Chapter 5
Wiley
M y mate is sick and needs medical attention.
Damn her stubbornness—which I’m sure is born out of justifiable fear—but I can’t sit back and let her suffer. I’ll beg her forgiveness later. If I’m lucky, I’ll beg with my tongue, lips, teeth, fingers, and eventually my cock—and if I do it correctly, she won’t remember what she’s forgiving me for.
Yeah, that’s a good plan.
Anxiously, I sit in the back booth at the diner with Carla and Jimmy, both of whom got off work ten minutes ago. “I thought you said she was meeting you at four?”
Carla shrugs. “I gave her a handful of cash and said I’d see if Chrissy had any under the table work for her.”
“Shit. Why wouldn’t she come?” My wolf grumbles, reminding me I already know the answer. She’s too sick to come.
Dammit. He’s right. “We gotta go. Come on, Jimmy.”
I call Nan as I slide behind the steering wheel of my Jeep with Jimmy in the passenger seat.
“Yeah?” she answers on the third ring.
“Are you coming home tonight?”
“I’m on my way now. Why? You have a hot date?”
“Kind of.” I can’t believe it’s come to this, but I’m going to kidnap my mate. Jimmy’s going to help me whether he wants to or not. “Come straight to the clinic. We have a patient.”
“Who?”
“My mate.”
Silence greets me on the other end of the line.
“Hello?” I bark.
“Are you fucking with me right now?” she barks back.
“Nope. She’s human and has a five-year-old child.” I glance to my side to see Jimmy’s eyes wide. He understands the basics about us. He knows that one sniff of Dinah’s scent and Kade knew she was his Fated mate. Her response to his pheromones solidified it. Our willingness to fight and kill to protect them in those first few days was partially because of this ethereal bond, and nothing will deter us once we find our Fated mates.
“Sweet Fates. You’ve been busy today,” Nan says. I can imagine the bewilderment crossing her face and maybe a touch of sadness. I’m her baby brother and hopefully on his way to being mated. Otherwise, I’m on my way out.
One way or another, our lives are about to change.
“You have no idea. I’m going to grab her and bring her to the clinic. If you beat us there, prep for the basics. I’m thinking the flu, but maybe pneumonia, and some internal trauma. Bruises, contusions, possible infected cuts.”
“What do you mean, grab her?” She gloms onto the most important word in my entire spiel.
“She refused my help earlier.”
“So… you’re going to kidnap your human mate—who doesn’t know shit about us or the mating bond—and force her to receive treatment? Am I summarizing the situation correctly?”
“Kidnap is a strong word, but effectively, yes.”
“Sweet talker. I’m sure she’ll roll right over and accept your mating mark after a stellar first date like this.”
“What the fuck else am I supposed to do, Nan? She’s sick. I can smell the infection and I’m positive she has a fever. She’s scared and on the run—from what, I have no idea. And she has a little boy depending on her.”
Nan sighs. “Do you have a sedative?”
“No. I’m going to use something a little stronger.”
“Ewww. It was bad enough having to inhale Kade’s mating pheromones last month, but my little brother’s?—”
“You’ll get over it. She’ll respond to it. I know it.” I glance at Jimmy again as we drive over the small bridge to the other side of the creek. “See you soon.”
“Yep. I’ll meet you there.” Nan hangs up on me at the same time I stop outside of the old train station. It’s fenced off from road traffic with a giant padlock on the gate.
I park my Jeep and shut the engine down, turning to face Jimmy. “I take it you heard enough of that to understand what is at stake?”
He nods, his brow furrowed in confusion. “Yes, but I still don’t understand.”
“Short story, I tracked her today, tried to convince her to let me help her, and she spooked. She and the kid are all alone, and we all smelled the infection on her, so she’s definitely sick. She can’t afford to refuse our help, and as my mate, I can’t let her suffer.”
Jimmy slowly shakes his head, true terror in his eyes. “I can’t kidnap a woman and her kid, man.”
“We’re not kidnapping them. We’re escorting them to the clinic to receive treatment. I need you to be nice to the kid, help him carry their things to the Jeep, and then play with him at the clinic. I’ll assess her condition and persuade her to come with us.” I slide my hand down my face, my annoyance warring with my empathy for the shit Jimmy’s been through. I know this can’t be easy on him, but he has no choice but to be on board. “Tell me now if you can’t do this. I’ll call Cricket if I have to, but one way or another, this is happening.”
He closes his eyes and nods. “This is to help them.”
“Yes.” And me, I think. Kade may have told Dinah what it means to have our mates refuse us, but none of us explained it to Jimmy.
“Okay.”
We hop out of the Jeep and circle around the chain link barrier, approaching it from the side where most of the fence has been cut away and trampled by teenagers partying out here at nighttime over the years. Another reason why I hate the idea of her sleeping out here. Black bears aren’t the only thing looking for trouble in an abandoned train yard.
