Alyssa's Wolves (Wolf Masters, Book 4) Page 18

  Both men joined her without hesitation, and the three jumped off the porch and took off through the trees.

  Chapter 16

  Alyssa giggled. It wasn’t out loud. It was in her head, and apparently in her mates’ heads also because they turned back to look at her and howled. Her own howl of response sounded strange to her ears, higher pitched and squeakier than her mates’.

  “We’re moving so fast.” Her fur blew back from her eyes with the breeze. The cool weather of the season seemed much warmer in her fur coat.

  “You’ll get used to it,” Tyler communicated. “Eventually you’ll run full force ahead and not even crash into a single leaf. Your vision is so much sharper in wolf form, so you can make better decisions faster.”

  “Assuming there isn’t a hole in the ground,” Michael added with a hint of laughter in his unspoken voice.

  “Ha ha.” Tyler growled playfully in Michael’s direction.

  “Even with a hole, it would be worth it to feel this … freedom.” Alyssa raced between her mates and leaped over a log. “How far can we run without getting exhausted?”

  “You’ll get better over time. Only a few miles this first time. You’re going to sleep like a baby.” Michael slowed down a bit and let her keep pace with him.

  “I was going to sleep like a baby just from the rigorous workout in the cabin.” If she could have winked at them she would have.

  About a mile out, Alyssa knew they should turn back. She was truly going to collapse from the workout. Reluctantly she stopped and turned around. “I guess we’d better head back. I’m getting hungry.”

  The race back was more leisurely. She took the time to look around at her surroundings. The woods were gorgeous, the area so untouched by mankind.

  Assuming there were no other holes to worry about.

  The idea never strayed far from her mind. What if there were more? What if one of them fell in and got seriously injured?

  “We’re right here with you. You’re safe.” Michael’s thoughts proved he was listening to her running inner commentary.

  Soon the cabin loomed ahead, and Alyssa breathed a sigh of relief. She hated to admit defeat, but she couldn’t go much farther.

  They all three leaped onto the porch, and Alyssa plopped her wolf self down on the wood floor. She didn’t even have the energy to shift.

  The men immediately shifted to human form and chuckled at her. Michael rubbed her fur. “I think our little wolf mate is exhausted.”

  Tyler opened the door. “I’m going to get dressed. Relax for a few minutes, and then you’ll have the energy to shift back.”

  “Okay. Just leave me here to nap. I’m good.” Alyssa couldn’t hold her eyes open, but she loved the idea of resting on the porch. The chilly weather was perfect for her in her wolf form.

  “I’ll make sandwiches. Your stomach will bring you inside when it starts to growl.” Michael stepped around her and left the door ajar.

  Alyssa let her heart rate slow as she breathed through her nose. This was the best day of her life. Nothing could improve upon it. Nothing could ruin it.

  After about twenty minutes, Alyssa smelled food. Her stomach growled, and she pulled herself up and nudged the door open. It seemed wrong to shift outside. Once she’d entered the cabin, she easily changed back and pulled her naked self to standing.

  Alyssa was worn out, but in a good way. Some food, some sleep, and she’d be good as new. She’d have to be to keep up with Michael and Tyler.

  Both men stood in the kitchen in just their jeans. Even their feet were bare.

  “You’re gorgeous, love. Want a sandwich?” Michael held up a tempting, thick, layered pile and nodded.

  “Yes. But let me grab some clothes.”

  “Don’t feel you must on our account.” Tyler chuckled, his words and his laughter muted by his mouthful of food.

  Nevertheless, Alyssa slipped on her own jeans and grabbed her sweater from the floor.

  It was still chilly in the cabin. She didn’t need to freeze just because two men wanted to ogle her body.

  As soon as Alyssa had scarfed down her gigantic sandwich, she looked around the room. “Did we bring everything in?”

  “No. I got distracted by something. There are still a few bags in the truck.” Michael closed up the bread and put the lunchmeat and cheese back in the cooler.

  “I’ll go grab a few things. I don’t think my bag is in here.” Alyssa turned to the door.

