In a perfect world, she’d have woken up in Ray’s and Wesley’s arms seven weeks ago and then spent the next sixty years or so with them. But life wasn’t fair or perfect, and life as a Breeding Queen was even less so. To try to walk away from her father’s wishes would be folly. He would see her mated to the male he had chosen no matter the cost or the bloodshed. Her brothers might not willingly hurt her if their father demanded it of them, but there were males in the pack who would do whatever the alpha said, without hesitation.
She’d die before she let Ray and Wesley be hurt for her cause, or anyone else for that matter. She just needed to put on her big girl panties and go into next weekend with her head held high. Her mom had said she should hold out hope for a good mate, and that was just what she’d do. He wouldn’t be her sexy mountain lions, but he would be hers – for better or worse – for the rest of her life.
Thursday night, Ray folded a shirt and put it into a duffel. Wesley paced next to him, chewing on his thumbnail. Earlier, the newest mate in the pride, Rue, had snuck Scarlett’s address to them and for the first time in almost eight weeks, they’d been able to see a light at the end of the tunnel. They’d considered going to Bent Creek a hundred times since she left, but without knowing exactly where she lived, they were worried about upsetting her father. Mountain lions didn’t have a hierarchy like packs did. Although James Fallon was considered the unofficial head of the Ashland Pride, there wasn’t any ranking of the members. Unlike Scarlett’s pack, the mountain lions would never force someone to mate a stranger for political purposes. Even Callie, James’s daughter-in-law, who was a wolf, had never heard of a Breeding Queen or the strange situation that was being forced on Scarlett.
Ray and Wes had left work at Rhett Fallon’s farm immediately and drove to the boarding house, Scarlett’s address burning a hole in Ray’s brain. Then the question became how to approach her, and what would happen when they did. He knew from what Rue had told them that Scarlett wasn’t mated to anyone yet, but he had a gut feeling that if they didn’t get to her now, they might lose her forever.
He’d called their father as soon as they walked into the boarding house and gave him the update. He and Wes were close to their dad, who still lived with the King Pride. It had been a no-brainer for Ray to call him when Scarlett disappeared and he was distressed by her absence. He’d encouraged his sons to find a way to get to her – safely – and up until this point that hadn’t been possible.
“I’m hoping she’ll leave with us,” Ray had told their dad an hour ago. “I want to bring her to King. Can we stay with you?”
“Of course! Our home is yours, you know that.” Their father, Max, and his older brother, Miles, had been sharing a home since Ray and Wes had moved out after high school. Ray had always figured it was because he didn’t like an empty house.
“We’ll be there tomorrow afternoon,
if
we can get her to agree to come with us.” Ray knew that bringing her back to Ashland was foolish. The pack knew where Melody lived; they’d go to Ashland first.
Their dad had encouraged them to lay everything on the line with her – to tell her they were mates and they weren’t going to let her be given away to a stranger – and hope for the best. That was really all they could do. Ray certainly wouldn’t force her to leave. He wasn’t going to take her choices from her when her father was doing that exact thing.
Wes paced by Ray and drew him out of his thoughts. “Would you knock it off?”
Wes leaned against the wall with a sigh. “I can’t help it. Nervous energy.”
“Well, if you’re going to be twitching the whole drive to Bent Creek, why don’t you go run a few miles and burn all that off?”
Wes shook his head. “I’ll feel better when we’re on our way. I’m just anxious to see her and I’m worried about what she’ll say.”
Ray looked in the duffel and counted his clothes. They were planning to stay at least a week in King, maybe longer.
“If she turns us away, then at least we tried. If we never go to see her, it’ll haunt us, and I for one am tired of sleepless nights. Rue sneaking Scarlett’s address to us is the best thing that’s ever happened to us, next to meeting Scarlett, of course.” Ray zipped up the duffel and slung it over his shoulder. “Ready?”
Wes nodded, then followed Ray out of the room and stopped to grab his own bag from the hallway. They said goodbye to Aaron and Grant Fallon and their mate, Samantha, who were in the kitchen with their kids.
“Be safe,” Sam said, and kissed them both on the cheek.
