Chapter 2
2
Kai
T he soothing vibration of muffled engine sounds wormed their way into Kai Renard’s consciousness. He struggled to remain in the dark depths of sleep. He felt comfortable and warm, safe even. Something he hadn’t felt in years. His body seemed to have other ideas, though, and Kai slowly gave in to awareness, his eyes fluttering open. He lay in a bed in a small cabin of sorts. It took him a few moments to realize the engines belonged to a plane, and panic overtook him. He sat up, horrified at the small sound of distress he let out, but he couldn’t stop it. Pain exploded in his chest at the abrupt movement, and he gave another cry, this one sharper and higher, and wrapped his arms around his rib cage.
The door swung open and someone rushed in. Kai struggled to gather himself enough to fight if he needed to. Sweat beaded on his forehead from the fire eating through his body. A deep voice issued a small oath, and the bed sank slightly to his right. Kai tried to move farther away, only to freeze up as the action caused more pain to shoot through him.
“Shh, it’s okay,” the voice murmured. “Here, open your mouth.”
Fingers shoved a small pill through his lips, and he tried to reject it, turning his head and clamping his jaw. A sigh came from the unseen man, tears of agony still blurring Kai’s vision. “I’m not going to hurt you. The pill is for the pain I know you are in. Please, take it.”
Blinking to clear his eyes, Kai slowly looked toward the owner of the voice only to suck in a breath of surprise, one he instantly regretted. He groaned and moved his palm to his chest. Bandages were wrapped around him and secured over one shoulder. “What-What happened?” he asked.
The man who’d rescued him from the men in the alley sat beside him, holding a small white pill on the ends of his long tanned fingers. “You don’t remember?”
“I remember the men—” Kai cut his words off, his face paling. They’d intended to rape him, maybe even kill him. Then out of nowhere the stranger had appeared. “Where are we?”
“On a private jet heading to my home.”
Kai grew fearful again. Why would this man be taking him to his home? “Who are you?” he demanded, panic setting in again and causing his hands to shake.
The stranger grinned. “I guess you don’t remember me introducing myself. I’m Cole. Cole Ferris.”
“I remember your name,” Kai snapped, and if he could have he would have shifted away from the man. He didn’t trust anyone. They could all be working for the bastard or willing to turn him over to him for money. “I meant who are you? What do you want from me?”
Cole frowned and tipped his head a bit to the side. “I wish I knew how to tell you,” he murmured, “without freaking you out.”
Kai’s eyes widened, and his heart started pounding in abject terror. “ He sent you, didn’t he? I won’t go back! You can’t make me!”
He struggled to get off the bed, shoving at the sheets only to squeak in horror when he saw he wore nothing but a pair of boxers. He hissed in anguish and grabbed at the sheet, trying to cover himself again, but Cole sat on top of the blanket, and Kai couldn’t get him to budge. He eventually gave up and swung one leg off the side of the mattress.
“Hey, hey!” Cole reached out to try to stop him. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”
Kai glared at him and batted at his hands. “Don’t touch me!” he shouted and managed to stand, huddling into the corner between the bed and the wall.
Cole held up his hands. “I’m not sure who he is, but I promise you I’m not taking you to him. Please take the pill, and we can talk, okay?”
“No,” Kai replied stubbornly, at which the larger man heaved a sigh.
Reaching toward the little table near the bed, Cole picked up a small bottle. “Look,” he said, indicating the label. “It’s a pain medication from the hospital, issued by the doctor who patched you up.”
Kai clenched his hand at his side, his other arm wrapped around his waist in a useless effort to stem the pain. “Liar,” he accused. The throbbing made it harder to breathe, and he could barely remain standing. “How do I know you didn’t just change whatever is in the bottle?”
“Jesus,” Cole grunted. “You really are a mistrusting little thing, aren’t you?”
“Little!” Kai squawked.
Cole ran a hand through his hair in a frustrated motion. “I’m not here to hurt you. If I wanted to, wouldn’t it have made more sense for me to do it when you were asleep? Here, I’ll prove it’s not meant to do anything to you.”
