Better Mate Than Never (New Adult Werewolf Romance) (6 page)

“No choice,”
Randy agreed.

“But right
now you have a problem,” Paige switched tactics again—back to aggressive
attorney. “Kyle is wounded and alone, and there’s a strong possibility Caleb’s
clan has found him. Even now, they could be torturing him for information on
how to find me.” She leaned forward, intensity burning in her eyes. “You know
that Caleb wouldn’t hesitate to do whatever it takes to get me back. Even if
that means killing your brother.”

Randy’s face
paled as he shot to his feet. “We’ve just been following orders. We didn’t do
anything to deserve this. My brother can’t die. He can’t.”

“Help me save
him, then,” Paige urged. “If you let me go, help me get back, I’ll make sure
they spare him.”

Randy opened
his mouth, then shut it as they heard footsteps down the hall. Paige’s hope
started to shrivel—it was his relief. She watched Randy’s face turn stony
again as he left the dungeon without so much as a backward glance. If only
she’d had a little more time… she’d been so close she could taste it.

Chapter Eight

 “This
is a very complex spell,” Marcella muttered as she paced around Kyle, studying
him like a scientist might a particularly interesting specimen before he
dissects it. The tiny bells woven into her skirt and the bangles on her skinny
wrists jangled with each step she took. “I don’t think I will be able to remove
it, at least not without having the caster under my control.”

Kyle wore an
expression of terror on his face as his eyes remained glued to the web of light
emanating from the pentagram the witch had forced him to stand in. Only the
twin glares from Adam and Caleb ensured he remained rooted to the spot… well,
that, and probably the fear that Marcella would turn him into a toad if he so
much as sneezed. It might have been funny, if the situation weren’t so dire.
But Paige was in the enemy’s hands, so he wasn’t finding very much humor in
anything right now.

“There has to
be something you can do.” Caleb scooped his hands through his
hair—something he’d been doing a lot lately. He probably looked like
hell, but he didn’t give a damn.

“I may be
able to alter the spell,” she said, still circling as she studied the strands
of light. She plucked one experimentally, and it twanged like a bowstring. Kyle
turned white as parchment. “Hmm, no, that won’t do.”

“I’m going to
die,” Kyle muttered. “You’re going to mess something up, and I’m going to die.”

He yelped
when Marcella deftly boxed one of his ears. “Hush, boy. I may look young and
vivacious, but I’m no student to the craft. I’ve been doing this for a very,
very long time.” Caleb arched an eyebrow as he took in the silver hairs
threaded through the witch’s auburn curls and the wrinkles on her face, but
said nothing. She might’ve looked like she was in her early fifties, but
witches often lived for centuries, so in her mind she probably
did
look
young and vivacious.

She played
around with the web of light, muttering curses under breath, and Caleb
struggled not to fidget. How long would this take? He knew it was important,
but dammit, Paige’s life was hanging in the balance. Finally she grasped
several strings of light that seemed to be woven together, fiddled with them a
minute, and let out an ‘A-ha!’ as they sprang apart.

“What? What?”
Kyle’s face was torn between excitement and apprehension. “Have you freed me?
Am I no longer a slave?”

“No, child.”
Marcella laid a thin hand on his shoulder in a rare gesture of sympathy. “That
is not what I am being asked to do.  But I did remove the block he placed
on you that prevents you from speaking of his secrets.” She snapped her fingers
and the web of light disappeared. “He is all yours, boys. “

Kyle stepped
back, holding his hands up as Caleb and Adam approached. “No, no, no. You don’t
understand. I can’t do this if my Master still has a hold on me. If he finds
out, all he needs to do is snap his fingers and I’ll be dead.”

“Yes, and if
you don’t tell me where to find Paige,
I’ll
kill you myself.” Caleb
cracked his knuckles.

Kyle’s lips
whitened as he pressed them together, eyeing Caleb nervously. “He’ll kill my
brother, too,” he finally said with a shake of his head. “At least if you kill
me, he’ll know I didn’t betray him, and Randy will stay safe.”

Caleb sighed.
He really couldn’t fault such family loyalty, even if it was incredibly
inconvenient. “Marcella, how much would it cost to free these two wolves from
their slave bond to this Warlock?”

She named an
outrageous sum, and he sputtered but she wasn’t budging on cost.

“Fine. Do it.”

“Wait.” Kyle
held up a hand. “Are you… are you saying you’ll free me and my brother if I
lead you to where my Master is?”

“You’ll have
to join my pack, and work off a large debt to Caleb in exchange,” Adam warned.