  Tyler plopped on the couch. “What do you need? We don’t care if you spend a few days naked.” His teasing voice followed her out the door.

  Alyssa’s mind was preoccupied with a dozen things as she stepped onto the porch. A hand landed on top of her and another one covered her mouth. Her eyes shot open wide. Fear made her body go instantly rigid. Her ears rang as though she were under water. What the hell was happening? Her lax body, sated from sex and running and food, shot alert with adrenaline. It coursed through her veins and made her skin tingle.

  “Going somewhere?” The gravelly voice was low and distinct. Where had she heard it before?

  Alyssa’s heart beat nearly out of her chest. She gripped the hand across her face and tried to pry it loose. Her eyes widened as far as possible, but she couldn’t see the face of her attacker. He was behind her. Her gut clenched at the smell of his hand over her mouth. Foul. Disgusting. Making her want to vomit.

  The man smelled like he hadn’t bathed in days.

  Alyssa screeched against the hand, but only a muffled sound escaped her lips. “Michael. Tyler.” She screamed through their connection.

  The front door flew open, but her assailant was backing away with her in tow.

  “What the fuck?” Michael yelled. He leaped down the two steps and ran toward them but stopped short before he made it more than a few steps.

  Alyssa had no idea what made him halt until she heard the cock of a gun.

  “Don’t move an inch, or she dies.”

  “What do you want, Alfred?” Tyler came up next to Michael and put a hand on his shoulder.

  “You know him? Wait? Alfred?” Alyssa’s chest pounded. Her Oklahoma pack leader’s right-hand man? That Alfred? She hadn’t seen the man in over two years. What the hell was he doing here now? He could have taken her plenty of times in the past. Why now?

  Another voice joined the first from behind, and Alyssa’s skin crawled. “We came for you, actually, Tyler. But this is even sweeter.” The second voice belonged to Judas, Alfred’s partner. Alyssa would recognize that tone anywhere, even after two years.

  Alfred chuckled next to Alyssa’s face. His breath stunk as bad as his hand. “I’m pretty sure we can take this little slice of heaven with us, and you’ll follow like a good little puppy all the way home. That way we can enjoy her company to the fullest and not even have to dirty our hands with you.” Alfred started backing up, his gun held at her temple. The cold of the barrel chilled more than just her face.

  “Are you crazy?” Tyler shouted. “She’s mated to us. What do you think you’re going to do? Return her to that polygamist bastard in Oklahoma?”

  Alfred laughed so loud he even buckled, leaning forward and scaring Alyssa to death that he might accidentally shoot her. “That’s rich. You think we care who’s shagged this little pretty? Hardly. Won’t change a thing for us. I’m sure her pussy will still spread just as wide for the two of us as it does for the two of you.”

  Alyssa froze. They planned to rape her? She really was going to vomit now. Her stomach revolted, clenching into itself.

  Judas spoke again from behind. “She’s just a tiny little thing. I don’t think we’ll have any trouble. We can take turns holding her down while the other one fucks her. I bet her pussy’s real nice and tight.”

  “If you lay even one hand on her, so help me God…” Michael inched forward. Alyssa kept her gaze on the advancement of his and Tyler’s bare feet.

  “What do you think you’re going to do? Back your way out of the woods?” Tyler
glanced at Alyssa’s face, but she couldn’t read his expression. “Stay calm, Ali. We’re going to get you out of this.”

  “Hell no. We’re going to take your truck. You were kind enough to leave the keys inside. I should thank you for that. We have a car, asshole, but your truck is sweet.” A tinkling sound from behind let Alyssa know Judas held the keys.

  “Alyssa, when I count to three, I want you to go completely slack so that you slip out of his grasp and land on the ground. Got it?” Michael kept his gaze on her attackers while he spoke to her. “Tyler, you grab Judas. I’m going to shift and go for the gun hand.”

  Fear froze Alyssa. Could they get out of this mess?

  “Keep them talking, Tyler, so their attention is diverted to you.” Michael took another step closer.

  “Fredrick sent you to get me? Why the hell would he do that?” Tyler was just doing Michael’s bidding, but Alyssa knew he truly was perplexed.