Kai watched as Cole tossed one of the pills into his mouth and swallowed, opening up after to show the white oval was gone. He still didn’t trust the man’s word. The pain grew increasingly worse the longer he stood there, but he would rather chew glass than believe Cole.
“Please, sit down before you fall down and hurt yourself even further,” Cole pleaded.
Fiercely, Kai shook his head. “Not until you get off the bed.”
“Then will you please sit?” Cole demanded.
Kai gave a jerky nod, knowing if he didn’t get off his feet soon, he’d pass out. He watched in suspicion as Cole stood and crossed the room, deliberately leaving the bottle of pills on the bed. He waited until Cole stood near the door again before perching on the edge of the bed, intently studying Cole in case he tried anything. Cole smiled in relief, an expression that tugged at the muscles in Kai’s stomach in a most uncomfortable manner. He didn’t analyze the emotion fluttering in his belly, choosing to ignore it instead.
“Please take the pill. I promise it is only for pain. The ER doctor prescribed it for you.”
Picking up the bottle, Kai glanced at the label, noting the doctor’s name, the name of the medication, and the name he’d adopted to avoid using his real one. Not that he had a clue about anything to do with medical terms, but the instructions did say one pill every four to six hours for pain. He shook a tablet into his palm, tossed it into his mouth, and swallowed it dry.
“There’s water on the nightstand,” Cole offered.
Kai narrowed his eyes at him. “I took the pill. Now tell me who you are and why the hell we’re on a plane! How did you even get me out of the hospital without my permission?”
Cole started pacing, which caused Kai to flinch and earned a disappointed look from the other man. For some unknown reason, the expression made Kai feel guilty. Why should he feel guilty when he was the one who’d been kidnapped? Kai shoved the remorse down deep, refusing to allow it to affect him.
“I already told you my name is Cole Ferris. I’m… shit, I’m not even sure how to say this, so it’s probably best I just come out with it. I’m a shifter, a wolf shifter.”
Kai’s jaw dropped. “You’re a what?”
“A wolf shifter.”
A snort of laughter escaped Kai before he could stop it, causing him to groan in misery as his ribs protested the effort it took. “You expect me to believe you’re some kind of werewolf? Like in the movies?”
Affront crowded Cole’s features. “I am not a werewolf,” he said stiffly. “We shift into wolves, not monsters.”
Was this a new tactic by his uncle? Find someone to pretend to be the same as him and get him to trust them? Kai didn’t know whether to keep laughing or break down and cry. He hadn’t cried since the first time his uncle beat him. He’d refused to give Jerrod the satisfaction of seeing him broken. “Werewolves don’t exist,” Kai insisted.
Cole stopped in his tracks and gave Kai a saddened glance. “I truly wish I knew of a gentler way to do this, but there’s no alternative.”
Kai’s fear deepened at Cole’s words, and he pulled the sheet up over his naked form in an effort to shield himself. Cole closed his eyes a split second before a flash of bright light momentarily blinded Kai. Blinking, he tried to clear his vision. A mix of a gasp and a scream lodged itself in Kai’s throat as he stared at the dark red wolf standing where Cole had been mere seconds ago. Horrified, Kai couldn’t do anything except stare. “Holy shit,” Kai whispered.
The wolf trotted toward the bed, and Kai crowded close to the headboard, gritting his teeth against the pain exploding inside his chest at the abrupt motion. “Stay away!” he yelled.
The animal stopped and sat down, tilting its head to the side. Kai wondered if the creature was separate from the human, or if Cole had control even in beast form. The wolf laid its muzzle down on the edge of the mattress and stared at him, giving a whine. Before Kai realized it, his hand was halfway to touching the animal. He froze and dropped his hand to the bed, shaking his head. “No, you aren’t real. This isn’t happening.”
Kai turned away when a flash of light came once more and Cole appeared there again, kneeling beside the bed. “I didn’t mean to frighten you further,” Cole murmured.
