Elroy sniffed the air and his face darkened with anger. His gaze slid to one of his sons, standing next to her. “Where is Grady, Rave?”
“I assume he’s on his way here to get her.” The man shrugged his broad shoulders. “That’s where I’d be if she were mine.”
“Am I the only one scenting her?” Von was staring at Mika. “She’s in a lot of pain.”
Elroy nodded. ”I’m aware. My son has some explaining to do.”
“Your son doesn’t want me. I wish he did, but I’m human. He’s got a problem with that. Please just let me go. He wants a werewolf woman and he called her to be with him.”
A door slammed and Von stepped back as Rave also moved away from her, both of them turning to stare down the hallway. Mika looked over her shoulder to see two men walking side by side toward them. Both of them looked similar to Grady and she knew these were his other two brothers. They stopped feet from her, two sets of dark brown eyes locked on her.
“He tried to use another woman to get him through mating heat.” Elroy was pissed. “No wonder he called us for help to find her. She,” Elroy glanced at Mika, “found the other one in his apartment naked. She stated she told him she’d leave if he touched someone else.”
The brother on the left, who had just entered the room and appeared to be the oldest of the four, frowned, stared at Mika. “She’s human.”
“No shit,” Elroy spun away, walked to the pool table and leaned heavily against it as he faced his sons again. “I guess he didn’t learn from my mistake of getting involved with one of them.”
The brother watched his father and then his dark gaze zeroed in on Mika. “I’m Anton.” He jerked his head at the man next to him. “He’s Braden.” He paused. “Why did you run from my brother?”
“He doesn’t want me,” she said softly. “Trust me, my leaving is for the best. I’m human, he’s got a big problem with that, and after he bit me he destroyed my bedroom in a fit of rage. He called a woman to be with him after he left me at my house.” She paused. “Then I overheard him say if I tried to claim him he was willing to kill me. Please just let me go.”
“He bit you?” Anton sniffed loudly.
“It was an accident.” The men all looked at each other but no one said a word. Frustration and anger had Mika on edge. She decided to try again. “Please just let me go.”
A door slammed and Mika wanted to whimper when she saw Grady storm down the hallway looking half wild, his hair messed up, clothing disheveled. The snarl he uttered was enough to make her knees go weak. Rage made his eyes appear to be two orbs of pure evil as he kept coming at her, never even glancing at his family, and a louder snarl tore from him as he lunged for her.
Mika cried out when she saw claws swipe at her but Grady never got to touch her. Rave jumped in Grady’s path, preventing him from reaching her. “Don’t,” he snarled.
“Move,” Grady snarled back. “Mine.”
“Calm,” Elroy was there instantly, standing next to Rave to block his son from Mika. “You’re out of control.”
“Move,” Grady snarled, sounding even scarier.
Von suddenly grabbed Mika around her waist, lifting off her feet to hold against his body as he backed away. Her purse dropped from her hands, hitting the floor hard. His voice was soft as he spoke.
“You running sent him over the damn edge. He’s not himself. He won’t mean to hurt you but like this, he will.”
A howl of rage shattered the room and Mika watched, horrified, as Grady attacked Rave, throwing his brother aside as easily as if he were a feather pillow. The big man flew a few feet to crash to the floor and Grady tried to lunge again at Mika. Elroy moved, grabbing him, and they struggled. Anton and Braden were in the mix in the blink of an eye, each man grabbing Grady’s arms and hauling him away from their father. Elroy roared out in rage, glaring at Grady.
“Control yourself.”
“Mine!” Grady’s face wasn’t quite human anymore as he snarled at his father, struggling to break free from his brothers.
Elroy shook his head, backing up a step, and shot a look at Rave when the man got to his feet. “Get the chains and the dart gun now. Move.”
“Fuck,” Von hissed. “Are you happy now, human? Look what you did to him. He’s totally out of his damn mind because you ran and left him to go nuts. They are going to have to chain him down and drug him to calm him now.”
Mika snapped. She was horrified, terrified, and tired of taking the damn blame. She elbowed Von hard, hitting him square in a soft spot under his ribs, making him hiss out in pain and drop her. She moved away from him and then looked at Grady. He was fixated on her, those terrifying eyes of his never wavering, and he struggled, snarling again, trying to reach her.
“Knock it off,” she yelled at Grady, moving closer to him. “I’m not yours.”
“Don’t provoke him,” Von ordered her, rubbing his ribs. “The drugs will calm him down enough for you to be safe with him.”
Provoke him? All she’d wanted to do was leave town. This was Grady’s fault, not hers. He was the damn jerk who kept breaking her heart. She glared at him when he snarled at her again, fighting the hold his brothers had on him but unable to break free. All her pain turned to anger and she encouraged it.
“Mika,” Grady snarled. “Come here. I need to hold you.”
“Fuck yourself,” she yelled at him. “That’s what you want from me, right? That’s all you want. Why don’t you call Megan again?”
