Dark Fates (A Paranormal Anthology)(55)

His mate had a mouth on her, and he really, really liked it. If she were a werewolf, he’d take the opportunity to show her just how dominant he could be by grabbing her, shoving her over his shoulder, finding a private place, and having his wicked way with her. Humans were different. But he couldn’t help smirking at her response.

“Well, Miss Mouthy, the story goes that there was a beautiful woman named Lily. She was abused by some of the men of her village who chased her out into the woods and did terrible things to her.” He had never actually told this story before. His mother had told it to them several times over the years, but saying it aloud really reinforced how brutal the whole thing was.

It didn’t take a lot of imagination to picture Chelsea lying on that ground. What happened next suddenly made a lot more sense than it ever had before.

“What happened to her?” She crossed her arms in a defensive position. Was she also seeing what he saw?

“The moon was high in the sky. She lay dying.” He cleared his throat. “And then she got noticed by three Alpha wolves. They fell in love with her, felt her pain as their own, and begged the moon to make them men so they could protect her, love her, and punish the men who had harmed her.”

She blinked rapidly. “That story sounds so familiar to me.”

“Do you know it from the time you can’t remember? Is it coming back to you?” How much easier would everything be if she just suddenly remembered?

“No. Maybe I heard someone tell the doctors at the place where I stayed.”

He nodded. That was possible. Of course the only one who knew the story were Wolves. Did the True Believers have Wolves captive, or were their wolves working with them? There were so many questions.

She spoke quietly. “The Moon gave it to them. Humanity, of sorts. And they took their girl, and they lived happily ever after.”

“Well, one of the Alphas did. The other two, they say, went on and found their own mates.”

A crooked grin crossed her face. “Then I guess it’s fair to say you guys have been inter-mating since moment one?”

He laughed, surprised by the sudden sound. “You’re right. No purebreds among us.”

“And now you want to mate with me.”

“Yes. But only if you want to.” He leaned close enough so she could feel his warmth. “And it’s my job to make you want it.”

Her sudden intake of breath, the subtle shift of her scent to a stronger scent, and the way her pupils dilated told him she wasn’t immune to his words. She did want him. It was just early in the process.

A knock sounded on the door behind him. “That would be Dan with the clothes I sent him out to buy you. If you give him the black dress you stole that I know you don’t remember doing, we’ll get it back to the dry cleaner somehow. Eat your breakfast. Then we’ll talk again. I want to show you something.”

He turned his back. A thought dawned on Hayden, and he turned around one more time. “And if you decide to run, I will track you and find you. You’re not a prisoner here. You can come and go as you like, always. But you have to come back. Because the second I met you, you changed the game for me. I know it’s too much for you to understand at this point and not fair for me to tell you this yet, but you are my whole life. You’re not alone anymore. You have me and my entire pack with you. Always.”

One lone tear slipped down her cheek. “I don’t even know anyone’s name yet. How can they possibly think of me that way? I’m just some human girl who can’t remember anything that happened yesterday. I don’t belong here.”

Hayden crossed to her in two steps. He wiped his finger down her cheek, and she shivered beneath his touch. “You’ll learn everyone’s name soon enough. They’ll tell them to you over and over until you can remember all of them. But, as for just being some human girl who can’t remember things, well, I guess I can say one thing about that. We’re a pack full of misfits here. A group that was, at one time, so unwanted that most of our fellow werewolves didn’t even know we existed. You’ll fit right in here, sweetheart. I can promise you that.”

She was his. She’d belong wherever he did. Forever.





Chapter Four


The clothes Hayden’s pack mate had bought her were slightly too big. But she’d lost so much weight over the last year that Chelsea found it hard to wear anything that didn’t hang on her slightly. Certainly, the doctors hadn’t made much of an effort to find her garments that fit. She bit down on her lip. Maybe they weren’t real doctors.

It was hard to think about the last few years without wanting to wince. She’d known they had an objective beyond studying her visions and forgetfulness. And it all had to do with killing werewolves. She’d kept her head down and pretended that the whole thing was so odd it couldn’t be true.

Better to live in their facility than homeless on the street never knowing what was going to happen from one moment to the next.

She wandered through the vines with Hayden. He didn’t seem to be in any particular hurry. They weren’t in harvesting season—she’d evidently just missed that—and he talked a great deal about the grapes, like someone else might wax philosophic about the future of their children.

Chelsea couldn’t help her grin.

“What are you smiling at? Did I say something funny?” The afternoon sun hit from behind leaving part of his body remained draped in shadow.