It was all too much. Kai raised his hands to his head, digging his fingers into his scalp. “Please let me go,” he keened. “I promise I won’t tell anyone about you being a-a werewolf.”
A soft grunt came from Cole’s direction, and the mattress dipped beneath Cole’s weight. Too exhausted to move, Kai waited for whatever Cole intended to do to him.
“I would never hurt you,” Cole said softly. “I swear it on my very soul. I would give my life to protect you.”
Cole’s words struck deep, and Kai raised his head enough to look at the auburn-haired man who’d come barging into his world out of nowhere. “Why?” he asked hoarsely. “What do you want from me?”
Cole leaned against the headboard. “I don’t want anything from you. The reason why, I can’t explain right now. Just please… trust me.”
The lost little boy inside of Kai wanted to believe Cole. He wanted to give in and let someone else take care of him for the first time in a long time, but the part of himself that had suffered through every beating, every barrage of foul words, screamed for him to run, to never give in. How could he possibly allow himself to trust a complete stranger, even if they offered him the very thing he’d been searching for over the last ten years?
Kai weakly shook his head. “I can’t,” he murmured.
“Will you please do me one favor, then?”
Kai tensed at whatever Cole was about to say.
“Give me one month to prove you can trust me? Please? After, if you still want to leave, I’ll give you the money you need to start a new life somewhere else. I’ll help you hide from whoever he is.”
Kai lifted his head, his heart swelling, a tiny flicker of hope beginning to stir within him. He stamped it out immediately. “Why should I?” he demanded.
Cole shrugged one broad shoulder. “Because I saved your life.”
Kai scowled then. Bastard! “I didn’t ask you to!”
Cole grinned. “No, but I did. Come on, one month. That’s not very long in the grand scheme of things. What have you got to lose?”
A lot, Kai thought sourly. He truly didn’t understand why this guy wanted to help him when they didn’t know each other. He’d begun to believe that he wasn’t working for Jerrod. But had he somehow found out about Kai’s ability? Cole hadn’t given any indication he knew Kai’s true nature, but he could be hiding the fact that he knew. Kai continued to argue with himself for several minutes. Cole didn’t say a word, merely sat next to him and waited for him to answer.
“On one condition,” Kai said finally.
“Anything.”
“Tell me why you want to help me.”
Silence met his request, the only sound coming from the engines reverberating throughout the jet, and Kai wondered if Cole would answer him. The response Cole eventually gave did nothing to alleviate Kai’s reservations. “I can’t give you the answer you want.”
Kai scowled. “Then my answer is no.”
Cole moved until he turned and faced Kai. The solemn expression on Cole’s face stalled any further protestations Kai might have made. An odd sensation wrenched Kai’s heart in his chest, and he had to keep himself from blurting out he’d changed his mind. His inner half chirped, shocking Kai at how much he wanted to reach out and smooth away the lines of sadness on Cole’s face. Why? Kai wondered. A sharp, high-pitched bark, audible only to Kai, sent a shiver down his spine. He’d never had such an intense reaction before, to anyone or anything.
“Would you prefer to be on the run, hungry and sleeping on the street, than in the warm, comfortable bed I can offer you? Or spending every moment looking over your shoulder instead of knowing you’re safe and protected by my pack?” Cole challenged softly.
Twitching at Cole’s words, Kai tried not to let them sway him, but the tone of Cole’s voice spoke to the part inside of him that wanted to give in. “No,” he whispered.
“If you will give me the month I ask, I will prove to you I’m not going to hurt you and only want to help you.” Cole reached out, his hand steady yet gentle, and picked up Kai’s from where it rested on the mattress. He ran his fingers over the scar around Kai’s wrist, where the shackles Jerrod kept him in night and day had dug in relentlessly.