Aaron said, “I know you don’t want to tell us where you’re going, but try to at least check in and let us know that you’re okay.”
“We will, thanks,” Ray said. “It’s just better if you guys don’t know everything.”
Ten minutes later they were on the highway on the way to the Luna Arms Apartments in Bent Creek. Wes was quiet and Ray wasn’t sure what to say at this point anyway. They’d shared their worries with each other many times over the last few weeks. They were sure Scarlett was their mate, but that didn’t mean that things would be all champagne and roses once they’d found her. What they’d learned about her Breeding Queen situation was that she was nothing more than a commodity to her father, a way to increase his power and territory. Ray couldn’t imagine trading a child of his own for something as petty as territory. It was sleazy and disgusting, and Ray thought less of her father every time he heard something new about the situation. He hoped he never crossed paths with her dad, unsure if he’d be able to hold his tongue, or his fists, in his presence. Scarlett was a female of worth because she was beautiful, inside and out. She deserved to be worshipped and loved, not traded like a
thing
for material possessions or territorial gain.
Snarling inwardly, he relaxed his white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel and concentrated on the dark road. It took only three hours to get to Bent Creek’s city limits. He pulled the truck into a gas station for a fill-up and, after handing his credit card to the attendant, walked into the twenty-four-hour donut shop attached to the building.
A surly-looking man behind the counter greeted them with a grimace. Ray ordered coffee and donuts for himself and Wes while Wes used the facilities, and then, after using them himself, they walked back to their truck.
The attendant handed him his card and receipt, and Ray got behind the wheel, stifling a yawn. Pulling away from the pumps, he stopped in one of the parking spots and left the engine running as he took a sip of the dark brew.
“Go now or wait until dawn?” Wes asked.
Ray hummed in thought and took a bite of a still-warm glazed donut. The place looked like hell inside but the donut was fantastic.
“I don’t have a clue.” It was just after midnight. He pictured her sound asleep, her beautiful hair surrounding her like a halo, her sweet scent saturating the sheets.
Wes pulled his phone from his back pocket and opened the internet browser. After a few minutes, he showed Ray a photo of the Luna Arms Apartments. Zooming in on the door, he saw a metal rectangle with several rows of buttons next to the double glass doors.
“I’m betting those buttons call the apartments. We can find her name and call her place.”
“I guess it’s that or wait for her to maybe leave her place today and sit outside the building like stalkers,” Ray said.
“It’s not stalking if she’s your mate,” Wes protested.
Ray chuckled. “I’ll remember to tell the judge that when we get arrested.”
Wes snorted and finished his coffee. After they’d dumped their trash, he followed the GPS to the apartment complex. The front was well-lit with a manicured lawn and seating areas made up of stone benches and fountains. They could have parked in the street, but he decided it was better to park in the parking lot, so they followed it around the building. The apartment complex’s parking lot was nearly full, but they found an empty space toward the back.
They closed the doors carefully so the noise wouldn’t disturb anyone and left the truck unlocked. Then Ray and his brother walked quickly to the front of the building.
There were a ton of buttons. He and Wes scanned them quickly and found a lot of Jamisons. His finger hovered over an S. Jamison, but Wes grabbed his wrist. “I think it’s this one,” he said, pointing to an empty one next to a C. Jamison.
Ray looked at him. “Why do you think it’s that one? The name is missing.”
“Exactly. I think it’s because she’s going to be mated soon and they’re moving her out of this place.”
“What if she’s moved already?” Ray felt like his stomach had dropped into his feet.
“I don’t think so, or Melody wouldn’t have been addressing a thank you card to her at this address. She’s got twelve brothers. Maybe the ‘S’ is one of them, and if we push that button then we might wake him up and make problems for her.”
Ray hesitated. He didn’t want that at all. Exhaling loudly, he said, “Okay. Blank button it is.”
The buzzing sound was so loud he cringed, wondering if everyone in the building had heard it. His heart began to pound as they waited. He half-expected police cars to show up, or some of the pack members, who would escort them out of town, but the only thing that happened was nothing.
And then…a miracle.
