Beaufort Creek Shifters (10 book series)
The Wolf’s Forced Mate Chapter 15

Tanner

Fire flared in my chest. Edward. Like, her ex-husband. Like, the man who had left her and her child wit Like, the guy who'd knocked her up.

ny support.

White heat flowed through my veins as I dropped my backpack to the ground. Inside were plenty of wa and choked at first, probably shocked by the feeling of cool water. But after a few tries, he drank plen More flames burst in my core as I watched Leah reach for his face. "What the hell happened to you? W He gasped as he set the bottle on the ground. He bowed his head, resting his forehead against the baseah-my mate-continued to stroke his matted hair. What did that dirty human have that I didn't? My canines started to lengthen.

ttles. I grabbed two and handed them over to Leah. She skittered over to the cage and extended the bottle, holding it to the man's lips to drip. He sputtered I they do to you?"

"I...I went..." Edward coughed a few times. The hacks sounded terrible like he had been breathing in dust for several months. "I did leave."

Her hand froze on his head. "What?"

"I chose to leave, Leah. I did it on purpose."

She retracted her hand. "You left me with a toddler, Edward."

"You don't understand. I received a tip from someone about my family."

"Your family?" She shook her head and scooted back. While pulling Inez close to her chest, she whispe He nodded. "They were. They are dead. But my lineage..." He gestured to the cage around him. "Somet My blood ran cold. "You mean like Nathan Hayden? Shelly Hayden?"

Edward focused on me like he hadn't realized I was there. He got a pass because he was out of it. But "You," he rasped. He coughed again. The hack sounded less awful this time. "Your eyes look like the m "We're wolves," I spat. "And you owe us some goddamn respect for abandoning your wife when she needed Regret slipped into his expression. He turned to Leah. "I'm so sorry, Leah. They said not to mention it "Who? Raymond Gilbert?"

thought they were all dead."

do with a family called Hayden."

on thin ice with me about my mate and my daughter.

hey're shining." He pointed to the ceiling. "Like the ones upstairs." you most."

They said you wouldn't understand."

Edward shook out his matted hair. Clumps of it were filled with dirt. The rest of him held a gray sheen like ashes had been dumped all over him. Flakes of it fluttered from his skin as he moved around like a statue just now coming to life after years of being frozen in stone. "Whoever is up there. They wouldn't give me names."

"It's probably Raymond," Veronica reasoned. "He's holding you captive. Have they done anything to you?"

The injured man scratched his head. "Took a lot of blood, actually."

"Why did they do that?" Leah asked. She pitched forward while waiting for his response.

He looked like a goldfish for a second struggling to breathe. Then, he broke into another coughing fit.

"For the sake of the damn gods, man. Drink some more water," I urged. "Take your time."

"We don't have time," Veronica whispered. "We have to get moving. Leah, are we taking him with us?"

That was another slice to my heart. Why the hell would we take the guy with us?

"Yes," Leah blurted. "Yes, we're getting him out of here. Whatever it takes."

I stepped forward. "No, we're not."

Leah stood up and flipped around. "You don't get to make that decision."

"I'm your mate. Or did you forget?"

Edward knelt in the dirt with his hands on the bars. "Ah, it makes so much sense now."

Leah flipped around. "What are you talking about?"

"I didn't inherit the wolf gene. That's what I was told," Edward explained. "But our daughter did. Right?"

I blinked. "She did. She can shift."

"She hasn't. Not in front of me."

Inez popped her thumb into her mouth while staring at her father. The poor girl seemed so confused about why he was in a cage. Feeling her fear made me reach for her. I scooped her into my arms, the slices of my heart sewing back together as she laced her arms around my neck.

My shoulders stiffened when I heard a noise in the tunnel. "We have company. We need to go now." "Leave me here," Edward insisted. "Pneumonia will kill me soon enough. I deserve it for what I did." "Fine by me." I grabbed Leah's hand. "Let's go, princess."

She snatched her hand away. "We're not leaving him. He's coming with us. And that's final, Tanner."

I gaped at her. "I can't believe you right now."