He snarled, tried to bite one of his brothers, and fought but they held him. Mika inched closer, not caring what kind of danger she was in—too angry.
“I’m okay, by the way. Not that you give a damn since you left me bleeding and scared in the spare bedroom while you tore my damn room up. Do you have any idea what it’s going to cost me to fix that?” Hot tears filled her eyes and she didn’t care anymore who she cried in front of. “I was worried so I went looking for you. How stupid was that? I told you if you slept with someone else I’d take off. I am so damn tired of you hurting me.”
He stopped struggling, just watching her as he breathed heavily. Mika shook her head at him.
“Then you have your brothers come after me.” She jerked a thumb toward Von. “He told me you were hit by a damn truck to get me to leave the airport. I was worried about you, terrified you were going to die, and I left with him to rush to your damn side. Again, really stupid. I’m done, Grady. You’ve hurt me for the last damn time.”
He was breathing hard, his chest rising rapidly. “I didn’t call Megan to fuck her. I owed it to her to tell her face-to-face that it was over.”
“In your shower?”
He growled low. “I didn’t know she’d let herself in.”
“And I heard you say if I tried to claim you that you’d kill me.”
He struggled to break free again but then stopped fighting. “I was talking about Megan. I’d kill her if she tried to claim me. She could only do that if she challenged you and killed you. I was protecting you when I said that.”
Some of her anger eased because she really wanted to believe him. “It doesn’t matter, Grady. You never wanted me and it was an accident when you bit me. I just want to leave and go back home.” She wiped at her tears. “I can’t and won’t take this anymore.”
“You’re mine,” his voice was deep but he wasn’t growling or snarling anymore. “I did bite you and you’re my mate.”
“I’m nothing to you, Grady. You’ve made that perfectly clear. I’m leaving.”
He went insane, howling, and hair started growing out on his arms. Elroy was suddenly in front of his son, grabbing his face in his hands, his voice deep when he spoke.
“Don’t. Hold your skin,” Elroy ordered him.
Grady stopped changing but he was hairy as hell, his mouth was extended, his nose wider, and his eyes… Mika had to look away. They were narrower than they should have been, shaped differently, and pure black. Those eyes scared her as growls tore from him.
/>
Rave rushed forward with chains draped over one muscular arm and, in shock, Mika watched his hand rise. She saw a handgun and then she heard a soft noise.
Grady whimpered and her head jerked in his direction. A blue dart was sticking out of his chest. She stared at it and her gaze flew to his face. He was staring at her, showing sharp teeth, and then he slumped forward, his brothers having to hold his weight totally, Elroy helping them by holding his son’s head.
“He’ll be out for about an hour. Let’s get him secured quickly.” Elroy was furious as he turned his head, glaring at Mika.
“I can’t scent that you’re his mate but if he bit you then it’s just a matter of time. You are going nowhere.” He released Grady’s face carefully, allowing his head to slump, and then he bent. “I got him.”
Elroy was strong as he straightened with Grady’s big body draped limply over his shoulder. Anton looked grim as he walked to Mika and gripped her arm gently but firmly. She stared up at him.
“Come with us.”
“Where?”
“The basement. We have holding cells down there in case one of our pack gets out of control. You and Grady are going to be contained there until he finds his sanity and you realize that you can’t run from this.”
Mika shook her head. “No.” She tried to pull out of his grasp but the big man tightened his hold.
“Don’t fight. I don’t want to have to hurt you.”
The anger in his eyes was clear and she didn’t struggle when he tugged on her. They followed Elroy as he carried Grady toward the back of the house. The dark-haired woman stood in a kitchen when they stepped into the large room. She frowned, taking in every detail with a sweeping glance, and shook her head.
“He’s not allowed in my house,” she said firmly.
Elroy glared at his wife. “Stay out of this, Eve.”
“He’s not allowed in my house,” she repeated.
“It’s my house and you’re my mate. You’ll do what you’re told,” Elroy growled at her. “Go to our room.”
She hesitated, fury on her features, but then she spun away toward another hallway.
Elroy sighed. “Hell.”
“That’s what your life is going to be like until she calms down,” Rave said softly from behind Mika where he followed them. “You spoiled her too much.”
Anton snorted. “You should have put your foot down when he first came to us. You never should have allowed her to prevent him from living here.”
Elroy turned his head, shooting his son a glare. “Wait until you have a mate.”
“I’d never allow her to tell me a child of mine couldn’t come into my house.” Anton glared back at his father. “She would have accepted him if you had made her face it when he came. Look at the mess you’ve made, Father.”
Elroy moved, ignoring what Anton said, and opened a door. Mika was afraid as she was led down a wide staircase into the basement. It was a full basement that had plaster walls and carpet which made her relax until she saw that around a curve the plaster ended and there were two holding cells with metal walls and thick bars. Elroy walked into one of the cages, Rave right behind him, and they gently laid Grady down on his back.