The delicate touch sent tendrils of emotion trickling through him. Emotions Kai couldn’t identify. He tugged at his hand, needing to think clearly and not be distracted by what he felt. Cole let him go immediately. Kai wanted to believe in the comfort the man beside him offered, but he wasn’t sure he could forget the years of abuse he’d endured enough to let Cole in as he asked. Finally, after a long internal battle of wills, Kai capitulated and whispered, “Okay.”
“Okay?” Cole asked, eagerness evident in his voice.
“I said okay,” Kai huffed, not wanting to repeat it or dig deeper into his subconscious as to why he’d even agreed in the first place. He already regretted it. Didn’t he? Another sharp internal chirp admonished him, and Kai grunted.
Cole offered a brilliant smile, and Kai swallowed hard. That smile made him appear even more gorgeous. “One month. No more,” Kai repeated sternly.
“One month,” Cole agreed and stood with a small bounce, much to Kai’s dismay.
Had he made a mistake in agreeing? But if Cole stood by his word, Kai wouldn’t need to scrounge for food anymore or sleep on the street. He could have a normal life. Well, as normal a life as he could have, he supposed. If Cole had lied and only a cage waited for him on the other end of the flight, he could run again, right?
“Will you do me one more favor?” Cole asked, still standing beside the bed.
Kai gave him a skeptical look, and Cole laughed. “It’s not a lot. I promise.”
“Okay,” Kai agreed reluctantly.
“Tell me your real name. I know it isn’t David.”
“How do you know it isn’t?” Kai challenged.
“Because you don’t look like a David, and someone who is on the run isn’t going to use their real name.”
Should he tell Cole his name? What harm would it do to give him only his first name? He missed hearing it. His mother had named him Kai after his grandfather. “It’s Kai.”
“Kai…. I like it.” Cole smiled again, a dimple in his right cheek deepening.
Kai scoffed and looked away, attempting to play off his embarrassment and the way his body warmed at the grin.
“We should be landing in another twenty minutes or thereabouts. We’ll have to drive for a little bit to reach my home, though. There are no airstrips in Emerald Lake Hills.” Cole walked over to a door near the one he’d entered the small cabin through. He opened it and removed some clothing, which he brought to the bed and placed at the end. “Do you need me to help you get dressed?”
Kai shook his head, unable to bear the idea of the virile man before him seeing more than he probably already had. His ribs stuck out against his skin, and his legs appeared thin and gangly from the lack of sufficient nourishment over the past several years. He’d been lucky if he’d eaten once every other day more often than not. His meals consisted of whatever he could find while on a job or whatever he could ferret away under Jerrod’s cruel eye.
“I’ll be fine,” he muttered.
Cole nodded. “If you need me, shout. I’ll be just outside the door.”
Kai remained on the bed until Cole had left. He gingerly stood and made his way to the clothing. The jeans and T-shirt reminded him of his possessions. He panicked and hurried over to the closet. The bag wasn’t inside. Tears burned behind his eyes, threatening to spill over. The only things he owned in the entire world were gone, including his mother and father’s picture. Swallowing hard and forcing his emotions away, Kai returned to the bed and carefully pulled on the jeans. They hung low on his waist, held in place only by the sharp jut of his hips, and emphasized the slenderness of his legs. The jeans were easy to put on by himself, but when he went to put the shirt on, a hiss flickered from his lips as his ribs protested the upward motion of his arms.
It took some maneuvering, a lot of sweat, and five minutes before he had the shirt on. Kai would rather chew nails than call Cole in to help him. He found his sneakers in the closet and managed to shove his feet into them sans socks. Since he couldn’t bend well, he figured tying them wouldn’t happen and left them untied, tucking the laces inside the shoes. Taking a small breath, he exited the room to find Cole sitting in a plush leather chair and talking into a phone. Kai had only ever been on a plane once in his life, and this one looked completely different. There were only six seats, all of which were light tanned leather and apparently swiveled from the way Cole swished back and forth without thought. A television was mounted on the wall to his left, and a woman stood at the front of the plane in a flight attendant’s outfit, waiting to be summoned forth. Jeez, how much money did this guy have? Did he own the plane?