"That's Inez's father in there. That's my ex-husband." She clutched her chest. "Or did you forget that I was once married to a human? I'm not going to abandon him, Tanner."

"He left you."

She nodded. "To seek out information."

"Do you still love him?"

Veronica waved frantically. "Okay, I hate to interrupt this personal episode of Jerry Springer and all, but we really need to go because people are coming."

Leah looked lost. Inez clung to me. My wolf was howling to leave the guy to his fate. He was practically dead already. I mean, he was dead to me.

"The ritual," I said to Veronica. "It cuts off previous ties, right?"

She nodded. "Anything that remained is gone in the blink of an eye. Can we please move the drama outside?"

I turned back to the cage. The guy was really just skin and bones. A skeleton man, as Inez had called him. He was just a haunted memory. What was mercy going to do other than stretch out his inevitable death?

But my mate's heart was going nuts. She insisted on taking him with the very essence of her being. And what she wanted was what I wanted.

Even if I didn't actually want it.

"Fine," I spat. "But he's your problem. Let's go."

Inez held tight to my neck while Veronica and Leah worked at the bars. They kicked the rusty hinges until they gave out and then caught Edward before he could hit the ground. The guy was just dead weight. Literally. He was going to slow us down. But who was I to deny my bratty princess of a mate?

"In here!" came a voice. "I smell them."

Damn it. I curled Inez into my arms and whispered, "Close your eyes."

Veronica helped Leah with Edward.

She tossed the torch toward the center of the room, igniting the wooden stage with flames. "Follow me."

As we drifted deeper into the shadows, three men burst into the room with a huge wolf behind them. The wolf towered over the men, ruining the doorway with its bulky shoulders. Cloudy blue eyes roamed the room-and then landed directly on us. It growled.

One of the men pointed. "Over there!"

I reached back for Leah. She grabbed my hand and held it tight, fury and indignation shooting through her fingertips at me. Whatever. She would get over it.

"Back here," Veronica whispered. A door creaked. "In! Come on!"

As the men pursued us with the giant wolf, we slipped through a smaller doorway. The wolf wouldn't make it. But the two men could easily slide through. We followed Veronica blindly through thick darkness until we busted through a doorway into a greater tunnel. Growls echoed from the right. Inez squeezed me tightly, a small whimper echoing from her. Edward started coughing again.

We were sitting ducks.

Veronica lunged to the right. She halted in her tracks when the gigantic wolf stumbled shakily toward us. His head scraped the ceiling of the tunnel, sending bricks to the ground. Dust spewed all around him as he smacked his yellow teeth, dripping gray saliva and giving off a stench worse than a rotting dump.

I cringed as I cradled Inez, trying to protect her. I couldn't even shift. If I did, then she wouldn't be able to hang on.

"Any ideas?" I grunted. "Anyone at all?"

Veronica cleared her throat. "Allow me."

She kicked one of the bricks on the wall next to us. A split second later, nothing happened.

I glared at her. "Very smart. You set us up, didn't you?"

She shook her head. "Just give it a minute!"

Leah adjusted her grip on Edward, releasing my hand.

I grabbed her, trying to pull her back to me. "Don't let go!"

"I have to help him, Tanner!"

The growls drifted closer, each one promising the eternal pain that came with an enemy fight. None of them would show mercy. Not like how Leah was showing Edward mercy now. And we were all going to pay for whatever she was trying to do. Did she feel guilt? Was she trying to make up for some unspoken sin? It didn't even make sense. He was sick. He was slowing us down.

"Veronica!" I shouted. "What next?"

"Give it a damn minute!" she snapped.

The earth groaned beneath us. It was a deep rumble that resonated through the tunnel, causing the growls to cease abruptly.

That didn't sound great.

I hugged Inez. "What the hell was-?"

Bricks tumbled on either side of us. A huge stone rolled aside where Veronica had kicked the wall. Rocks clattered to the ground, some of them landing on my head. I bowed over Inez to protect her skull. "This way!" Veronica lunged through the opening, yanking Edward after her. "Move!"

