Reina's Mate

By

Dawn Wilder

Copyright 2016 Dawn Wilder

* * * * *

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment
only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people.
If you would like to share this book with another person, please
purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading
this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your
use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and
purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of
this author.

This book is fictional and any resemblance to
persons, places, or events is coincidental.

Adult Reading Material (language, violence, sexual
content). All characters are above 18 years of age.

*****

By Dawn Wilder

Paranormal Erotic Shorts:

Mate Me

Were My Mark

Incubus Needs

Foxy Lady

Runt of the Litter

Paranormal Erotic Shorts
Collection
(contains all of the shorts
above)

Were It
(best
read after
Were My
Mark
)

Sea Me

Fangs for Coming

Were Break
(best read after
Were My
Mark
)

Paranormal Erotic Shorts
Collection, Volume 2
(contains the four above,
plus
Were My Mark
so it can be
read before the other
Were
shorts)

Were Shield

Gunner’s Mate

Tracker’s Mate

Breaker’s Mate

Ryder’s Mate

Asher’s Mate

Elena’s Warriors

Curves Ahead

Foster’s Mate

Fisher’s Mate

Play Hard

Luther's Mate

Sayer's Mate

Casper's Mate

Rader's Mate

Fuller's Mate

Ryker's Mate

Carver's Mate

Keller's Mate

Billionaire's Assistant (previously titled
Hidden Mate)

Denver's Mate

Foxy (adapted from the short Foxy Lady)

Billionaire's Mate

Billionaire's Neighbor

Ranger's Mate

Lenora's Mate

Reina's Mate

Dawn Wilder Writing as A.R.
Dawn

Paranormal Romance:

Going Lupe

In the Lupe

Let Sleeping Lupes Lie

*****

If you sign up for my mailing list,
I’ll send you my paranormal romance bundle (Gunner's Mate,
Breaker's Mate, Tracker's Mate, Ryder's Mate, Foxy Lady, Incubus
Needs, Were My Mark, Mate Me, Runt of the Litter, and Going Lupe).
Just email me at
[email protected]
with the subject ADD ME. Or, sign up on my
Facebook
page and download a copy of the bundle right away!

Happy Reading!

*****

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Connect

*****

*****

Chapter 1

Griffith

I opened my eyes blearily.

What was that sound?

Sitting up, I tried to shake the sleep off.
I'd been up late trying to work out the bugs in a new program I'd
been writing and had only gone to sleep...I checked the clock.

Half past four in the morning.

A couple hours ago.

Man, no wonder I felt like shit.

The sharp knocking started up again.

Fuck. Who was up at this hour? And why the
fuck did they decide to inflict the same pain on me?

I fell back onto the bed.

Maybe they'd go away.

A pause.

And then the knocking started up again.

With a sigh, I grabbed my sweatpants and
pulled them on. It would serve whoever it was at the door right if
I just showed up in the buff, but I didn't really want my boys
hanging out there all vulnerable.

The cobwebs cleared as I walked down the
hall to the front door, not bothering to turn on any of the
lights.

I could see clearly in a lot less light than
this. One of the advantages of being a wolf.

I opened the door mid-knock.

And almost physically staggered back as the
past collided with the present.

She'd changed. But then so had I.

Her jeans and long sleeved t-shirt showcased
the more generous curves she'd acquired, though it was also obvious
her body was honed and strong. She was still a couple of inches
shorter than me, her hazel eyes striking against the warm brown of
her skin. Her dark hair was shorter, cut just above her shoulders
and framing her striking face.

She was even more beautiful now.

I felt the pang in my heart, still there
even after this many years.

But there had to be a reason she came
looking for me.

“Reina? What are you doing here? Is
something wrong?”

“Yes. It's Sofia.”

Sofia? Reina's little sister must be...fuck,
in her twenties now.

“What happened?”

Now that I'd gotten over the shock, I could
see the lines of stress and worry on her face.

“Can I come in?”

“Yeah, of course.”

I moved back and she stepped passed me. Her
scent followed, the same slightly minty evergreen smell that had
driven me wild.

And, unfortunately, apparently still
did.

I closed the door and gestured for her to
take a seat on the couch as I sat in one of the armchairs across
from it.

“What happened?” I repeated.

She scrubbed at her face wearily, looking
even more tired as she sat down.

I tried not to look at the way the movement
pulled her shirt against her chest.

Which made me feel like a real heel when she
was obviously going through something.

Alright, I needed to focus here.

“Dad sealed a political alliance with Manny.
She was part of the deal. You know how they are about all that
bloodline bullshit.” Her face tightened. “And he made sure to wait
until I was out of town to pull this shit.”

I leaned back in the chair, trying to
process this.

Political alliances sealed with what
amounted to arranged marriages weren't unheard of, but they were
increasingly rare.

And it was beyond surprising that Mariana
would let John do that to her daughter.

“How could Mariana let that happen?”

