Reluctantly Lycan (Dakota Wolves Book 1)(17)

       
           



       

"Look at me," he said.

Marala lifted her head, strands of hair falling over her eyes, water  droplets in her thick lashes. She smiled softly, perfectly content to  remain where she was forever.

"Did you mean it or did you say it because we were in the throes of passion? About the bonding? Becoming my wolf?"

"I meant it. Yes." She nodded. "I'm not sure I can spend another full moon killing my emotions with wine and cigarettes.

Kaden held her as he turned to his side, lightly running his hand down  her hips and up along her waist. "Jak told me about your vices the day I  showed him the wolf."

"So you and Jak were talking about me?"

"He's a good kid. Not like how I was at his age."

"If we go through with the bonding and I become a wolf. He's secured as  the next leader, though it will be decades from now. You will keep him  safe." It wasn't a question, but a demand.

"Until my dying breath." He leaned close, kissing the tip of her nose.  "I will protect you, too." Suddenly, he grinned. His serious features  protested, but the expression elevated him from handsome to godly. "You  will be such a beautiful she-wolf. We both know with how you act that  you'll make a great alpha female."

Marala looked up at the sky. The storm had broken up. Only a few clouds  lingered, but a faint glow from the moon highlighted the lovers. "Feels  right, doesn't it?"

"I've never believed in anything more." He watched her with pure  adoration on his face. "We should get you home and cleaned up." Kaden  slipped away from her and stood, stretching, cracking his neck side to  side. Then he scooped Marala into his arms and held her like a newlywed  carrying his wife.

"Kade?"

"Yes, my wa-ya?" he asked, calling her wolf in his ancestral tongue.

"I love you."

"Nothing will keep us apart again," he said with conviction.

~*~

Kaden had placed one foot on the bottom step of his porch when Nashoba  staggered out of his house toward them. Marala was still in Kade's arms  and he held her protectively.

"What the hell happened to you two? You look like you've been wrestling  in the mud." He paused, realizing after he spoke. "Ahh, mating."

"Forget about us, what happened to you? You look like shit," Kaden said,  setting Marala down and making sure she was steady on her feet before  letting go.

Nashoba rubbed the back of his neck. He was groggy and disheveled. "The  human must have stuck me with a dart. He was sleeping on my couch last I  remember. Next thing I know I'm waking up face down on the floor."

Marala placed her hands defensively on her hips. "That's impossible. How would he have had tranquilizers? He was searched."

"Listen lady, he must have stashed some."

Kaden stepped toward Nashoba. "We're still due to rumble and you're  making the ass kicking you're going to receive much worse. Apologize to  my mate and treat her with the respect she deserves."

For a moment, Nashoba looked between Kaden and Marala. "Until the moon, this pack has no alpha female."

Large hands went around the impertinent bastard's throat and Kaden  tackled him to the ground, squeezing firmly. "I should kill you right  now. You think you deserve to be a leader, but you're nothing. Nothing!"

"Stop!" Marala screamed, trying to tug Kaden off of his pack brother.

He jerked his arm to shrug her off, knocking her backward and into the  porch banister. "Do not come between wolves, my love." Immediately, he  released Nashoba and went to her, his eyes full of apology for  accidentally shoving her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, but this fighting isn't helping anyone." She let him check her over even after telling him several times she was fine.

"She's right." Nashoba climbed to his feet less than gracefully. "I haven't tried to track him yet. I couldn't think clearly."

Kaden ran a hand through his still wet hair, slicking it back. "Marala,  go inside and stay with Jak. We're going to see if we can find Taylor."  He turned to walk away, but she grabbed his hand.

"Please, if you truly want the bonding with me, don't kill him. He  wanted to help you find the boy. He asked me to tell you that he might  be able to trace where the darts came from." Marala looked up into  Kaden's eyes. "Trust me. Taylor didn't have anything to do with this."

"I won't harm him unless I have concrete proof he's responsible. He's  only a human. There's no way he could pull this off alone."                       
       
           



       

"Thank you, my alpha."

Kaden wanted to stay, hug her, bathe with her, and hold her the entire  night. Instead, he didn't even glance back when he spoke. "Keep the  doors locked. There's a shotgun underneath my bed. It's loaded."





11


Chasing after girls he was infatuated with always led to bad times.  Taylor should have known better. Still …  his pursuits had never landed  him in this much trouble. Where was he anyway?

The air smelled musty, like leaves and soil. His eyes shot open and he  lifted his arms in the air, fearing he'd been buried alive. But no,  although he was on his back, he could sit up. It took no small amount of  effort. His head throbbed like a marching band had taken up residence  in his skull. The worst hangovers of his college days weren't this bad.

"Hey," a timid voice said.

Taylor jumped, scrambling as far as he could away from the sound. He  could barely see his hand in front of his face. He'd had no idea anyone  was so close. "Damn …  you scared the shit out of me." Feeling around him,  Taylor began to realize he was in some sort of pit or future mass  grave.

"Sorry." The boy sounded fearful. Taylor couldn't blame him. "Who are you?" he asked. "You're not from the pack."

"I'm, uh, a friend of Kaden Dakota." It wasn't a total lie. Okay, so it  was, but Taylor doubted the kid would feel better with the whole truth.  "Are you Mason?"

"Yes." His tone changed a little, grew more hopeful. "Are they searching for me?"

Taylor nodded, though the boy wouldn't be able to see him in the  darkness. "Of course. They haven't had much luck. Not great trackers for  wolves, eh?" He laughed anxiously, but cut it off abruptly when his  headache intensified.

"Don't insult my people. I've seen them follow rabbits and deer for  miles without even using their eyes." Mason sighed. "The guy who took  us, he's smart."

"You've seen him?"

"Not exactly. He wears a leather mask and uses a cell phone app to  distort his voice when he brings me food. It's barely enough to keep me  alive. He's wants me starving when I go through my first shift at the  next full moon. Then he's going to set me loose so I attack the  civilians in the village. The guy hates Kaden," he explained.

Taylor stood up, feeling around to gauge the size of the room. He  deducted it couldn't be more than eight feet in length and width. "He  told you all this?"

"The loser brags about it. He plans on luring the high pack away while I  attack my parents. They'll have to put me down or die themselves."  Mason stopped talking and Taylor could tell he was trying to keep from  crying.

"Hey now, that's not going to happen. You hear?"

"You'll be the first victim. Usually all the male members of the pack  are there for transitions to keep the new wolf in check. Fight with him.  Hunt. I won't kill you on purpose." He choked up again. Now he was  sobbing quietly.

Great. The last thing Taylor wanted to think about was being torn to  shreds by a wolf when he needed to focus on getting out of the hole.  "We'll get out of here. Or they'll find us. Marala will make them. I  think. Not that I know her that well."

"Mara?" He sniffled.

"Right, she was probably gone before you were born. She's the mother of Kaden's son."

"Oh, I know who she is. She's the chosen."

"What?" Taylor asked.

"Kaden and Marala were born the same night under the full moon. It's a  sign. She's the one meant to be the alpha female of the pack. They were  to be bonded, but she left. Some of the pack members say she dishonors  us, but others promised she'd return when the time was right," Mason  explained.

"What the fuck is wrong with you people? That's crazy. I should have  stayed in my cozy little apartment and never came here," he grumbled.

"I'm not sure I believe any of it."

Taylor rested his head against the dirt wall, realizing the pit was far  too deep to climb out of. "Why is it so important to be mated or  whatever?"

"Females are prized because there aren't enough of them. The males that  are chosen by a female have a higher status among us than the unmated.  Bonded males are stronger, more stable. It's like, from what I hear,  you're half a person until you find your mate."