Chapter Three
Caleb struck the other guard hard on the head, wincing when he hit the floor. He felt bad he had to hurt him, and who knew what would happen to the man after Bossman found him in Isabella’s cell and blamed him for letting their prisoner go. But it was the guard or her, which made it an easier decision. He had to do whatever it took to save his mate. She’d shifted—even with the drugs in her system—and killed her guard. After witnessing the fallout from his princess being pushed too far, he’d known he had to get her out of there, even if it meant blowing his cover. Shit. Stone was going to throw a hissy fit.
The first shift was concluding, and the other two guards patrolling the outer perimeter, bored like always. Caleb held the limp form of his mate in his arms, as close to his chest as he could, remaining in the shadows. The overhead camera image would still be fuzzy for the next five minutes thanks to a little bug he’d implanted in the system. The guards were on both sides of the building, giving him the blind spot he needed to get out unseen. Three, two, one. He exited, closed the door quietly behind him, and raced for the huge oak fifty feet out. As the first guard came into view, whistling nonchalantly, Caleb slid into the shadows of the tree. Isabella’s soft hair blew in the breeze and tickled his nose. He fought to keep from sneezing. Wouldn’t that be cliché? The feeling passed, but his hunger for her grew as her curvy form practically melted into his. Inappropriate timing, he reminded his bear, who was more than ready to ignore everything else in favor of mating her right there against the oak.
He counted to sixty and waited for both men to be on the opposite sides of the building again, and then pulled out of the shadows and headed toward the tall electric fence. If the virus was still working, he had another—he checked his watch and did the quick calculation in his head—three minutes to get out. He reached for the fence, wincing. This was kind of like those tubes with the biscuits in them. No matter how many times he prepared for it, he still gave a little unmanly jump and flinch when he popped those suckers open. And this fence had enough juice in it to knock his big ass on, well…his ass. It wouldn’t kill him since he had grizzly shifter and alpha blood in him. But it would hurt. He took a deep breath and told himself to stop being a wuss, especially with his mate present, and flicked a finger on the fence.
Nothing but cool wire. He heaved a huge sigh of relief and ripped a hole in the bottom. The hole was big enough for her to fit through—it would send them on a wild-goose chase.
Two more minutes before everything turned back on. Shit. He sprinted west with his precious package still asleep in his arms. Placing her gently into the back of the beat-up junker, he gently kissed her forehead. She’d be asleep for hours. Caleb left the car and entered the side doors.
He rushed back inside and headed for Isabella’s cell. He stepped slowly, hearing the loud groans and shouts and pounding from within her cell.
When he opened the door, the other guard sagged with relief and hobbled out into the hall. “What the hell happened to you, and where is the female?” Caleb asked as he helped the
man over to the control room where everything had now turned back on.
“Shit, man I don’t know. I didn’t even see her. She hit me on the head and bolted. Oh my god, Bossman is going to kill me.” His eyes widened in terror.
“Well, she can’t have made it far. Get your car.”
The man rummaged through his pockets. “My keys are gone. I think she took my car.”
Caleb had fished those out easily enough when he’d bonked him.
Hopefully, it would be enough of a wild-goose chase to keep everyone busy for a little while.
“Okay, man, don’t worry. We’ll get her back. You check all the cells, I’m going to go raise the alarm.”
“No!” the man squealed. “No alarm. Please. Give us an hour to hunt for her quietly. He’ll kill me.”
“Okay, I’m going to go search outside. You sweep the interior.”
Caleb strode outside and found the first guard leaning against the front of the building, taking a smoke break. “You know we’re supposed to keep patrolling.”
“Whatever. Nothing ever happens on the night shift.” He rolled his eyes and took a long drag.
“Go check on Peters. I think you just lost your boring night shift.” Caleb gave the man a rough glare and stormed out the front and through the gate.
As soon as he got to the car, he started it and pulled out, stopping along the side of the road a few minutes later. His cover might be blown, but, just in case, he sent a text out to Bossman.
< Female from west wing escaped. Tracked down. Stole a car. In pursuit. Orders?>
The reply was instantaneous.
