Page 20 of Collared Mate

I have a shower, get in my pajamas, and get into bed.

I like being back in the family home. The place Christian and I shared has been sold and I still have the occasional urge to go and burn it the fuck down. This is the bedroom I grew up in, minus some of the old posters.

I lie down, close my eyes, and for a brief moment I’m a teenager again. Mom and Dad are still alive. Rick isn’t anywhere close to being alpha. He’s going out with his friends, thinking about picking a college, and hanging out with Henry.

A light smile plays over my lips. We were happy, once.

Then my mom died. My dad turned bitter, and then died as well. Rick took over the pack and agreed to marry me off. And then Christian died. Keeping people alive in this line is hard work.

It’s only me and Rick now. And Rick can’t find a mate and me… I have gotten used to thinking I’d never have pups, but if I keep sleeping with Henry, our lines are going to be mixed in a matter of months.

I should get some birth control if I don’t want to cause a scandal.

Who the fuck am I kidding?

I love scandals.

CHAPTER 4

Henry

The look on her face when I left her in the garden was enough to make my heart break.

If we were going to be sensible about this, I’d go and see Rick. We’d sort out our differences. I’d explain to him that his sister and I are Fated Mates with the capital F and M. But I know Rick isn’t in the mood to see me, and frankly I am not in the mood to see him either.

* * *

Five years ago…

All I can smell is blood. I can barely see because both of my eyes are swollen from taking blows. Normally I’d shift if I was having the hell beaten out of me, but that’s not an option because of the silver collar and cuffs that were put on me while I was being held down by six of Rick’s wolves.

I don’t know what the fuck is happening. I thought we were going to hang out like usual. Maybe get some beers, maybe play some video games, or go out and do something a little more fun. Instead, the moment I walked through the door, I was hit by a fucking club on the back of the head.

I came to in what I am guessing is a basement. Maybe of the Swale family home. Maybe somewhere else. It’s hard to tell. And it doesn’t really fucking matter. When you’re getting your ass beat and you can’t fight back, the location isn’t really of huge interest.

Rick says again the same thing he said when I woke up down here, already in silver. I don’t know what happened to him, but this is some cowardly shit. It was never intended to be a fair fight between us. It was intended to be an execution, but with a beating first. He wants to see me suffer, and then, my guess? Him and the six guys he now considers to be his friends are going to shift and tear me apart. It’s a medieval form of wolf execution.

“You killed my father,” he says. He’s said it so many times tonight, and every time he says it with more conviction than the time before. I don’t know if he believed it the first time, but he’s practiced it, and he for sure believes it now.

“I didn’t kill your father. I’ve never killed anyone.” I’ve said that a lot too, but I’m not getting any more believable, apparently.

“Bullshit. You’ve been casing this place for years. I thought you were my friend, but you’ve been planning to take over the pack this whole time.”

Rick sounds crazed. Like he’s on something. Maybe he’s got some substances on board, or maybe it’s the grief of losing another parent. He’s so fucking enraged he’s not thinking straight. Someone’s been in his ear. Someone has been telling him what to do and how to do it. He’s lost without his father. He wasn’t planning on taking over the pack anytime soon, and now he has no choice.

“If I’d killed your father, I’d be the alpha,” I say. “But I’m not.”

“You’d never be the alpha of anything,” he says. “You’re common, and you’re weak, and you’re going to die tonight.”

“Rick?”

A door at the top of the stairs opens a hair and warm light comes filtering down from above. This is the Swale house. He was going to kill me at home. Fuck, I love Rick, but sometimes he is a dumb fucker.

“Rick, what are you doing down there?”

His sister is calling for him. She’s a sweet kid. Only sixteen. She’s lost her mother, and now her father, and she’s been left in the care of her stupid older brother who can’t tell the difference between an enemy and a friend. I feel bad for her.

“I’ll be up in a second,” he calls back. “Don’t come down here.”