He was proud to have them watching his mate.

He helped Kiley carry their stuff to the SUV. They climbed inside and waited until the men were loaded up in the other vehicles. It wasn’t long before they were back on the road.

They had only been driving again for about twenty minutes before Colt called.

Austin answered with the hands-free device, letting the call go through the radio.

“We caught one of them,” Colt told him without so much as a hello.

“Who is it?” Austin barked out with excitement. If they could take care of the problem before he got Kiley home, they would really have something to celebrate.

“Actually, we’re not sure. He’s not talking,” Colt responded.

“Well, make him talk,” Austin ordered. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel in frustration.

Colt chuckled. “Working on it, boss. Let me tell you, Cain can be a scary guy when he wants to.”

Austin grinned. He knew that for a fact. “If anyone can do it, it’s Cain.”

Colt paused and Austin barely kept his questions in check. He knew Colt had something more to say.

“He’s not a wolf.”

The shock he felt matched the loud gasp from his mate.

“What is he?” Austin asked slowly.

“Not sure about that either. Except, he is…feline.”

Austin’s lip curled in disgust. “I shouldn’t be surprised, I guess.” He’d never had much love for feline shifters. Unlike wolves, or most shifters for that matter, they weren’t much on family. They were mostly unruly and ran wild.

“Tony says it makes sense, though. He hasn’t been able to communicate with any of the feline shifters.”

“Well at least this gives us a lead,” Austin agreed.

“Yeah, I just thought I’d let you know. I’ll call you later when I know more.”

“Good. Keep me updated.”

“Will do,” Colt agreed.

Austin thought over the new information. While he didn’t know any feline shifters, he knew of them. The long-standing feud between the two types had been ongoing since before he was born. He wasn’t even sure how it had started. But he wanted the man to talk. If he had put off leaving, taking his mate away from danger, he would have been there.

“They’ll get him to talk,” Kiley assured him, rubbing her hand over his thigh.

Austin bit back a moan from his mate’s contact. Now was not the time to get aroused. “I just wish I could be there.”

“Tyler will take care of it. You’ve got enough on your plate right now,” Kiley told him.

Austin rolled his shoulders to relax his upper body. Kiley continued to massage his leg, and his cock hardened. He shifted to hide his reaction.

“You okay?” she asked with a teasing caress over his lap.

“You know damn well what you’re doing to me right now,” he accused.

She laughed. “And what would I be doing?”

Again just a faint brush over his erection. Austin grabbed her hand and pressed it fully against his prick. “Keep that up, baby, and I will pull this car over.”

She closed her hand over him. “That would be a shame.”

“Since we have two vehicles full of guards behind us, yes it would be.”

She stiffened and looked behind her.

Austin chuckled. “Forgot about them, didn’t you?”

“I seem to forget everything when I’m close to you,” she muttered under her breath.

Austin was thrilled with her admission. “I know how you feel,” he agreed and laced his fingers with hers.