Auctioned Mates Revenge
Chapter 82

Matt's

POV

Lucas was furious, but not angry enough to push me to do anything more than what had been done. I could still taste her on my lips.

Why did you not tell her? Why did you stop me? He roared, She must know us! She must not think we are not mates. Haven't we waited enough? That was a stupid question. Of course, we had.

Everything in me wanted to pull her close, howl, and mark her as soon as she said it, but now wasn't the time. Mordecai was still nearby. The area was crawling with Midnight officers. If that wasn't bad enough, Ben was still too close.

There were too many eyes and too many unknowns around us to think it was safe. She had already been kidnapped because she was important to me. There was no telling what would happen to her if Ben found out we were mates. He'd take her and likely hold her for ransom or worse.

Allowing her to say it in these circumstances had already been risky, but I was pretty confident that no one had been close enough to hear her. We were treading a thin line. When we were safe, and only when we were safe, would I tell her the truth and hope against hope that she would start to trust me more.

Lucas grumbled, wanting to argue, but he settled down.

As soon as we are safe.

I agreed and followed Felix's scent toward the car then beyond it slightly into the woods. Something rustled in the underbrush, and I found him crouched and rocking to himself, a bottle of pills was beside him, and he was smothering his labored breathing in his hands. "Felix?"

"Don't-" He broke off, grunting and curling over himself with a growl and a curse. He collapsed into the dirt with a cry of pain. "F**k."

"I'm getting a paramedic-"

"No!" he scrambled and grabbed my leg. "No, paramedics. No."

His grip was tighter than I expected, almost crushing as if he couldn't control his strength. To my knowledge, Felix couldn't shift. He had the barest connection to his wolf. So much strength should have been impossible, but it seemed that Felix was among the many people hiding thing about himself in my life.

I didn't know how many more revelations I could take tonight let alone this year.

"Please. I can't... No. Just..."

I kneeled to place a hand against his forehead. He was quaking and feverish.

"What did you take? What are these pills?" The bottle was unmarked, but there were enough of them in the bottle that I bet he took them regularly. Between them and the cigarettes, I wondered what the hell Felix was running from.

"I'm fine. I'm fine. I'll be fine-" He grunted and twisted in pain. "Vicious son of a bitch."

I frowned as his voice changed to something between a growl and a rumble. I thought of Joel and how the change had taken over slowly and painfully.

My hands trembled. I hadn't thought of my younger brother consciously in years, but seeing Felix like this pulled at me. He reached out for the bottle and I put them in my pocket.

"Stop fighting it."

"Matt-give me―"

I placed a hand on his head and reached for Lucas who seemed to be growing more invested in caring about Felix's predicament. He'll die.

I shuddered at the thought, "Stop fighting him."

"F**k off, Matt. Just give me-"

"Stop fighting him," I growled, feeling Lucas back my command. Felix froze and twisted. Light rippled over him, furious and red like lightning. Mists swirled and I smelled the faintest scent of the ocean, not like the scent of the Pacific but of the Gulf.

I knew from my experience with Joel that the scent of a werewolf's shift tended to be one related to where they had grown up. Joel smelled like the forests around the Warhammer estate.

Felix told me that he was from the lower east coast, so why would he smell like the gulf? The mists around him were different, hot like a humid day.

As the mists cleared, Felix appeared curled on his side. His clothing hadn't been shredded in the shift. He was about the size of a normal wolf, maybe a little larger with a glossy saber coat.

He groaned and didn't move for a long time. His eyes were glinting brightly like moonlight. I supposed his wolf was always just below the surface since his usually grey eyes took on the same light sometime.

Why would he be fighting the shift so hard?

I placed a hand on his head, stroking softly to keep him calm.

"You did well. It's all right. Can you speak?" He nodded and stiffened, "Stop. Don't try to shift back yet. You'll send yourself into shock."

He relaxed, panting and groaning in pain.

"How long have you been trying to suppress your wolf, Felix?"

"Not Felix," he said, his voice rumbling and his eyes closing. "Touissant. Sleeping."

I almost cursed, recognizing the timbre of his voice. His wolf had taken over. The name gave me pause. It was a bit too elaborate for a wolf's name. A wolf's name tended to have some connection to the human's name.

Joel's wolf's name had been Noel to his embarrassment. Lucas had chosen my middle name for his own because he liked the idea of being on my identification in some way.

I rocked back and sat on the ground contemplating the issue. I couldn't just leave him here.

"Touissant is a vicious son of a bitch," he said lifting his head just enough to look at me with one glowing eye. "He will not wake."

Slowly, he got onto his feet and stretched, looking at me, "He worries about silly things, but will follow your lead. What should I do?"

That was a good question. I sighed.

"Shift back if you can and get dressed. I'm sending you back to the hotel under Warhammer Guard with Tzipporah."

"Our mate?" He growled with contentment. "She is very strong in spirit. And you? Will you take your mate with you?" "How... do you know that?"

He chuckled, "Touissant is silly, but we see more than most."

"Wait, your name isn't Touissant?"

He lifted his head proudly, "I am Yves of Gulf Waves. It is my honor to meet you, Alpha of Warhammer."

Gulf Waves? I remembered that name from the list of fallen packs. For f**k's sake, could this night get any wilder?

It turned out that Yves could not shift back into their human form and Touissant had retreated to somewhere deep in his subconscious for the near future. I grabbed his clothes and led him back to the Warhammer Guard truck before getting Tzipporah inside and sending them off with strict orders to make sure no one saw them and they arrived safely.

They left as I rejoined Renda, pulling her gently to my side and taking her to Gordon, Emoni, and Grayson. Grayson was staring out, bouncing his leg in agitation.

"Would you like to head back to the hotel or with your father?"

She leaned into her father's shoulder, "I think I could use the time with Dad."

Gordon laughed, "What she means is that she wants me to make her pasta like old times."

I laughed, "Well, then you should get on it."

I sent them off with another Warhammer Guard Unit before turning to Mordecai as Ben finally shuffled off. No sooner had he gotten a few steps away, he was on his phone. He slipped into his car before I could hear any of the conversation, but I had a feeling I knew what he was calling about.

"Shall we?" Mordecai asked, grinning. "We've got a bit to talk about before bed I think."

I nodded and led Glenda to the car. I placed her in the backseat before climbing into the passenger seat and wishing more than anything that I was sitting beside her.

The problem was that she fell asleep, leaning against the window before Mordecai had pulled onto the dirt road.

"What do you know about the Gulf Waves and Saber Ridge packs?" I asked, "And try not to bullshit me."

Mordecai laughed, "I don't think I've ever intentionally given you bullshit."

"Your obsession with Emoni withstanding."

He chuckled, "I've always had a thing for blondes."

The words didn't ring false, but they didn't seem true either. There was something he was and wasn't telling me. It was irritating knowing and feeling that a very different sort of wall was up between us now. This was a side of Mordecai I wasn't used to.

"I'm surprised you didn't kill him," I said lightly.

Mordecai laughed, "Oh, little Matt. It seems you'll learn more about me in the coming days than ever. I would never simply kill someone who meant harm to me and mine."

Me and mine. Who did he mean by that?