We approach the car I know they’re sleeping in and hold my hand up, motioning for Jimmy to stand back. It’s barely four thirty, so I doubt they’re asleep, although it sounds like she’s making some kind of chattering noise while Bo makes vroom-vroom sounds. Then all goes quiet as I put my foot on the one step up to the platform.
“Rawr!” Bo jumps out, his fingers curved into claws.
I take a giant step back and put my hand on my chest, pretending like he scared me. “Hey, Bo. Remember me?”
“You were at the store. You’re the medicine man.”
“That’s right.”
“Do you remember my friend? He gave you a cup of ice cream yesterday.” Pointing at Jimmy, I motion him forward.
Bo nods and gives Jimmy a small wave. “I remember.”
I make a show of looking into the train car. “Where’s your mom?”
He looks to his left. “She’s really tired and cold, but I don’t know why, it’s hot in here.”
He’s not wrong. It’s probably ninety-five degrees in there right now with full sun beating down on the metal container. The afternoon rain showers are late today, but the clouds are gathering overhead for later. Still, it’s too hot in there to not risk heat stroke.
“You know, I really want to help you and your mom. I think she needs medicine.”
Bo bites his lip and looks down at his shoes. “She said we have to stay here until morning when we can get more pancakes.”
“Are you hungry now?”
“Yeah. We had chocolate cake, but Momma threw it at a wolf.”
I suppress my grin and nod. “We can get you more. How about pizza for dinner?”
“I love pizza.” The little boy predictably lights up at the prospect of cheesy goodness.
“Great. What do you say? Can I come in and check on your mom?”
He takes a couple of steps back, his face stern. “Don’t hurt her.”
“I won’t, Bo. I promise.”
I climb the stairs, help Jimmy up behind me, and walk to the back of the container where the air is stifling. Geneva is slick with sweat, curled up in a ball as her whole body trembles.
“Hey, Jimmy. Why don’t you collect their stuff? We’ll take it with us to the clinic.”
“What’s wrong with my mom?” Bo says over my shoulder.
“I don’t know yet, but I think she would benefit from a clean bed. What do you think?”
“Yeah.” He looks around thoughtfully. “But she said we had to stay here.”
“I know she did, but she’s not going to get better here. You want her to get better, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then we need to take her to the clinic.” I flash him a smile. “I promise it will be all right. You’ll be with her the whole time, watching over and protecting her like I know you want to. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Help Jimmy grab your stuff. Don’t forget anything. I’ll carry your mom to the Jeep.”
Once Jimmy and Bo gather their stuff and hop out of the train car, I lean down and put my face near hers, inhaling deeply. The infection isn’t coming from her breath, which indicates the fever is because of her body fighting a localized infection somewhere else on her body. Cellulitis or sepsis, most likely, and easy to treat if caught early.
Instead, I get a lungful of her orange blossom scent that calls to my wolf. He sits up, secretes our mating pheromone, and pushes me to rub my face in her neck and hair—which is not going to happen.
“Geneva?” I reach out and brush her hair back, her cheeks pallored and lips pale.
Her eyes flutter open, her pupils dilating as she inhales my scent thick with mating pheromones. “Bo?”
“He’s fine. We’re taking him and you to the clinic.”
“No.” She protests with words, but her body is too weak to fight me. “I can’t go.”
“Why not?”
“He’ll find us.”
Rage simmers in my veins at the fear in her voice. “Who is he?”
“John.” She pants, her desire to fight and flee pumping adrenaline she can’t afford to expend through her veins while her body is too weak to move.
I lean my forehead against hers, letting my wolf push out more of our pheromone. As my mate, if she was well she’d be turned on. But in this instance, I’m hoping the love and safety wafting off of me calms her. “He will never hurt you or Bo again. I give you my word. Now I’m going to pick you up and take you somewhere I can heal you, so that you can take care of your little boy.”
I don’t ask if this is okay because at this point she has no choice. I make a silent promise that this will be the last time I make a decision for her, because something tells me she’s been told what to do and how to think for long enough.
Scooping her into my arms, I approach the edge of the platform and jump the three feet to the ground. Bo’s eyes grow wide as I land without issue. “Wow.”
I wink at him and pull Geneva closer to my chest. “Let’s make your mom feel better. What do you say, Bo?”
“Let’s go!” He runs forward with Jimmy trailing after him.
I look after the boy and then down at Geneva who has her eyes closed tightly, as if to shut out the sun overhead. I wonder if she has a migraine too? “Hang on, babe. I’ve got you.”
Always , I add silently because I have no other choice. She’s mine and everything that matters to her is now mine to care for. Whether Bo was Geneva’s son or not, he’s important to her, which means he’s important to me. I’m not just destined for a mate, the Fates have presented me with the family I didn’t know I was missing.
But now I feel the holes, the emptiness in my soul.
That’s how the Fates work. They present you with the mate you need, when you need it, whether you’re ready or not.
Sweet Fates! Am I ready for this?