  “Our leader had big plans for you. You thwarted him when you left. He’s mighty pissed now. And he’s going to be even angrier when he finds out why you left.” The gun Alfred held relaxed marginally against Alyssa’s face. The cold metal bit into her cheek.

  “Plans? What plans? He hasn’t ever paid one moment of attention to me, and there aren’t even enough women left for him to mate me with.”

  Nothing made sense. Why on earth would Fredrick send these goons to get Tyler?

  Alfred chuckled again as though Tyler were dense. “You don’t think he left you alone for the last six years working on that finance degree for nothing do you? He needed your skills, man. Now he’s just pissed.”

  “Skills?”

  “What are you, a parrot?” Alfred’s laughter vibrated through Alyssa’s cheeks where he held her.

  “How did you find us?” Tyler asked. Then he spoke to Alyssa and Michael. “What are you waiting on, Michael?”

  Judas laughed hard. “You are too easy. God, all we had to do was wait for you to leave the house and follow you. Nice of you to head straight for this isolated cabin. We appreciate it.”

  “How did you know I was here in Oregon?”

  “We followed you from home, asshole.” Alfred laughed again as though this were all so entertaining. “Fredrick didn’t trust you. It was a bit too coincidental that you flew through town announcing that Alyssa was mated and then left again. That man is sharp. He didn’t even think you would go to Colorado at all. Kinda surprised us when you did, but then you kept right on going north the next day.”

  “Why did he send me to check on Alyssa in the first place?”

  Alfred’s sardonic chuckle made Alyssa clench tighter. “He was just checking your loyalty.”

  “My loyalty? To who? To what?” Tyler stepped forward.

  “To the pack, dimwit. To the team.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” Tyler stopped moving when Alfred stepped farther away, dragging Alyssa with him. She had to move her feet swiftly to keep up.

  “Wells suspected for years that you were Alyssa’s true mate. He saw the way you looked at her even when you were young.”

  “What? That’s crazy. How could he know that, and I didn’t?” Tyler spoke, but Alyssa wondered the same thing.

  Alfred continued. “You were just kids. It easily wouldn’t have occurred to either of you, but you were drawn to her. You even pushed her on the swing at recess when she was a small kid. Kinda weird when a nine-year-old boy helps out a kindergartner he barely knows.”

  Tyler gasped. His brow was furrowed. Alyssa had no recollection of this story, but why would she? She’d been so young. Apparently Tyler hadn’t been any more aware than she had.

  Alfred pressed the barrel of the gun into her temple. “When the bitch ran off and didn’t do as she was told, it left her open to any possibility. This never would have happened if she’d have mated Dwight as intended. You two never would have known what fate had in store.” Alfred spat on the ground, disgusting Alyssa and making her squeeze her eyes shut against his spittle.

  He continued. “And if she’d truly mated Michael two years ago, it also would have changed the tide. Wells sent you to see if you would fall for her. As soon as you graduated, he had plans within the pack for you. It was a test really. If you had returned and joined the team, Fredrick would have known the threat had ceased to exist, and you would have become a loyal player. Or, if Alyssa hadn’t mated yet, there was still the possibility you would have claimed her and returned to the fold with her in tow. That would have been sweet. Bring the bitch back into the pack and satisfy your carnal needs at the same time. Wells wouldn’t have had to deal with you wanting a mate at some point.

  “Instead, you took off and never returned. We were sent to ensure you were on the up and up. Appears you were not.”

  A light bulb went off in Alyssa’s head. True mates could be thwarted. If one of them had been mated earlier, they never would have realized they belonged together. Oh, God. She pinched her eyes closed, imagining the way things could have turned out. If Michael hadn’t gone to Spain… If Tyler hadn’t returned from Oklahoma… Or worse, if she had mated Dwight…

  She whipped her gaze toward Tyler. He’d given up everything to make this happen. Sex alone hadn’t caused them to become mates. Tyler and Michael had also literally “claimed” her. With their bodies and their minds.

  All eyes must have been trained on Tyler. That’s when Michael made his move. In a flash, he counted, “one, two, three,” and shifted in record speed.

