Caleb’s [POV]
“…hole,” Ren muttered, stabbing her fork into her scrambled eggs while I glowered at her and ate my breakfast.
Silently.
I was so pissed I could barely think straight, but at least Ren was here, she was safe, and no one would ever hurt her again or take her from me.
“…dickhead. Don’t…” she kept muttering, the sound of her angry sniffles turning my heart to mush even as I simmered inside and cursed my bear.
He bit her. I still couldn’t believe he’d bitten her and claimed her, and even if some part of me was glad, I was stewing with repressed fury over the lack of choice I had.
Grumbling, I ate my breakfast and tried not to make things worse because the truth was, I didn’t want to hurt Ren more than I already had. We were mated now, and there was no going back. I just needed to find a way to get past this and accept it.
When a phone rang, Ren jumped up to answer it, and then she cried out in pain before running, so suddenly it took me a second to realize what was happening. Stalking to the counter where she’d dropped her phone, I lifted it to my ear and growled.
“Who is this?” I demanded, frowning when I heard my truck rumble to life and peel out of the driveway.
“Oh, Caleb. It’s Lacy. Ren needs to come now. There isn’t much time.” a female cried.
I didn’t say anything. I just dropped the thing and turned, my feet hitting the dirt outside in mere seconds. I was fast, faster than most males in the pack, and when I reached the little house where Ren’s grandma lived, Ren was rushing inside.
“Ren!”
“I can’t. Not now. Oh, Jesus.” She sobbed, running through the front door and leaving me to follow.
I did, unable to stand the sight of her tears. Rising, I followed and was brought up short when I reached a bedroom to find Ren on her knees beside a bed, sobbing over a frail-looking older female.
“Oh, Christ.” I groaned, my eyes burning when I scented what was happening.
Dying. This old female was dying, I realized, my heart stuttering when I saw her smile sweetly and run a wrinkled hand over Ren’s bent head.
“Don’t leave me, Grammy! Please. Please don’t. I can’t…you’re all I have.” Ren sobbed, her blue eyes streaming tears, while Lacy Baneblood smiled and shook her head.
“Oh, honey, it’s okay.”
“No, it isn’t. You’re all I have, and I don’t want to be alone. Please don’t leave me all alone.” Ren begged, her sobs turning to sniffles.
I couldn’t move while heartache filled me because the scent in the small room was undeniable, and no matter how Ren felt, this was happening. I hated it, and seeing my mate so hurt, so alone, twisted something within me.
“You’re not alone.” Lacy chuckled, her rheumy blue eyes lifting to meet mine.
When she smiled, a soft tilt of her lips, I swallowed hard and stepped forward, realizing how wrong I had been. I wouldn’t come here before to meet her, stubborn pride and anger keeping me from caring about yet another person. I should have, should have been here with Ren all along, and I felt so ashamed of myself, my eyes filled with tears when she reached up a hand to me.
Taking it, I felt how close she was to death, and I hated it.
“Oh, I’m so glad you’re here.” She murmured, giggling when Ren’s head shot up, and she finally saw me.
“Me too.” I rasped, squeezing her hand while staring right into Ren’s eyes. “Should have come to a while ago, though.”
“Well, you’re here now, and I’m so grateful. I wanted to thank you, son, for looking after my Ren and making sure she’s safe. I’m so happy she has you, and she won’t be alone. Do me a favor, don’t let that family of hers get their claws into her again. If her mama’s back, she wants something, and that’s never a good thing.”
“I won’t,” I vowed, giving Ren a soft look when she sniffled again and clutched Lacy’s hand.
“Good. That’s so good. I can go, be at peace now that I know my baby’s got you and those strapping brothers.” She sighed, her smile turning softer when Ren choked on a cry and tried to smile. “You gonna help me now, honey? I think I’d like you to see me off to the great yonder.”
“Grammy, I…” Ren choked, her eyes filling with fresh tears, while Lacy smiled and shook her head.
“I’m ready, Ren-girl. Been ready to go see your granddaddy for a while now. Just wanted to know if you were going to be okay before I went home. See me home, honey. And then go live your life.” She whispered, clutching at both of our hands before she sighed and closed her eyes.
I knew the minute Ren connected to her. I felt it in the air, and it made me feel like the worst kind of fool for rejecting this part of her when I sensed just how loving and peaceful Ren’s knowing was. It wasn’t intrusive. This wasn’t meant to take, and as I watched her stiffen and slump down on the bed, the soft peace of Lacy’s presence gone in a blink, I knew I needed to do better.