Cole looked up and smiled at him, green eyes twinkling. “Hey, Nick, gotta run,” he said into the phone. “We’ll see you soon.”
Kai carefully lowered himself into a chair across the aisle from Cole while Cole completed his call. Cole moved from his seat abruptly, surprising Kai, and he started, biting his bottom lip to stifle the groan of pain he almost let out. A sigh whispered from Cole as he knelt beside Kai and started tying his shoes. Guilt stabbed him once more. “Where did you get the clothes?” he blurted out in an attempt to ignore the emotion.
“Phoenix is home to another pack. They’re just outside the city limits, actually. They were aware of my presence in the area, and they aided me and you. The Alpha’s youngest son is about your size, and they gave you some clothing since some of yours ended up ruined in the… scuffle.” Cole explained all of this and then stood and returned to his seat.
A shudder ran down Kai’s spine at the reminder of what had almost happened. If anything, he at least owed the man for saving his life. “What-what happened to them?” he murmured.
Cole glanced away. “They won’t be able to hurt anyone ever again.”
Kai’s breath caught. “You killed them?” he whispered.
“It was an accident. I lost control.” Cole ran a hand through his thick dark red hair.
The knowledge Cole had taken the lives of the three men who’d attacked him sent a new sliver of fear running through him. If Cole could lose control enough to kill someone, what would happen if Kai ever made him angry? Kai opened his mouth to ask another question when a voice came over the loudspeaker. “We’ll be descending to San Carlos in ten minutes, Mr. Ferris.”
“Can you secure your seat belt, or do you need help?” Cole asked, reaching for the straps of his own.
“I can manage,” Kai grunted. It didn’t take much effort to belt himself in. The plane bounced a little, and he let out an embarrassing squeak. A blush flooded his cheeks when he glanced at Cole and saw him hiding a smile.
“Never flown before?” Cole inquired.
“Once. A long time ago.” Kai looked away, staring out the window at the clouds streaming past the wing. He didn’t volunteer any further information and sat in silence as they went through the landing process.
Cole stood the moment the plane came to a halt. He took a black bag from under the seat in front of him and another from the seat beside his. Kai’s eyes widened when he saw his backpack, and he undid his seat belt eagerly. He got up and snatched the bag from Cole, uncaring of how desperate it made him appear. He hugged it to his chest. Cole didn’t say anything, leading the way down the aisle to the door to exit the jet. The flight attendant bid them goodbye as they disembarked. Kai gave her a weak smile before stepping out onto the top step. He blinked against the bright light and allowed his eyes to adjust for a moment.
Cole waited patiently at the bottom of the steps, turning to look up at him. “Coming?”
Kai took the stairs at a slow pace, trying not to jar his ribs. He remained mute as he followed Cole to a nearby black car. An attractive man with golden-blond hair leaned against the fender, hands deep in his pockets. Kai swallowed as alarm settled in his chest, and he eyed the man warily. A grin spread over the blond’s face at the sight of them, and he shoved away from the car. Cole strode straight up to the man and clasped him in a backbreaking hug. A surprising jolt of jealousy ripped through Kai, and he almost gasped, managing to stifle the sound to avoid alerting Cole to his distress. “Welcome home, Cole!”
“Good to be home, Nick.”
So this was Nick, the person Cole had been talking to on the plane. Kai studied Nick, noting the warm sparkle in a pair of deep emerald-green eyes, golden hair, and sun-kissed skin. “You must be Kai,” Nick greeted and started toward him, only to stop when Kai retreated.
Cole gripped Nick’s shoulder and shook his head, silently telling the man something. Kai could only wonder about the look between them. “Sorry,” Nick said.
“Kai, this is Nick Cartwright. My best friend and soon-to-be Beta.”
Kai merely nodded in acknowledgment of Nick’s welcome. He wondered about Cole calling Nick his Beta but didn’t feel comfortable enough in Nick’s presence to ask.
