Stolen and Forgiven (Branded Packs #1)(9)

“I can protect myself.” If she kept saying it, then maybe it would be true. She couldn’t rely on him, not and still remain who she was.

He let out a low growl that made her shiver in all the right places. Or wrong places, rather.

“We can do both.”

She wasn’t sure what he meant, but she had a feeling she’d soon find out. Nothing made sense, and she knew this was only the beginning. Her world had shifted, as soon, according to him, so would she.

What did this mean, and what the hell was she going to do about it?

She was Ariel Sands, orphan, Test Subject, and able. Only she wasn’t sure if she was anymore. If she weren’t human, if what Holden had said about mates was true, then who was she?





Chapter 3


“This is crazy. I shouldn’t be here.”

Holden let Ariel continue her tirade as she sat on a stool in his kitchen. The fact that his mate sat in his home while he prepared food for her was not lost on him. However, he knew he didn’t have time to dwell on that fact. He not only needed to ensure Ariel knew that this would now be her future, but he had to protect his Pack.

A Pack that, at this moment, knew Ariel sat in his kitchen.

He might be Alpha, but there were things he couldn’t keep secret from them. Having a mate and knowing she had been human was one of those. People had seen him walk inside his home with a naked and bleeding Ariel in his arms. The rumors would have started there with Soren outside trying to alleviate some fears.

Soon, Holden would have to venture outside and deal with the situation—preferably with Ariel on his arm. It wouldn’t matter that she wasn’t marked, collared, or branded at the moment—but he needed to show a united front for his people. If they saw him falter, it would hurt their Pack.

He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. He didn’t want to have to tell Ariel what would come next—the branding and the collaring. It was a torture she shouldn’t have to face, but he would have no choice.

“You’re not even listening to me.”

Holden opened his eyes, put down the spoon he’d been using for the pancake batter, and walked over to Ariel’s side. It would have been nice to play domestic and act as if things were normal. But they were far from normal, and sitting around pretending that things would be would only hurt the situation in the end. He turned her stool so she sat between his legs, small, terrified, and still somewhat human. Honestly, he had no idea what he was going to do, but he knew what he needed to do.

“Ariel, your life has changed. You can’t go back to what you had before.”

Her eyes clouded. “I knew I wouldn’t be able to once the SAU took me. But I can’t stay here, Holden. I’m not a wolf.”

He cupped her face. “You will be soon, Ariel. In fact, I can already scent the change on you.” He hadn’t been able to scent the sweetness of her before under the grime of blood and dirt. But now that melded with the underlying scent of wolf on her skin.

He liked it.

She pulled away, her eyes wide. “You can’t just tell me these things and not explain. You can’t just tell me I’m your mate and expect me to jump on board. It’s barbaric, Holden. I’m not like you.”

He brushed his thumb along her cheekbone, the soft skin addicting. He never thought he’d have a mate. After all, he was already in his forties, living in a world where finding someone his wolf would have was a rarity. The fact that he’d found Ariel, a woman his wolf wanted and, therefore, the human half of him would learn to care for and love, was surprising, to say the least.

“Ask me what you want to know, and I will tell you what I can.”

Ariel searched his face and let out a breath. “Why do you think we’re mates?”

“Because my wolf told me you would be perfect for us. He chose you.”

She looked at him, obviously skeptical. “So this wolf inside you just goes around picking people and forcing them to mate? That’s a little weird.”

He snorted and shook his head. “It’s not always like that. Not for shifters in our den, nor in the other dens from what I know. Others do not find their mates like that. Most of us marry and mate the same way humans do. We find someone who is compatible, fall in love, and our animals eventually fall in line. It’s not magical—it’s not fate, and there is no real mating bond like in some of the stories humans like to write about us.”

Ariel grimaced. “I might have read a few of those.”

“Humans have a fixation with us because they aren’t allowed to know the real shifters. So they make up stories. I’ve read a few and laughed my ass off. But in reality, our wolves are a part of us, but not the full part.”

“Then why did your wolf decide that I was yours? It doesn’t make any sense.”

This was where it became tricky. Until she shifted and found her own wolf, it wouldn’t connect fully to her, but he’d try. “Some wolves find their mates before their humans have time to fall in love. It’s not love at first sight, but instinct.”

He the out a breath he’d been holding as she frowned.

“I am Alpha, Ariel. I cannot mate with a woman my wolf doesn’t choose. In the past, it wasn’t a problem because there were so many of us spread out, our wolves would eventually find someone. Locked up in cages as we are, it limits us.”