Gathering Ren close, I lifted her and cradled her close, crooning softly. Soothing her as best I could, I made peace with what was happening. Ren was mine, and even if it scared me, I owed this female a part of myself.
I just needed to figure out how to give it.
Ren’s [POV]
I was shattered.
It was the only way to describe how I felt as I puttered around the kitchen, sad and lonely as I tried not to think about Grammy. I was mostly okay. I mean, I saw her off and watched her go with Gramps, so I wasn’t sad for her. This grief was more about me and knowing I wouldn’t see her smile or hear her voice and just have her close.
Sighing because I couldn’t think about the loss without tearing up, I tried to keep busy by tidying up. It didn’t work, and before I knew it, I was thinking about Caleb again. After Grammy passed, he was so great. So present and unlike the angry man I first met. But as Caleb was wont to do, he eventually got spooked and pulled away again, and now he was working for the pack so much I hardly saw him.
“What a happy mating.” I scoffed, hating the derision in my tone because it wasn’t me.
Doll, seriously, if you weren’t snide or snarky, I’d think you were losing it. No one can blame you for not silver lining this.
“No. I don’t suppose they could.” I mumbled, smiling sadly but frowning when I heard a noise outside and peered out through the window.
Sensing something, I felt my nape prickle, and something, some knowing, told me I needed to call Caleb. It was so strong that I didn’t fight it, and as I lunged for the phone, sudden, overwhelming terror filled me.
My wolf was screaming at me now, howling that I needed to get help, but as I lifted the phone to call, I felt a sharp pain in my head and cried out.
It burst through me as a sharp blow to the back of my skull, and I knew I had been hit from behind as my knees buckled and everything went dark. My body crumpled, my knees turning to jelly, and then I was sinking to the floor as darkness overtook me.
Caleb’s [POV]
“If you’re here to lecture me, don’t,” I warned as I got out of my truck and walked up to the porch where my brothers were waiting.
It was past midnight, I was tired and frustrated by the Joe Carver case and plain irritated with myself. In the weeks since Grammy passed on, I had been flailing so badly I’d done the one thing I always seem to do when things got hard. I was running, my inability to help Ren through her grief making me feel like such a failure. I hated myself.
We were mated now, and I was getting over that, but more than that, Ren and I were friends. Or we used to be. Now, things were awkward and hard, and I knew it was all on me because I had no idea how to deal with this. Joyce was easy. As long as I gave her what she wanted and kept her in designer clothes, she was happy, and I didn’t have to make any real effort.
With Ren, it was different. She didn’t like designer things, would scalp me if I spent that much money on anything, and didn’t seem to care about status. I had no clue how to make her happy, and that, more than anything, was throwing me off.
“Then stop being an ass. Look, man, we love you, but you must be dumb as a stump if you’re willing to ruin this before you’ve even started.” Trey said, scowling when I growled and glared at him.
I still hadn’t gotten over the fact that he wanted to mate my Ren, and I didn’t know that I ever would. Some of it was jealousy, a sick slide of disgust as I looked at him and wondered if he wouldn’t have been better. He was suave, stylish, and always smiling. Maybe Ren would have been better off with him.
“Don’t. I’m tired, and all I want to do is go to sleep.”
“With your mate?” Cole asked, smirking when I flinched because we all knew Ren slept in the guestroom.
“Fuck off.” I huffed, frowning when I realized the house was dark. “Ren asleep?”
“Don’t know. Must be. We didn’t knock, seeing as we didn’t want to intrude.” Cole said, shrugging when I unlocked the door and stepped inside.
“Well, you’re not invited-”
I stopped talking as I shuffled inside, my bear letting off a dark growl before I sniffed and realized something was very, very wrong.
“Is that blood?” Trey yelled, rushing in ahead of me before I could move, my body growing tense.
“Blood.” Cole gasped when we got to the kitchen, the only room in the house that was lit.
“Ren. Ren!” Trey yelled, rushing by us to storm up the stairs while I knelt on the floor near the sink and felt my blood turn to ice.
There was a lot of blood, and I didn’t need to sniff it to know it belonged to my mate. Growling, I twisted my head to sniff again, and when I caught a scent, a faint something, I threw my head back and roared.
More importantly, my bear roared and started to vibrate so strongly that I felt as if my blood was on fire.
Mine, it snarled, the murderous rage writhing through me, a shock, as I felt the full force of an animal, I hadn’t thought much of in years. Strong, I realized, my heart pounding as my teeth ground together. He was so fucking strong I felt like I was going to explode out of my skin when he roared again and started to whine.