“I don’t
care.” Kyle’s eyes lit with feverish excitement. “I’ll do whatever I have to.”
He paled, clapping his hands over his mouth, but when nothing happened he
lowered them again.

“I’ll help
you find him.”

*

Paige was
awoken by the urgent sound of jangling keys. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up from
the pallet to see Randy opening her cell door. Apprehension filled her as she
got to her feet—what did he want?

“Quiet,” he
hissed before she could ask him. “I’m getting you out of here.”

“You’re—what?”
she was careful to keep her voice down. “You’re helping me escape?”

He took her
by the hand and dragged her from the cell. “Only because I know it’s the best
chance of survival for my brother. Master has gone out, but he won’t be away
for long, so this is the only chance we have. Now, hurry!”

They raced
quietly up the stairs and through the house, which took longer than she thought
it would. Every time a servant or a slave passed, Randy shoved her into a
corridor or behind a door and waited until the coast was clear before moving
again. Making it across the front lawn to the SUV was a nightmare… but they
finally did it. They buckled in, and Randy set off down the driveway.

“I cannot
leave the property without my Master’s permission,” he said, keeping his eyes
on the road. His knuckles were white as they gripped the steering wheel, and
the veins in his neck stood out prominently even though it was dark. “So I can
only take you to the end of the road. Afterward, you’re on your own.”

“You… you’re
not going to come with me?” Paige’s eyes widened. “But… when Garth comes back and
finds me gone, he’ll…”
Oh God.

Randy smiled
tightly. “I’ll fight him with every breath I have. As long as my brother stays
safe, it doesn’t matter if I die.”

Paige was
surprised when her eyes filled with tears. This man had put her through some
serious hardship, but she didn’t want to leave him to die. “There has to be
another way. It doesn’t seem fair.”

“There
isn’t.” He spoke tersely now. “Just make sure my brother stays safe. I don’t
want to die in vain.”

“I promise.”
And she was going to make sure she kept that promise.

Just as they
were reaching the end of the road, they slammed into a force field… or at least
that’s what she thought it was. The air in front of them flared red, and the
airbags exploded as the car rammed into what felt like a solid wall, though
nothing was there. Gasping, she opened the passenger’s side door and tumbled
onto the ground, her ribs burning from the impact. What the hell had happened?

Struggling to
her feet, her eyes focused on a Cadillac parked on the side of the road. Garth
stepped out, and began walking toward them as if he had all the time in the
world. Paige tried to run, but her feet felt as though they’d been glued to the
ground.
Oh God.
She’d been so close. What would happen to her now? Would
he just kill them both? Had this all been for nothing?

“Very
resourceful,” Garth complimented her, stopping less than a foot away. He
chucked an icy hand beneath her chin. “I never expected you would be able to
charm one of my slaves into doing your bidding. It’s a shame I’m going to have
to kill you; I could have used a silver tongue in my menagerie.”

“I don’t know
what the hell you’re talking about,” Paige snapped, fire in her voice though
she was trembling from head to toe.

“Of course
you don’t.” He patted her head patronizingly. “Unfortunately, I have to wait
until your lover gets here to kill you… but that doesn’t mean I can’t kill
him.”

“No!” Paige
shrieked as Garth snapped his fingers. Instantly, Randy began to thrash wildly
on the ground, screaming as he convulsed in agony. Paige couldn’t imagine what
kind of pain could make a hardened guy like him scream like that, but the sound
of his desperate groans filled her with unbelievable fear. “Please, stop!”

Cocking his
head to the side, Garth snapped his fingers again. Randy went limp, gasping for
air. “You actually care about this pathetic excuse for a wolf-shifter?”

“Please…let
him live,” Paige protested. “I will do whatever you want, Garth, but please,
just leave him be.”

“Whatever I
want, eh?” Garth hummed, running a finger down her cheek. “You don’t know what
you’ve just agreed to, pretty one.”

“Remove your
hand from her face, warlock, or I will rip the skin off yours.”

*

 “Caleb!”
Paige cried, and Caleb’s knees nearly went weak with relief to see that she was
okay. Kyle let out a cry of his own when he saw his brother on the ground, but
before he could take two steps he crumpled.

“I still
control you,” Garth snapped, his pale eyes livid. “How dare you bring the enemy
to my doorstep?”

“But I
thought you wanted me to come,” Caleb replied, his eyes swirling in golden fury.
“Isn’t that what you wanted, Garth? To have me…here? To kill me?”

“Yes,” Garth
hissed. “There’s no doubt that you will die. But as punishment, you’ll get to
watch your woman die first.”