Reina looked at me with faded pain in her
eyes.

“Mom's dead. She died three years ago. Car
accident.”

That hit me right in the gut. Mariana had
been one of the sweetest, most nurturing people I'd ever met. I
could never understand how she and John had gotten together in the
first place.

“I'm so sorry.” And didn't that just sound
completely inadequate. But there weren't any words to adequately
convey the grief I felt at the news, or how much the loss must have
hurt Reina.

“Thank you.” She looked away and I gave her
a little time to gather herself again.

Taking a deep breath she turned back to
me.

“I came to ask for help. I can't leave Sofia
with Manny. She should be in school, getting her degree. Not held
hostage by some egomaniac.”

Manny had a well-deserved reputation for
being a ruthless bastard. A ruthless bastard who loved to whore
around every chance he got.

The fact that Sofia was already there with
him left a bad taste in my mouth.

“I understand if you don't want to get
involved,” she started.

“Don't insult me,” I interrupted. “Sofia was
like a little sister to me too. I can't just leave her there. Give
me five minutes to get dressed.”

Yes, I'd lost contact with everyone in the
pack. But that was more my doing than theirs. I hadn't left behind
any means of contact.

The fact that Reina had found me so quickly
made me wonder if she'd been keeping track of me. But I couldn't
think about what that could mean, especially not right now.

I didn't wait for an answer, just went into
my bedroom and shucked my clothes, pulling on an old pair of jeans
and a flannel shirt along with some boots.

My eyes went to the gun safe, but guns
wouldn't be helpful in this situation. They weren't exactly
inconspicuous when used.

And they weren't looked upon favorably by
wolves either. Fights were meant to be up close and personal, not
technology based from a distance.

Phone and keys and I was good to go.

“Do you have some kind of plan? Or are we
winging it?”

She stood up as I came back in.

“I know someone in Manny's pack. I contacted
her, but nothing so far...if she doesn't get back to me, I guess
we're winging it.”

I nodded, pulling on my beat up jacket.

“Taking my car or yours?”

“I came on my bike.”

Bike, huh?

“My car it is.”

I saw the nice piece of machinery out in my
driveway as we left the house. It was a little surprising for
someone so responsible and by the book to have a bike.

But it had been a long time. And people
changed.

I felt a twinge in the region of my heart at
that thought.

We got into my truck without any other talk
and I drove down the small, out of the way road that led to my
cabin to reach the main drag.

When I'd left the pack, I actually hadn't
gone too far away. I was about two hours by car, in neutral
territory that was supposed to act as a buffer zone between John's
and Manny's packs.

We could drive to the edge of Manny's
territory in a couple of hours, but the rest of the journey would
have to be made on foot.

“When was she taken?” I asked, pushing the
accelerator down.

I weighed the risk of being pulled over and
decided it was worth it since the cops weren't usually interested
in lying in wait here.

“Two days ago. I didn't find out until I got
back last night. They must have taken her phone.”

I nodded, the sense of urgency telling me to
go even faster, but it wouldn't be safe. The last thing we needed
was to be delayed by a car accident.

We drove for a while in silence, the tension
between us almost palpable. Neither of us brought it up though.

Reina's rejection was one of the reasons I'd
left the pack, but it wasn't the only one. John wasn't an Alpha I
felt comfortable giving my complete loyalty and faith to.

This mess just showed me that my gut had
been correct on the matter.

And I'd wanted to go out and make something
of myself. So I'd gone away to college, far from pack territory,
when I'd been expected to stay nearby like everyone else.

Like Reina.

I couldn't even completely blame Reina for
her rejection. We'd been friends ever since I could remember.
Growing up together as pups, getting into trouble together. But my
rebelliousness had been a central part of my personality. Hers had
been more based off of light-hearted fun.

At her core, she was loyal and responsible.
She took her role as the Alpha's oldest daughter seriously and
genuinely admired her father.

She hadn't liked the fact that I'd begun
doubting that power structure.

And I hadn't exactly been discrete about it
either, which had caused John to reprimand me publicly. If I had
been older, I'm sure he'd have called me out in a challenge.

Reina's desire to make her father proud
meant that trying a relationship with me had been out of the
question.

But I'd refused to see that, laying my heart
down on the line as recklessly as I'd done everything else at that
point in my life. I loved Reina. And as I'd gotten older, I'd
realized that love wasn't the platonic kind I'd have for a
sister.

Looking back, I could see that it had killed
something inside her to tell me no. But at the time, I couldn't
look past my own broken heart.

“I think we might have some company.”

I jerked back to the present and glanced in
the rear-view mirror.

There was an SUV barreling toward us with
the headlights off.

“Do you recognize it?” I asked, pushing the
accelerator down a fraction more.

“Yes. My father's guys.”

They were still gaining on us, but I didn't
dare go any faster. There were some pretty sharp turns coming up
ahead and I didn't want to risk losing control and flying off the
road. One side had a pretty deep ravine at one point.