It was the sound of heartbreak, and I felt it lash through me with the fear that was taking hold. Someone took my mate. Someone hurt her, and I could lose her. Forever. Roaring again, I dropped my chin to my chest and growled through the anger and self-hatred.
“She isn’t upstairs!” Trey growled, running back into the kitchen where Cole was kneeling beside me and yelling into his phone.
“I don’t know, Walker. There’s a lot of blood and a slight scent, but it isn’t strong. Whoever took her knows what he’s doing, man. No! Fuck, he’s already starting to lose it. You need to get out here now and call the males to start scouting the woods. Everyone!” he yelled into the phone, sounding panicked.” Caleb, brother, hold on.”
But I couldn’t. I couldn’t think clearly as my bear paced in my mind, his growls turning anguished when it all hit me. I loved Ren. Jesus. I loved that female, and she was gone. Someone fucking took her from me, and she could be-
“She’s not dead. Don’t think it.” Cole barked, his hand tightening on my shoulder when I groaned, the old stirrings of hopeless rage trying to come forth.
Been here before, but this time, it wasn’t pride or anger or the hopelessness that came with rejection. What hit me was the loss, and I knew Ren was gone. I wouldn’t just go feral. I would die. I wouldn’t want to live, wouldn’t want to continue because, without Ren, nothing mattered.
“Oh, Jesus. I didn’t tell her.” I choked, agony coursing through me.
“You will. You will when we find her. We’re going to find her, and she’s going to be okay.” Trey whispered, his eyes turning a dark, nearly navy blue when I met his stare.
They couldn’t hide his panic, though, and even as I nodded, I felt fear slam into me.
I was panicked, too, and my mind raged, racing, screaming at me to find Ren. When I felt a hand on my shoulder, I turned to see Walker leaning over me, his stare hard and intent. Realizing I had been sitting here in a daze and silently staring at Ren’s blood on the floor, I shook myself and swallowed a growl.
“We have males all over the territory, and even the pack females are out scouting. We’ll find her, Caleb.” He said softly, yanking me up and keeping me standing when my knees buckled.
“Someone hurt her.” I grated from between clenched teeth, the haze of grief lifting now as my bear got angrier and demanded action.
“I know. Thought it was the Sheppard brothers, but they were as pissed as I was. Trust me, whoever did this is in a world of trouble. They’re out there now, helping the Enforcers scent a trail-” Walker muttered, his words dying when four males rushed in, took one look at the blood on the floor, and paled.
“If you did this-” I snarled, my body vibrating with the need to shift and tear them apart.
“It wasn’t us. I swear. Fuck man, we stopped bugging Ren a few weeks back when we realized how wrong we’d been.” Josh Sheppard sighed, his mouth growing tight with guilt before he swallowed and met my eyes. “We should never have…I was just so pissed after Shane and mama, she kept going and going and going until we all lost it. Took me a while to realize that even if Ren had killed that asshole, he deserved it.”
“Yeah. Didn’t think about it too clearly until I mated last month.” Brock Sheppard mumbled. “Then all I could think about was my mate being hurt and harassed, and it all came crashing down.”
“What he did was wrong, and we were even worse for not helping her.” The youngest Sheppard spat, his jaw tight. “We should have kicked his ass instead of letting him do what he did. The way he made her live in that trailer in the middle of nowhere and work two jobs when he could afford to take care of her better…”
They all shook their heads and cursed when they saw the blood again.
“Why are you telling me this? Why now?” I demanded, still wanting to kill them as Cole and Trey stepped up beside me, thrumming with rage.
“Because that scent y’all can smell but can’t place? That’s a Tracker scent.”
“What?” Cole asked, sounding astounded.
“We know that kind of scent. Shane had it too. He’s a Tracker. Always could make his wolf mask his scent. It’s how he was able to surprise Ren the night he tried to kill her.” Josh says softly, his jaw ticking while mine grinds down to withhold a roar.
“You’re telling us he could keep his scent hidden? Are you saying whoever took her is a Tracker too? Fuck!” Cole yelled, losing it because this was bad.
And it got worse when Josh Sheppard shook his head and met my gaze.
“No. I’m telling you a Tracker took her, and I know this because we recognize the scent, Caleb. It’s Shane’s scent.” He said softly, his jaw ticking when I frowned.
“It can’t be. He’s dead.” Walker scoffed, but he was pale too.
“Never did confirm I saw Shane’s body in the gorge,” Josh said softly, grimacing when my bear rumbled out a growl. “It’s Shane’s scent. I’d know that stench anywhere, and if he has Ren…”
Throwing my head back, I howled.
And then I prayed because this animal had my mate, and there was no telling what he was going to do with her.