The Omega's Heart (Wilde Creek Four) (20 page)

Chapter 15

Honey and Jeremiah spent nearly the entire
day before the full moon cutting firewood. Jeremiah cut it, she
stacked it into bundles and tied them with twine, and he hauled
them into the back of his truck. She’d never done any real hard
labor before, but there was something very cool about working side
by side with her mate. He’d tried several times to encourage her to
go home and rest or do something less taxing then hauling wood, but
she enjoyed being with him.

After the bundles were placed in the back of
the truck, they drove to the retirees’ homes one by one and carried
them inside. Joel’s home was the last one for the night, and
Jeremiah insisted that Honey stay in the truck.

“I want to say hi to Joel.”

“Sweetheart, you’ve been yawning for the last
ten minutes. If you go in his house, you’re going to want to listen
to some of his stories and it’ll be midnight before I can get you
to bed.”

“Are you sure you don’t just want to get me
to bed for other reasons besides me being tired?”

He shifted the truck into park and grinned at
her. “Well, I want to get you into a nice, hot shower and give you
a backrub. If you’re not asleep by then, I have a few more things
I’d like to do to you.”

She giggled and leaned over for a kiss. “A
backrub will put me to sleep in two seconds.”

“Maybe I’ll save that for later, then.”

He leaned over and kissed her again,
promising to be back quickly so they could head home. After getting
out of the truck, he picked up a bundle of wood and carried it up
the sidewalk to Joel’s home. She watched until Joel opened the door
and let Jeremiah in and then she leaned back and yawned, closing
her eyes. It had been a very long day, but she was thrilled with
all that they’d accomplished.

Her door opened and cold fingers wrapped
around her throat and pulled her from the truck. She tried to
scream, but the hand was squeezing too tightly. She met her
attacker’s eyes.
Shred!
She clawed at his hand, trying to
force his fingers from her as he slammed her against the side of
the truck. The breath whooshed from her lungs, and stars lit her
vision from the pain.

“You killed my father.” Shred leaned into
her, pushing her against the truck until she thought her back would
break from the pressure.

Dexter was Shred’s dad? How the hell had she
never known that?

She kicked her legs, scratching her nails
down his wrist, but her blows didn’t make him loosen his grip.

Shred leaned closer, his face inches from
hers as her vision dimmed around the edges and his fingers
tightened on her throat. “I lived with my mother until I shifted.
Then you had to come along, little bitch princess. I knew you
weren’t my sister, but he made me swear to never lay a hand on
you.”

She wheezed out, “Why?”

His lips curled over his teeth and his hot,
rotting breath made her want to vomit. “He knew you would be ruined
if I took you, and you were valuable as a trade. But he’s not
around anymore, and you need to spend some time on your knees,
begging me to forgive you for the life I could have had if you
hadn’t come along.”

Her mind spun and she struggled against his
hold, praying that Jeremiah would come out of the house soon and
help. If Shred got away with her, she knew he’d kill her.
Eventually. The time until her death would be brutal.

Shred spun and pulled Honey against the front
of his body, his arm caging her waist and his hand loosening on her
throat just enough for her to suck in a ragged breath. Jeremiah
stood a few feet in front of them, partially shifted and furious.
“Let her go,” he growled

“She owes me, freak,” Shred said in a low,
menacing tone.

Jeremiah’s lips pulled back over his sharp
teeth as he snarled, his shirt and jeans torn from his shift.
“Mine.”

Shred snorted and took a step back, pulling
Honey with him. She tried to elbow him in the side, but the coat he
wore softened the blow. She kicked and struggled, trying to wiggle
as much as possible, but his hold just tightened.

Jeremiah’s ears twitched, and she heard a
clicking sound, but she couldn’t identify it. In a heartbeat,
Jeremiah was on the ground and had grasped her knees, pulling hard
and wrenching her from Shred’s grasp as a shotgun blast filled the
quiet night. Something thudded heavily behind her as Jeremiah
rolled with her in the snow, covering her with his body.

Turning her head to the side, she saw Shred’s
body on the ground. Slowly, a dark pool of blood began to seep into
the white snow in the yard, steam rising as the snow melted.