“Hello?” Scarlett’s sleepy voice came over the intercom and Ray could have cried in relief at finally hearing her again.
“Scarlett, it’s us. I mean it’s Ray and Wes Fiero.”
There was a significant pause and he looked at Wes in concern.
“I’ll buzz you in. Turn right in the foyer and come to the hallway. I’ll buzz you through the security door. My apartment is the last on the right, A13.”
Ray could have hollered in victory, but he wasn’t going to be an idiot. The front door clicked and Wes pulled it open. They hustled inside, turning right. As they drew near a security door, he tugged on it and it opened easily. Wes walked through and Ray made sure the heavy door didn’t slam shut and alert anyone they were there. Only a long hallway separated them from their mate. They couldn’t walk fast enough.
* * * * *
Wes kept pace behind Ray as they moved down the hallway as quickly, but as quietly, as they could. The doors all looked the same except for the gold numbers in the center of each one, just underneath the peepholes.
The last door on the right swung open before they could knock and she urged them to come in quickly, closing the door silently once they were inside.
She was panting for breath and he could scent the fear coursing through her. “How did you find me? What are you doing here?” She folded her arms around her middle in a hug, fisting the thin t-shirt she was wearing until her knuckles turned white.
“We’re here because you’re ours, Scarlett. Tell me you fucking know that,” Ray said, his tone demanding but with a hint of worry.
Her eyes widened and her head tilted slightly. For a moment she said nothing, and time hung suspended between them. Suddenly she launched herself at them. It was no hardship to catch her and bring her close. Wes had dreamed about holding her again for so long that he felt like he was still in some kind of insanity-induced fantasy. But no, the beauty from his dreams was here in the flesh.
Ray pressed against her back and the two of them caged her between them in an embrace that was new yet old at the same time. She shivered as her body pressed against Wes’s, one arm tight around his neck and the other fisting Ray’s shirt.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. “I dreamed you’d come.”
Wes stroked her hair and met Ray’s eyes. “We’re here now, but we know it’s not safe.”
She lifted her head slowly. “No, it’s not. I don’t want you to get hurt. You should go, right now.”
She spoke the words, but she didn’t try to push them away.
“We’re not leaving without you, sweetheart,” Ray said.
She swallowed audibly. “It’s dangerous. Damn it, it’s too dangerous.” She pressed her forehead to Wes’s chest and grabbed a handful of his hair. “Don’t let me go.”
Ray chuckled. “You’re sounding a little mixed up, Scarlett. Come on, sweet love, tell us everything and then listen to what we have to say.”
She lifted her head and went up on her toes, brushing her lips across Wes’s. An electric shock slipped through him and he groaned as the all-too-quick kiss ended and she reached for Ray to kiss him.
She led them to the couch and they sat on either side of her. Wes couldn’t ignore the packing boxes sitting around the front room, although it didn’t look like she’d actually done much packing.
She took one of their hands in each of hers and sighed. “The male my father chose for me is coming tomorrow for our mating ceremony. I’m supposed to be packed up. This afternoon I’m supposed to go to my parents’ home and stay for the night, and then after the ceremony I don’t know where I’ll be living.”
“Just like that?” Ray asked incredulously. “Some guy shows up and you go with him, no questions asked?”
“It’s not like I chose this life, Ray,” she protested. “It’s my genetic destiny. The fathers choose the mates for their daughters, and the daughters smile through the whole farce and swear on their lives to be faithful to the chosen mate for the rest of their lives.”
She stood abruptly and whipped around to face them. Her voice was a harsh whisper. “Do you think I wanted to leave like a thief? That I liked swearing Melody to secrecy so you didn’t come up here and get hurt? Do you have any idea what my father would do to you if he found out that you came here for me because of what happened between us?”
Ray stood slowly, his eyes dark and his lips pulled over his blunt teeth. “I don’t give a fuck what your father wants, Scarlett. Wes and I only care that you’re allowed to make your own choice for your future. Tell us what
you
want.”
Her eyes glimmered with tears. “I want you both, but I have no illusions that my father won’t kill you if he finds out about this.”