<Find, follow, but do not engage. Report back.>
He sent out an affirmative text and drove onto the freeway with his mate snoring delicately in the passenger seat next to him.
~.~
“Wake up, Princess.” A gentle nudge to her shoulder sent away the dream about Thor. She grumbled and opened her bleary eyes. Where was she? Car, junky old one, parked in front of a nondescript hotel with a Vacancy sign in flashing neon. Everything came tumbling back, and she surged upright to confront her kidnapper. “You, you, jerk!”
“Nice to see you, too.” Caleb aka jerkface slash kidnapper, grinned down at her. “You got a little…”
“What, what do I have?” She frowned. “A killer headache, check. A sore ass, not counting that little love tap, check.” Her voice got more shrill and higher pitched the angrier she became. “A male who hoists me over his shoulder and goes all caveman because he thinks he is my mate. Double check!”
“Drool.” He reached forward and rubbed her chin with his shirt, grinning. “You are my mate. Make it a triple check, Princess. It’s not going away, and neither am I.” He sighed and ran his hand through his shaggy, dark hair. “Come on. I only woke you up so you can go into the hotel on your own two feet. I don’t want the kid at the front desk calling the cops when I carry you inside dead to the world.”
“We should have stayed at the facility,” she ground out.
He rubbed the nape of his neck, and his forehead creased. “I understand what you must be feeling right now. Believe me, it killed me to leave the rest of them. But I had to get you out.” He reached for her hand, and she allowed him to take it. Heck, the poor guy looked more miserable than she felt. And she was the one who’d had the knockout silly juice injected into her ass.
“Promise me we’ll go back and get them.” She fought the tears prickling behind her eyes. “Promise me, Caleb.”
“I swear to you as a member of the Alexander line of alphas…” He cocked his head. “What’s your family name?”
“Werner. Daughter to the alpha and second in line to the throne of the Herne wolf clan.”
“I swear to you, Daughter of the Herne clan, I will get help. We will go back and save our kind.”
Okay. That sounded about as legit and formal as she could get. “So, what room are we in?”
“Second floor, first door after the vending machine.”
She grumbled and reached for the handle. “The only thing worse would have been the one next to the elevator.”
He grinned and got out quickly, yanking her door open before she could. “Sorry, Princess. There’s a Star Trek convention in town, and everything else was booked.”
“Cool! Got your Chewbacca outfit ready?”
He grimaced.
“I’m kidding, big guy. I know the difference between Star Trek and Star Wars. Funny little joke to get your goat. Bear. Whatever.” She laughed.
The corner of his mouth tilted up, and he helped her out. Good thing he did. Her legs were still a bit wobbly underneath her.
“Here’s an idea. Next time you drug me and kidnap me, try using something that doesn’t knock me on my butt for the next eight hours.”
“Sorry.” He shrugged. Yeah, sorry, not sorry. “I hadn’t really thought it through. It was a quick backup plan in case another guard showed up. If we get a few hours of sleep, you shift for a bit, you should get it out of your system.”
He grabbed a dark duffel bag and led her up the stairs, hovering close.
“I’m not an invalid.”
“No. You’re my mate, and that’s what mates do. Protect each other if one is about to fall on their face.”
“I’m not your mate.” She stumbled over a shadow on the floor. “Okay, fine. Feel free to hover, if it makes you feel better.”
When they got to their room, he unlocked it with the keycard, and placed the Do Not Disturb sign on the door.
She sagged onto the bed. Yeah, she didn’t want to sleep any more, but her body was still so achy and tired.
“Why don’t you take a quick cat nap while I go scrounge us some food?” he suggested as soon as he set his bag down and checked out the room.
“Cat nap?” She raised an eyebrow up at him in mock horror.
“Pup snooze?”
She giggled, kicked her shoes off, and curled into a little ball on the bed. Wow, she’d missed this. Was it bad that a run-of-the-mill hotel room with synthetic latex mattresses and cheap pillows felt like heaven to her? She pressed her cheek into the pillow and stretched out her legs. Yeah, there was no reason to curl up anymore. She could have the whole queen-sized bed all to herself. Caleb could sleep on the other bed. “I could chill a bit while you get food, thanks. What time is it anyway?”