She tilted her head back and saw Joel
standing with a shotgun on the porch, an angry frown on his
face.

“You two all right?” he called.

Jeremiah nuzzled her neck, his cold nose
feeling good against her aching throat. He lifted his head and
said, “Yes.”

Her hands trembled as she pressed them to
either side of Jeremiah’s face. He gazed down at her, and relief
filled her. Her mate had saved her life. Again. “Thank you for
saving me, Jer,” she whispered thickly as tears stung her eyes.

“Mine.” He scooped her up in his arms as he
stood and stalked up the sidewalk to Joel’s house.

“I’ll call the alpha,” Joel said as Jeremiah
carried her into the house.

Jeremiah sat on the couch and arranged Honey
in his lap as Joel shut the door and went into the kitchen.
Carefully he pulled her coat off and tossed it aside, running his
furry hand along her side. “Hurt?”

She swallowed and winced at the ache, but
knew it was minor compared to what could have happened if Shred had
been able to get away with her. “I’m okay.”

Jeremiah changed back into his fully human
form and held her closer. “I’m so sorry I left you alone.”

“How could you have known?” she
whispered.

Jeremiah growled unhappily but said nothing.
He rubbed her back, and some of the aches began to ease. Joel came
into the room and said, “Acksel and some of the upper-ranked wolves
are coming, and so is Doc.”

She almost said she didn’t need a doctor, but
she knew that Jeremiah would insist, so she kept her mouth shut and
tried to forget how close she’d come to being killed. Ten minutes
later, Joel’s small front room was filled with wolves, and Doc was
kneeling in front of them.

Jeremiah wouldn’t let go of her, so Doc had
to look at her from the safety of her mate’s arms. Jeremiah and
Joel told Acksel what they’d witnessed. Doc peered into her mouth
with a penlight and felt her throat gently.

“Just bruised, I suspect. I’ve got some tea
you can drink that will soothe the ache and help you rest. You
could always shift and heal yourself quicker, but I don’t think
your pain will last too long either way.”

He rummaged in a leather satchel while the
wolves talked. Jeremiah kissed her cheek. “Do you want to
shift?”

“I just want to go home and go to bed.”

Doc carried a small pouch into the kitchen.
Honey quickly cataloged her injuries, and knew she was lucky. Yes,
her back ached and her throat hurt, but she was alive and safe and
that was all that mattered.

“I don’t understand why he came back,” Acksel
said, turning to face them. Around him were Malachi, Ren, Sam, and
Dade.

She opened her mouth to speak and Jeremiah
put his hand on her mouth. “She needs to rest her voice.”

Malachi handed his phone to her. “Here, type
what you want to say in a text.”

A blank text was open, and she began to type.
Jeremiah removed his hand from her mouth and watched what she
wrote.

Shred said he was Dexter’s real son and he
was going to take his revenge on me because of Dexter’s death.

Jeremiah read the text out loud as she typed.
Acksel whistled. “Well shit. We’ve kept up the extra patrols, but
he clearly found a way through. I’m sorry that the patrols failed
to keep you safe.”

Dade said, “If it wasn’t for Joel’s good shot
and Jeremiah’s quick thinking, we might have had a real tragedy on
our hands and not just a mess to clean up.”

“How are you such a good shot anyway?” Acksel
asked Joel.

“My father taught me how to shoot when I was
young. He said a good wolf could hunt in any form, with any tools.
I can also kill someone with a pencil.”

Malachi groaned. “No one piss off Joel.”

Doc came back with a steaming mug and turned
it so Honey could take the handle. Jeremiah took Malachi’s phone
and gave it back to him while she blew on the dark liquid and took
a tiny sip. It tasted like eucalyptus, and smelled minty.

“She’ll get tired pretty quickly, Jeremiah.
If she has any further pain, let me know.”

“What do you need from us, Alpha?” Jeremiah
asked as she continued to sip at the hot brew, relaxing with each
swallow as her aches began to slowly disappear.

“Nothing. Get your mate home and take
tomorrow off. We’ll handle disposing of the body.” He turned to
Sam. “Gather the protectors and find out how he got into town. I’m
betting we’ll find a vehicle in town or perhaps right outside of
it.”

Sam nodded and turned on his heels, walking
out of the house.