  Alyssa let every muscle in her body go slack, which was no easy feat under the circumstances, and slithered to the ground.

  Alfred didn’t have enough of a hold on her to keep her upright and was taken off guard. In a flurry of motion, Michael leaped through the air and sank his jaws into the arm holding the gun. A shot went off, but Alyssa thought it went wild. No one seemed to be hit.

  She crawled on all fours to get out from under the fight. In a stroke of luck, the gun landed about two feet from her, and Alyssa grabbed it and crouched down beside the cabin.

  Long hair hung across her face, making it difficult to see. She sat on her butt a few yards away and brushed the tangled strands from her eyes with her free hand.

  Michael had wrangled Alfred to the ground and sat on top of him, but Tyler was still wrestling with Judas. For an older guy, that man was in good enough shape to hold his own.

  Suddenly, three wolves bounded out of the trees and entered the fray. Alyssa gasped and then heaved in relief when she recognized the dark rich fur of the Masters’ pack. Two of them knocked Judas to the ground and held him while the other one set a giant paw on Alfred’s chest.

  One by one the wolves shifted into human form and secured Fredrick’s lackeys with long lengths of rope.

  Justin spoke first. “I get the feeling we need to start carrying rope around with us as a habit.” He jested, but no one laughed.

  “You okay?” Michael jogged over to help Alyssa off the ground. When she nodded, he peeled the gun from her fingers and turned to his brothers. “How did you know?”

  “Amy.” Justin grabbed Alfred by the arm and jerked the rope tight behind him. “I think we’re going to have to take your truck.” He nodded at the only vehicle.

  “Wait, what did Amy have to do with anything?” Michael wrapped his arm around Alyssa and took a few steps toward Justin.

  “She came to the house about an hour ago to tell us she’d talked to her father. Turns out he did dig that hole in the woods. It was a long time ago, but the important thing is it’s the only one.”

  “What does that have to do with these two bastards?” Michael motioned toward Alfred and Judas where Charles and Ryan had set them on the ground. The two men were grumbling about being outnumbered and innocent.

  “Not a thing,” Justin continued. “It was just a coincidence. On her way to visit her father she saw you three heading up here toward the cabin. She also saw these two jokers on your heels. When she casually mentioned that fact, we knew
something was up. No one heads up that road except to get to the cabin, and I’m quite sure you didn’t invite company to join you.” Justin chuckled and glanced at Alyssa.

  “Where’s their car?” Alyssa glanced around. “They must have stashed it somewhere.”

  “Good point.” Justin glanced toward the edge of the trees. “I’ll find it. We can take their damn car and leave you this one.”

  “What are you going to do?” Alyssa looked at the two men she’d known her whole life and felt nothing but nausea. She knew her pack leader was behind the entire thing, and she felt sorrow for her family and friends left behind to deal with his highhanded ways. He was so desperate to get Tyler that he sent someone to kidnap him? It didn’t seem reasonable.

  Justin cleared his throat. “I’ve personally had about enough of these two. This is the third time they’ve come into our territory with only bad intentions.” He glanced down at the bastards squirming under his control. “I’m surprised Wells still has you two working for him, since you can’t seem to get anything right. First you killed Jessica’s parents and fled without her. Then you show up to kidnap Alyssa and fail. Third times a charm?” Justin raised an eyebrow as if the question needed answering. He shook his head.

  Justin turned to address Alyssa. “We’re going to drive the assholes up north to Seattle and leave them with the Northwest Area Pack Council. Let them deal with them. I doubt they’ll see the light of day for quite some time again, if ever.”

  There’s a pack council? Alyssa had no idea. She wondered what happened when wolves had squabbles with other wolves. It wasn’t as though you could simply turn them in to the human authorities. What would you say?

  “You can’t do that,” Judas muttered. “We’re expected back tomorrow.”

  “Guess you should have thought of that earlier, before attempting to kidnap two of our pack members.” Charles swatted Judas on the head.

  “They aren’t your members. They’re ours. We are just retrieving our own people.” Alfred ducked to avoid getting swatted himself. “Why would you want these two youngsters anyway?”