“Six p.m. We’re about five hours away from the facility—only two more to go. I thought you could use a good night’s sleep and something to eat before we continued on.”
“Okay. Can you find me some fresh vegetables, fruit, spring water?”
“You’re going to need some protein after all you’ve been through.”
“Okay, tofu, peanut butter, kidney beans, any of the above.”
“You’re sticking with the ‘I won’t eat meat thing’ still? I thought it was your way of screwing with the guards.”
“No, I really don’t eat meat. Not for the last year. At least while in human form.” She yawned, fatigue making her want to close her eyes again. Weird, her wolf, even as suppressed as it had been by the injections, should have been howling for some real meat by now.
He shook his head and grinned down at her. “Okay, if I can’t find a tofu taco shack here in Bumkinville, I’ll stock up on some grocery items. Get some rest.” He leaned over her, and she sucked in a breath. His soft lips went straight to her forehead. “Scoot your butt up for a minute.”
She tilted her pelvis as he pulled the blankets out from under her, covered her all the way to her chin, and then untucked the bottom of the sheets by her feet. Okay, she could fall in love with this man.
“Don’t open the door for anyone under any circumstances, and do not leave this room.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, Dad.”
“Get some rest,” he commanded as he walked to the door.
“I’ll chill, but I’m not going...back to...sleep.” She yawned and cuddled into the pillow, closing her eyes.
“Sure ya aren’t.” She heard the laughter in his voice as he opened then closed the door behind him.
She fell asleep two breaths later.
~.~
Caleb stormed out to his truck and tossed the bag of groceries into the cab, maybe a little more forcefully than he had intended. It had taken forever to find a decent grocery store. The restaurants nearby were greasy spoons he might have enjoyed, but, now, knowing Isabella’s tastes, he sought to give her everything she wanted. Provide for her, his bear said. Provide for our mate.
He growled. Yes, meeting her food needs had kept him away from her glorious scent and luscious body for too long. Being away from her for the past...he glanced down at his phone...hour and fifteen minutes, had been an hour and fourteen minutes too long. What was up with that? He had never felt this way about a woman. Because she’s our mate, and until we claim her, you’ll get angrier and more volatile, his grizzly reasoned. Shit.
He started the rusty old car up and thanked the Goddess the engine actually turned over this time. He’d been getting a bit worried during the last two hours of their road trip. He’d have to get a replacement vehicle quickly. Stone had already reamed him out for ditching his job, but when Caleb had explained she was his mate, the other male had softened. Only for a moment. But still it helped, not being cursed at by a hissing, pissed-off feline.
The trip back to the hotel only took seven minutes, thankfully, and he parked and grabbed the bags, and bolted toward the room. What was he doing? He skidded to a stop in the stairway and shook his head to clear his thoughts. Caleb couldn’t mate her. Yeah, she was his mate, but he didn’t deserve a mate. The Goddess blesses us each with one true pairing to fulfill us, love us, save us. And we in turn... His bear quoted the words he’d heard since he was a young cub.
But she was too young, vulnerable. Hell, she’d just escaped a prison and it might take years to overcome. He’d wait for her, be there if she needed him. He’d take her back home and keep her safe, anything she needed… But he wouldn’t force their bond. If she wasn’t ready, he would wait. Besides, he wasn’t worthy of a mate. This was a cruel trick of fate. No way the Goddess would ever bless him.
So, what was he going to do now? Besides feed her, protect her, and take her back home? Actually, the home part of the equation was on standby.
Bo had returned his call a few minutes ago. Even though they’d only talked twice in the last five years, he had jumped right into the situation, accepting to ignore the bear in the room—Caleb, the prodigal son had finally deemed them worthy of his presence—and got down to business.
It turned out, their younger sister, Nissa had mated a wolf. And not just any wolf. A wolf from the Royal Herne Clan. He’d heard a few stories of Zach, the hotheaded wolf taking on P.I jobs for fellow shifters, including the fact he was currently searching for a missing younger sister. While on his last job, Zach had met and fell in love with their sister.