More stones fell into the tunnel. A great chasm opened behind me, sending me sprinting after the people lunging into the darkness. The ground gave way. My feet slipped out. I fell forward with Inez in my arms. And then, I screamed.

***

"Tanner!"

A heavy smack to my shoulder made me shoot up from the ground, sending me into a panic. I paced the area, reaching for bodies or people or something to do that would keep my family protected.

My head swam. My vision blurred. My heart raced like it was about to give out.

What was happening?

"Tanner, sit."

I frowned. "What?"

"Sit, boy!"

My feet planted into the earth. "I know you didn't just say that shit to me, Leah."

Leah smirked while grabbing my shoulders. She blushed while trying to get me to lower to the ground. "Sit, please."

"I just said-"

"I heard what you said, you thickheaded fool. Now, sit before you make yourself sick."

I stared at my hands. They were empty. They weren't supposed to be empty. Why were they like that? "Inez." "She's right here."

Inez padded up to me and held out her arms. My features smoothed and my heart warmed over. All I could remember was a huge avalanche of rocks. Why were my shoulders so sore? Had we gotten crushed? Was this heaven for shifters? Veronica stepped into view with a patched-up Neil next to her. Edward was on the ground. Trees sprouted all around us.

We were in a clearing. "What the hell happened?"

A stone well sat to the left. I squinted at it, feeling like it didn't actually belong there. Veronica pointed to the wooden door hidden in the brush next to it. "We came through there. It was a secret exit that Raymond had trusted to me and Mel-" She blinked rapidly while looking away. "Me and an old friend."

"Who got me out?"

Milton trudged through the trees. "Me."

"What happened to the guys that were after us?"

"I sprayed them with fire."

Inez bounced on her toes and made claws with her hands. "Dragon said roar!"

Leah and Veronica chuckled. Milton rolled his eyes. Edward didn't react.

"He alright down there?" I pointed to Leah's ex-husband. "Or we got another dead weight?"

"He's fine," Leah replied flatly. "He wants to be taken into town."

Veronica nodded. "He needs a hospital. He would get there faster if we all piled onto Milton."

Milton wiggled his eyebrows. "Didn't know you had a thing for me."

"Don't mind him. He doesn't have manners," I explained to Veronica. "Besides, he's cursed to be single forever with that attitude."

"Hey, I get laid plenty," Milton claimed.

Leah glared at him. "Would you all watch your language? There's a child here."

Edward groaned. He struggled to lift himself from the ground and peered around, eyes heavy with exhaustion. He laughed maniacally for a second and then fell to his side. "You-" He pointed at me. "C'mere."

I narrowed my eyes but stepped forward, sensing it was important to Leah.

That seemed to be my thing today. Doing things for Leah that I didn't necessarily want to do. But she wanted them. And I wanted what she wanted.

I drew a deep breath and knelt down. "What?"

"Come closer."

I leaned toward him, trying not to react to his body odor. "Speak."

"I'm not a dog," he claimed. "Just a cowardly human. I left my wife." He looked over my shoulder. "Ex-wife. I can see she's found a good person for her. And so quickly."

"So?"

He nodded glumly and then scrubbed his arm. "So, I'm glad she found you. I never did have a paternal side."

I frowned. Part of me was happy to hear this but another part of me felt bad for Inez. "I understand."

He clapped my shoulder lightly. "You'll take care of them both, right?"

"I'll do my best."

"That's all I ask."

It was stunning. This man had been starved for weeks, maybe even months, yet he had the sense of mind to ensure his family's safety. And seeing as he had been kidnapped, I probably had to give him a little credit. I looked at Milton. "Taxi."

Milton sneered. "Don't start."

I smirked. "Come on, the guy is basically about to die. The least you could do is-"

Milton huffed indignantly. "Fine. But I'm going to complain about it mentally so the whole pack can hear it."

"Works for me."

I helped Edward up and hoisted him onto Milton's back, the whole time feeling a hearth-like warmth residing in my center. Honeydew and citrus invaded my nostrils. It lingered with the heat, reminding me of cold winter days spent in front of a fireplace. That was Leah. That was Inez.

That was home.