“Let’s get going. I want to get home and check on my greenhouses.” Cole glanced at his watch.
“Everything is fine,” Nick soothed. “Sara has been there every day to make sure your staff has everything under control. The place hasn’t burned down yet. Relax.”
Cole grumbled and opened the door, motioning for Kai to get in. Kai skirted around Cole and managed to climb in without causing any further pain from his rib cage, still clutching his bag. Cole closed the door behind him, leaving him alone for a few brief, blessed seconds of silence. He searched through his bag, cataloging all of his belongings with a sigh of relief. He spotted the leather choker he kept around his neck to hide his scars and yanked it out, then put it on quickly. The scars were ugly, even more than the ones on his wrists. He had learned to hide them after his escape, noting the way people’s eyes were immediately drawn to the marks on his throat. Some were sympathetic, others disgusted. He didn’t want to be memorable. If people remembered him, it would lead his uncle to him even faster.
The two men stowed the only bag Cole had with him in the trunk before Nick got into the driver’s side and Cole went around the front to the passenger seat. If Cole noticed the choker, he didn’t show it. They were on the highway shortly thereafter. Somehow, Kai could sense the anxiety to be home running through Cole.
Cole and Nick spoke about things Kai allowed to go over his head for the duration of the trip, instead staring out the window. After about twenty minutes, he saw signs for Redwood City and tensed when he remembered the encounter after he’d gotten off the bus. His eyes widened and his breathing grew shallow. Cole had been the one Kai had bumped into. Kai had been too upset to realize it before, but seeing the name on the road sign stirred his memories.
Kai wanted out of the car. Now. Why would the man he’d accidentally collided with want to take care of him? Why would Cole have followed him all the way to Phoenix? His blood pounded in his ears and his heart raced with pure terror. Had Jerrod followed him here and paid Cole to return him to Jerrod? Had Cole lied to him?
“Kai?”
A cry lodged itself in Kai’s throat. He choked and reached for the door handle to open the door. Swear words exploded in the front seat as Nick swerved to the side of the road, tires desperately seeking traction as they skidded through dirt and grass.
“Kai!”
The door wouldn’t open. Kai wrenched at the handle frantically, trying to get out of the car, hysterical. “Let me out,” he screamed. “Let me out! I won’t go back to him! I’d rather die!”
“Shit,” Cole grunted and somehow managed to wedge his impossibly large form over the front seat to sit next to Kai. “Kai, stop! I told you I don’t know who he is. I promise I’m not bringing you to him.”
“I re-remember you,” Kai stuttered still tugging weakly at the door handle.
“What?” Cole asked frowning.
“You chased me! I bu-bumped into you, and you chased me.”
Cole reached out and gently pried Kai’s hand from the latch. “I told you I had a reason I wanted to help you, right?”
Kai nodded and yanked his hand from Cole’s warm grasp, tangling his fingers in the folds of the beat-up nylon backpack on his lap. His gaze darted between Nick, who was watching them in the rearview mirror, and Cole. “You refuse to tell me,” he accused.
Kai saw Nick’s eyebrow go up, but Nick didn’t say anything, merely playing voyeur to their conversation. Kai wondered at the telling action. Why would Nick be surprised Cole hadn’t told him the reason?
“I don’t want to scare you any more than you already are,” Cole murmured.
Tensing again, Kai crowded closer to the door, tightening his grip on his bag. Cole sighed and turned as much as he could, placing his leg onto the seat. He looked at Kai with a serious expression. “I told you I’m a shifter. The thing is… well… shit.”
Nick turned off the car and got out, leaving the two of them alone. He leaned against the front of the vehicle, facing away from Kai and Cole.
“I didn’t want to tell you this way.” Cole sighed.
“Tell me what?” Kai demanded.
“When a shifter is born, their soul is shared with another,” Cole began hesitantly. “We call them our true mates. When we meet them, we know instantly who they are. By smell and sometimes even just by sight.” Cole paused and took a breath before he said, “You… you’re my true mate.”