Small world? Oh, yeah, the fated mate, Goddess willed, seren-fucking-dipity thing again.
And though Nissa loved Caleb as much as a younger sister could love a big brother, he didn’t want to bring his unworthy ass back home.
But Bear Paw was where her family was, and Zach was ready to come tearing down the road to meet them at this cheesy hotel.
Shit. He hadn’t wanted to go back to his hometown, hadn’t wanted to face his clan mates and family. But there wasn’t much choice, now.
Bo had talked Zach out of it and also reasoned their clan’s town would be the perfect place to team up and go over all the intelligence they’d all come up with. Stone would be there in the morning. So Caleb had to take her there. Back to the place where all his nightmares remained. Where he had lost his soul and become unworthy of being next in line for alpha. Yeah, he didn’t want to go back. But he would. For her.
For now, he had to get through the night. Feed her, check her injuries, maybe talk her into shifting for a little bit, and, no matter what, not succumb to the increasing need to claim her.
Isabella would be his greatest test of resolve, strength, and willpower. With her gorgeous smile, white teeth, those brilliant blue eyes that made him think of the clear, turquoise waters of Bora Bora where he’d spent a year doing odd jobs for locals and finding peace for his bear. The way she bit her lower lip and furrowed those blonde eyebrows when she got angry… And don’t even get him started on her supple skin and firm ass. When he smacked it, he’d had a moment of realization. The woman was made for him, and he wanted more.
Damn it. He needed to keep his head on straight, his cock in his pants, and his hands off the gorgeous wolf.
The sound of quiet singing met his ears, and he cocked his head. Only a shifter would be able to hear the pure, melodious sounds coming through the stairwell door, past the vending machine’s loud squeaks, through the bedroom door, and in the shower. He listened more carefully, reveling as Isabella hit a high note then continued singing. Heaven. She was an angel from heaven with the voice of a... He furrowed his brow. A wolf, his bear supplied. No. An animal. No! An angel. An angel with the voice of an angel. Yeah, he was a charmer all right. No worries about her agreeing to his claiming.
He hustled to their room and set the bags in the entryway before turning to lock the door. The singing was even louder and more beautiful in here. Isabella sang about being a mermaid who wanted to explore the land—his princess was a bit of a Disney lover—her alto voice stretching to reach a pretty damn good note, he wouldn’t have thought she could hit. Then she paused for a moment, and he reveled in the sounds of her quiet humming and the water cascading over her body.
Her gloriously naked, sinfully decadent, wet body. He envisioned her sun-kissed complexion as she sensually ran the bar of hotel soap up her arms and over her firm breasts. What he wouldn’t give to be that bar of cheap soap. Rubbing, touching, cleansing every inch of her. He’d kiss the rosy tips of her nipples. He’d stroke her soft curves. He’d lick the patch of coarse hair between her legs until he came to the perfect spot, honing in on her sweet musk and honey. Oh man, he’d lick her and lap at her juices until she was moaning with delight, begging him to let her come. And she’d come all right. Over and over again. His ministrations would leave her sagging to the bathtub, spent, her head tilted back and her pale skin flushed with desire. Then he would disrobe and take her as his. Claim her, fuck her, bite her—damn it!
He stopped that train of thought before it went any further. Isabella in the shower. She was killing him.
“You all right out there?” she called. Leave it to a royal nose to scent him. At least she couldn’t tell how achingly hard he was for her, and how much he wanted to be in her right now.
“Going for a walk,” he grumbled and stormed out the door. Maybe the cold temps would distract him until she was done doing the “loofa my back” scene playing in his head. Or he could stick his head in the freezer. He glanced down at the huge bulge threatening to burst from his zipper. Yeah, head in the freezer wasn’t going to cut it. Time to think about chess. Hmm, his rook wanted to play with her Queen’s Gambit. He needed his knight on her rim. What if he doubled up his rooks down her half-open c-file? Dammit! Chess wasn’t working. Time for the big guns. Movie quotes. His last attempt fared thirty-nine quotes in a minute. He started his watch. Go! Bring out your dead. I see dead people. Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! He could do this all night...