He reached
for Paige, but before he could touch her skin his hand burst into flame.
Screaming, he tried to put it out with a spell, but the flame continued to
scorch his hand, melting it down to the bone, his flesh falling away in
blackened embers.

Marcella
stepped forward, her face grim. “Garth, Apprentice of Darin, your days of
enslaving are at an end. For your crimes, we will take you back to the Coven to
be tried.” Two other witches flanked her, and the three of them converged on
the warlock, binding him up in magical chains even as he bellowed and
protested. Caleb wasn’t comfortable around magic, but he’d never been so glad
to see it in action before.

Once it was
done and they had carted him off, Paige ran to Caleb, collapsing in his tight
embrace. Sobbing, she let him cradle her; his fingers weaved through her hair,
holding the back of her neck, nuzzling her against him. “I was so frightened,”
she whimpered, burrowing her face into his chest.”

Rubbing a
hand up and down her back, he made a silent promise that no matter what
happened, he would never let her go.
Even if he had to leave his clan
.
He looked up over the top of Paige’s head, meeting Adam’s eyes, who watched
them closely, as if to analyze their interaction, to make sure it was all that
it was meant to be. After a long moment, his clan leader nodded.

“Caleb… You
have my consent.”

Paige raised
her tear-stained face to frown at him, confused. “Consent for what?”

“To with you,
and to take you as his mate if he wishes. Which,” Adam added with a smile, “is
clearly what he wants to do.” He stared pointedly at the hand Caleb had placed
possessively around Paige’s waist.

Cheeks
coloring, Paige smiled up at Caleb as he swept her back into his arms and
kissed the breath out of her. It was even sweeter than the first time he had
ever kissed her, now that he realized how close he’d come to losing her. Her
scent and taste engulfed him, and they stood there for a long time, soaking
each other in, until Adam cleared his throat impatiently.

“Ready to go
home?” Caleb asked, pulling back to look into her sparkling green eyes.

“Yes,” she
nodded, smiling. “I’ll go anywhere you wish, as long as it’s with you.”

*

Caleb groaned
as Paige gently suckled his tongue. The need to rip her clothes off and bury
his cock deep inside of her was almost more than he could handle—he’d
never felt as turned on as he was when he was with her. But he refused to give
into his own selfish desires. Much as the wolf inside him wanted to just claim
her roughly, passionately, he had no intention of taking her hard and quick
like the animal he was. This was their first time together as true mates, and
he wanted to savor every minute of it and make it a night she would always
remember.

He had told her honestly that he
hadn’t expected her to agree to be his lifelong mate, or that she would be
willing to leave everything behind in order to share a life with him and his
clan. He had carefully and truthfully explained to her all that his life
entailed, the way that Lycan’s had to move every few years in order to protect
their clan from being discovered and how they could never set down roots
anywhere…destined for a life of endless journey.

She hadn’t hesitated to tell him
that she didn’t care about all of that…it didn’t matter, he couldn’t change her
mind, and that she would do anything just to be with him.  The words of
love tumbled easily from her lips, the genuine look of sheer devotion that
swirled in her beautiful, green eyes reassuring him that it really was what she
wanted.

They’d talked a long time, their
sentences and words finally trailing away, replaced by tender kisses and gentle
touches, hands slowly exploring one another, methodically and softly taking
each other once more into that place they shared where nothing else mattered.

He kissed her, the electric heat
of his body transferring onto her curvy frame, his lips mashed against hers,
kissing her with more urgency, until they were both out of breath and panting
with desperate need. He felt satisfied as he looked down at her flushed cheeks,
swollen lips, and into those familiar green eyes glazed with desire. Wanting to
feel her naked body against his, he reached down to her skirt and squatted so
he could remove her heels and slide the material down her legs, trailing
open-mouthed kisses down a thigh as he moved slowly, carefully, relishing in
the sweet taste of her flesh and in the way she trembled with his gentle touch.
He smiled as he heard her shallow breathing and felt her body tremble beneath
his touch.

“Please, Caleb,”
she breathed.

“Soon,
sweetheart,” he soothed. But first he was going to make her say his name a few
more times. He loved the sound of it on her tongue. Straightening, he began to
slowly unbutton her white poet blouse until she was left with nothing but her bra
and panties. His eyes flickering with the incredible desire he felt for her, he
unclipped her bra, letting it fall to the floor, baring puckered, pink nipples
that begged for attention. With a smile, he lowered his head to catch one
between his teeth, biting down gently.