Reina's Mate (4 page)

According to Bar's info, we were going to
hit the patrol perimeter right about now.

I pricked my ears as I slowed down, not
wanting to be caught off guard.

Maybe we would be lucky and manage to slip
past.

The sound of a howl broke the soft
silence.

There went that hope.

We'd been spotted. And now everyone knew
where we were.

Wonderful.

I didn't have time to wonder about how
they'd found us so quickly.

Two wolves appeared from opposite sides
ahead of us and ran straight for us on silent feet.

Griff and I separated, taking one each.

I ducked under the wolf's flying leap and he
skidded as he landed. He turned around with a distinctly annoyed
look on his canine face.

He he.

I met him when he came at me this time.

Ducking my head to protect my neck, I used
the advantage of my extra bulk to slam him to the ground.

He wiggled away before I could pin him,
dancing away with a more cautious air.

We circled each other before he snapped at
my hind leg.

I let him get close and then I jerked it
away, clamping down on the back of his neck and shaking him
hard.

When I let go, he was a little dazed. I took
the opportunity to push him down and pin him.

My breath left me in a huff as a freight
train hit me in the side and sent me flying.

I hit a tree and landed with a thud.

It was my turn to be dazed.

Getting up on shaky legs, I moved my head
from side to side, trying to get rid of the double vision I'd
picked up.

The two images melded into one and I saw a
familiar silvery coat fly by to tackle a wolf with a reddish hint
to his tawny fur.

But that was...Xavier.

I was betting he might have been the reason
why we'd been caught so quickly. Though why he'd wait so long to
make a move was confusing.

The sting of betrayal didn't have a chance
to settle in too deeply because about ten other wolves descended on
us in the next moment.

Fuck.

I threw myself into the melee, slashing and
tearing, using everything I could to ensure maximum damage.

We needed to retreat. Even if we were able
to get through this wave, there was a lot more where it came
from.

I let out my own howl, the taste of fresh
blood coating my mouth and throat.

Then I started making my way back.

Everyone but Xavier fell in around me and we
pushed forward as a group.

We had somehow managed to put everyone down
except for two. They hung back now as they saw us retreating,
probably waiting for more reinforcements so they'd have a better
chance.

I took stock of us as I pushed us forward
faster. There was no way we could keep fighting at this pace. If
fresh wolves showed up now, we couldn't take them.

I pushed us harder, not wanting to lose
anyone.

My heart hurt as I thought of Sofia still
back there, trapped.

But staying and dying wasn't a good way to
help her.

We burst out of the trees, the road
sprinting distance away. We needed to get into our cars and
hightail it out of here, regroup, and try again.

But I froze as I caught sight of the car, my
heart leaping in my chest.

Then I ran the rest of the way.

Changing as I got there, I pulled Sofia into
a hug.

“
How did you get out?” I
asked, pulling back and looking her up and down.

She looked fine. Some bruises and scratches,
but nothing crazy.

“
Well, you guys were
making so much noise, my guards were distracted. Bar and I put them
down and made a run for it.”

That's when I noticed Bar's much shorter
frame a couple of feet away. She gave me a sloppy salute.

“
We better head out before
they realize something's missing,” she said lazily, her eyes sharp
on the trees.

“
Right.”

Giving myself a mental slap, I got into the
driver's seat and Griffith and the girls piled in while the other
guys got into their car.

I started up the car and drove away.

I glanced at my rear view mirror to find a
massive wolf standing in the middle of the road behind us, slowly
getting smaller.

Manny.

Looking away, I pushed down on the
accelerator.

Chapter 3

Griffith

We got a good distance away before Reina
would stop to put on some clothes.

“
So...Griffith.”

I turned back to look at Sofia.

It was a trip seeing her as a grown woman.
She looked so much like Reina that you'd have to be blind not
realize they were related.

“
Yeah?”

“
You and my sister have a
thing going?” she asked with a raised brow.

Bar snorted.

“
Sofia. Shut up,” Reina
said, getting back into the driver's seat fully clothed.

“
Why? I think you guys
should make up for lost time.”

“
You really want to go
there? Want me to delve into
your
personal life?”

“
Yes,” Bar said perking
up.

“
No,” Sofia said at the
same time, giving Bar the side eye.

She just shrugged and sat back with a wink
and a smile.

Hmm. Looked like someone might be
interested.

Reina shook her head as she stepped on the
gas pedal again.

Xavier's turnaround was like an itch I
couldn't scratch. Why didn't he just turn us in earlier?

“
Do you know a Xavier?” I
asked Bar, looking in the rear view mirror to see her face. “Blond,
dark eyes, on the slim side, about five eleven?”

“
Don't know about the
name, but sounds like someone I used to know. Was one of Manny's
henchmen until a year or so ago. Why?”

That was a long game to play.

“
Is that when Xavier
joined the pack?” I asked Reina.

Face tight, she nodded.

“
So it was a trap. Manny
probably figured better to lure you in and take care of the problem
himself than worry about it indefinitely.”

“
And I fell right into
it,” she said disgustedly.

“
Maybe. But you didn't
stay in it. Xavier didn't know the exact location we were going to
until we were there, so their plan wasn't perfect. And they didn't
take Bar into account.”

Reina grunted, but I could tell she was
still beating herself up about it. Though how she could have known
one of her pack mates was actually a plant that had been put in
place a year ago was beyond me.

“
Where are we going?”
Sofia asked, looking out the window with a frown on her
face.

“
Back to our pack,” Reina
said.