“Ren and Mal, let’s get that asshole off
Joel’s front yard. Joel, do you have a tarp or old blanket we can
have?”

Joel nodded and walked out of the room. Dade
said, “I’ll clean up the yard after you guys are gone.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

Ren and Malachi took a blue tarp from Joel
and left, and Acksel looked at Honey and Jeremiah. “I’m truly
sorry.”

“We’ll be fine, but thank you,” Jeremiah
said, taking the empty mug from Honey and giving it to Joel.

She wanted to say goodbye, but her eyelids
were heavy and when she opened her mouth, she yawned.

Joel grabbed the front door. Jeremiah stopped
and thanked him for his help, and then carried Honey out of the
house and down to his truck. She was vaguely aware of him buckling
her in and driving the short distance to their home, but everything
else escaped her as she slipped down into sleep.

In the morning, Jeremiah made her hot tea and
oatmeal for breakfast even though she really wanted a big, rare
steak.

“You were injured last night, let me pamper
you a bit,” he begged.

“Backrub?” she asked, wiggling her brows.

“If you’re sure you’re feeling better, I’ll
rub more than your back.”

“I feel fine. Whatever stuff is in that tea,
Doc could make a fortune selling it.”

“He’s good at what he does. Now do you swear
you’re feeling fine? You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?” His eyes
narrowed.

She gave a mock sound of indignation. “As
if.”

“Honey,” he growled her name and it made her
shiver.

“I swear. My throat doesn’t hurt anymore and
the few aches I had are gone.” She put her mug down on the end
table and said, “Did I say thank you for saving me?”

“You did, but it’s my job to keep you safe,
and I almost failed.”

She placed her hands on his cheeks and stared
into his eyes. “I love you, Jer. I’m safe now, because you saved
me. I know you’ll always take care of me, so I don’t worry about
what the future might bring.”

“I love you,” he said before pressing his
lips against hers.

She pushed the tray off her lap and rolled
onto her stomach. “I think someone promised me a back rub followed
by rubbing of other places.”

He growled softly and climbed onto the bed,
straddling her thighs. “As my mate wishes.”

* * * * *

As they drove to the alphas’ home that night,
Honey could feel Jeremiah’s nerves as if they were her own. She’d
been shifting and hunting since she was a teenager, but Jeremiah
had never known what that was like. He’d spent a long time being an
outsider, just different enough to be unwelcome.

“In my old pack, there wasn’t any kind of
mating ceremony. Tell me what’s going to happen tonight.”

Jeremiah glanced at her and reached for her
hand. “It’s pretty simple. One of the elders will read from our
laws about mates, and Acksel and Brynn will ask if anyone has a
problem with our mating, and then they’ll declare us mates. Acksel
will also announce your membership in the pack and our new
positions as stewards.”

“What if someone has a problem with our
mating?” A little frisson of tension streaked through her.

He squeezed her hand. “No one will. It’s like
the minister asking if anyone knows why two people can’t get
married at a human wedding. I think the alphas ask that because of
tradition. There was a time when wolves were traded in matings for
alliances, much like humans did with their children – arranging
marriages for the dowry and what the parents could get out of
it.”

“That’s exactly what
he
tried to
do.”

“Yes, but your situation was unusual, I
think. There was a time when it was the norm; it’s really not
anymore. Even if females aren’t ranked members, they’re still
important to the pack.”

“To some packs.”

“To the Wilde Creek pack for sure, and most
definitely you’re important to me.”

She leaned against his shoulder, her wolf
practically purring in her mind at the sweet way her mate treated
her.

“I’m jealous that you get to talk while
you’re shifted.”

He snorted. “Your wolf is going to be pissed
that I can’t keep up.”

She sat up and looked at him in surprise.
“What? Never. We’re both really excited to be with you tonight.
Last month we had a lot of fun but it wasn’t like hunting. I’ve
never hunted with my mate before, so tonight is a momentous
occasion.”

“Momentous?”

“Absolutely. We’re mates. We get to tell your
whole pack that we’re together forever, and then we get to go
running into the woods together. If we don’t catch anything, I
don’t care. My wolf is so excited to be with you in your shift
tonight that I can feel her pushing against my skin.”