“
What?!” Sofia sat forward
urgently, grabbing Reina's upper arm in a vice like grip that
turned her knuckles white. “Stop the car. I'm getting
out.”

“
It's the safest place,
Sofia. Do you really want to be running indefinitely? You know
Manny's going to be looking for you. Even if he doesn't want you,
this will be a blow to his pride and reputation. And dad won't stop
looking either because Manny is going to bring this up as a breach
in their agreement.”

She slowly slumped back in her seat with a
defeated look on her face.

Bar covered her hand with her own smaller
one.

“
Do you have a plan?” Bar
asked quietly.

Reina flexed her hands on the wheel and
nodded.

“
Yes. I'm going to
challenge for Alpha.”

Sofia and Bar both went silent as they
digested this.

I wasn't completely surprised. It made sense
for her to go this route. But hearing it out loud was still a
shock.

Reina, who was the epitome of an Alpha's
daughter, who loved her father and tried to always see the best in
him. She was going to dethrone the zealot.

I looked over at Reina, noting the tight jaw
and the grim set to her mouth.

She would do it. But she wouldn't get any
satisfaction out of it. She was doing it out of pure necessity and
because it was the right thing to do.

Which only made me more proud of her.

“
Good,” I said into the
silence. “He's hurting the pack that he keeps claiming he's looking
after. I'm surprised it's taken this long for someone to take him
out.”

“
Are you sure, Reina?”
Sofia asked, her eyes on her sister's in the mirror. “Yeah, being
chased forever isn't ideal. But I'm willing to give it a go. You
don't have to do this just for me.”

Reina shook her head.

“
Yes I do. And for
everyone else he's run over under the banner of helping the pack.
He isn't a good Alpha. Hasn't been for a long time.” She looked
over at me for a moment. “You were right. I should have listened to
you.”

I shook my head.

“
You weren't ready to take
this step. The alternative would've been you leaving the pack,
which would have hurt them. Without your counterbalance...I know
the pack would have been worse off.” I took a breath and let it out
slowly. “You were right. Maybe not your reasoning, but you staying
was right.”

She looked over at me and nodded, looking
forward again at the road ahead.

“
What if you don't win?”
Sofia asked, her eyes worried. “I've never seen anyone beat dad.
Even in sparring sessions. He's still in his prime. Fast and
strong.”

Reina rolled her shoulders.

“
It's not going to be
easy. But he taught me a lot of what I know. I know how he moves,
how he thinks.” She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. “If I
don't take him down...Griffith? I know you can.”

I looked over at her, surprised.

“
Me?”

“
Yes. You're strong and
smart. You have a conscience. The pack could do a lot worse than
you.” She looked over at me with steady eyes. “I trust
you.”

Well, that hit me right in the heart.

“
You're not going to lose.
A good Alpha is more than just those things. He or she's also a
leader. And whether you see it or not, you're a leader already.
Look at how many people are already naturally looking to you for
guidance. Hell, if you wanted, you could just go claim some new
territory and establish a pack of your own. I'd recommend doing
that, if you didn't need more numbers against Manny.”

“
They didn't have anywhere
else to turn,” she countered, referring to the men who'd already
thrown their lot in with her.

“
Maybe. And maybe they saw
what I see.”

Reina went quiet.

I hoped she understood I meant every word I
said. She was meant for this. If there was any justice or balance
in the world, she'd come out on top.

I tried not to think about the
alternative.

The rest of the drive there was done in a
heavy silence. I didn't know about everyone else, but I'd said
everything I needed to.

By the time we crossed into the pack's
territory, the sun was setting, the sky a brilliant tapestry of
pinks and oranges.

Reina drove straight into the heart of
town.

People turned to stare as we cruised down
the street and stopped in the center.

“
Here?” I asked, looking
around at the familiar buildings.

Not much had changed.

But I had, and that was enough to calm
me.

“
Yes. This needs to be as
public as possible. There can't be any grounds to contest it
later.”

Ideally, we would have had a chance to stop,
rest, and recharge before Reina fought her own father to the
death.

But we didn't have that luxury.

Manny wouldn't stop looking

Taking a deep breath, I followed Reina out
of the car.

Reina

I circled the car and waited in front of
it.

People stood and stared at me, at Griffith,
then at Sofia and Bar as they also stepped out and came to stand
with us.

All we needed to do was wait.

He would already have gotten word that we
were in town. Shouldn't take him long to show up.

My nerves sang as I waited, adrenaline
pumping through my veins and waking me up. My body was a little
battered and bruised, but it was now or never.

I didn't have time for beauty sleep.

A snow white wolf with black markings turned
the corner and trotted down the street toward us.

I'd always thought his coat was a ridiculous
color for blending. At least in this region. But it didn't seem to
handicap him any that I could see.

He stopped about fifteen feet away and
shifted.

In his late fifties, he
had the body of a much younger man. We tended to age slower, so
that was one of the reasons. But he also simply took great care of
himself, always ready to fight.

He was maybe an inch shorter, but he had a
few pounds of muscle on me. His pale skin clung to his ripped body,
his short blond hair light enough to mix in with the white hairs he
was starting to get.

His face was lightly lined, the features a
little craggy but attractive.

The only part of him that I could see in
myself when I looked in the mirror were his hazel eyes. Everything
else Sofia and I'd inherited came from our mother.

“
What are you doing?” he
asked lightly, scanning the streets lined with the pack.

Everyone in the vicinity had gotten the
memo. I'd venture to say the vast majority of the pack looked on as
he spoke to me.