Anton tugged on Mika, putting her in the other cell. He frowned at her as he released her. She glanced around. It was a ten-by-eight foot cell with a metal cot that looked welded to the floor, a sink, and a toilet. Anton backed up and gripped the cell door.
“No,” Elroy called out. “She needs to be with him.”
Anton’s head swung around. “He’ll hurt her in his condition. She’s not a bitch. If he gets rough with her she won’t heal.”
“We’re chaining him down,” Rave informed him. “She’d have to put something close to his mouth for him to be able to bite her and he won’t be breaking free since the drugs will keep him from shifting. Dad is right. She needs to be with him.”
Minutes later Mika was gently pushed into the cage holding an unconscious Grady. She was shocked when she saw that they’d stripped him naked, chained him face up on the cot, and had just tossed a sheet over his lap to cover him. She looked up at Elroy as he paused in front of her.
“You take care of my son. He’s in mating heat.” He leaned down a little, staring directly into her eyes. “If he goes insane and I have to put him down, you will be put down as well. Do you understand me?”
“Father,” Anton warned. “She’s human.”
Elroy straightened, walking out of the cell. “If I have to kill my son over her, she’s dead. That isn’t up for debate.”
“Dad,” Rave said softly. “She’s Omar’s niece and she’s not one of us.”
“I don’t give a damn who she is or what she is,” Elroy snarled. “If Grady dies because she won’t care for him then she won’t leave here alive.” The cell door slammed closed loudly.
Mika spun, watching Grady’s father and brothers walk away. Only Anton turned, glancing at her over his shoulder, and she saw regret for an instant before they turned out of her sight. She gripped the bars, giving them a jerk, but the door didn’t budge.
She was locked in a ten-by-eight foot cage with Grady. She looked at him, staring at him really, seeing that he was still partially changed, the drugs not reducing him back to his normal human-looking self. She shivered, leaned against the cage door, and watched his chest rise and fall.
———
A strange sound made Mika jerk awake, confused at first, and her body ached. Her ass was sore and her shoulder hurt. She frowned, lifted her head, and realized she was slumped in a corner, sitting up, with something hard digging into the pained shoulder. Her eyes opened and memory was instant as she stared at the man chained to a cot just feet from her.
Grady was staring at her, his black eyes open and still not human. He pulled again on the chains, the strange sound repeating, and then he softly snarled. “Let me go.”
“If I had keys I wouldn’t still be here.” She studied him. “How are you feeling?”
“Like shit,” he groaned.
She watched, fascinated, as his face transformed back to human. He strained, pulling on the chains again, his muscles in his arms and abdomen tightening and bulging as he fought them, but they held. His hips shifted, nearly losing the sheet that barely hid his groin, and that drew her attention to the fact that it was tented by a thick, hard pole of arousal that reached Grady’s waist. She stared.
“Come here,” Grady ordered.
Mika moved but she just got to her feet. Her ass protested from sitting on the hard floor for too long as she moved her legs, trying to alleviate the soreness. She stayed back from him as she shook her head.
“I’m fine right here.”
Grady frowned. “I need you.”
Her gaze shifted to his lap. “I see, and forget it.”
Anger tightened his features. “I didn’t call Megan over to fuck her, damn it. I bit you and you’re my mate now. I have been seeing her for months and wanted to tell her in person that we were over. I owed her that much.”
It hurt. She turned her back on him, staring between the bars at the other side of the room where the carpet started and she could see white plaster walls. Grady sniffed and a low growl came from him.
“Mika, I swear I wasn’t going to fuck her. She has a key to my place and let herself in. She assumed I called her to meet up for sex but that wasn’t my reason. Please come here. I didn’t touch her.” He paused. “I can smell your pain.”
She spun. “Stop smelling my emotions, damn it. It’s rude.”
He stared at her. “I need you.” His voice was soft. “I’m still in heat and I’m hurting.”
“I was hurting when you bit me and terrified me. You just left,” she shook her head. “You destroyed my damn bedroom, Grady. I can’t afford to fix that shit. You took out the damn walls, broke all my furniture, and then didn’t even come back while I waited for you to return. If you’re hurting that’s your own damn fault for going so long without sex. I was th
ere and you chose to stay away from me to go talk to another damn woman.”
“I needed to clear my damn head. You know I didn’t want a human mate, damn it.” His voice deepened. “And after I spoke to Megan I was planning to return to your house. I’ll pay for the damages. Repairing your room isn’t a problem.”
What about the damage he had done to her heart? He couldn’t write a check and pay someone to fix that but she refused to say it aloud.
“Mika,” his voice softened. “I need you, babe. I’m in agony. Can you at least touch me and get me off? I am fighting it hard but I’m going to lose my mind soon if you don’t. I can’t take care of myself.” He rattled his chains. “We can discuss this when I’m not feeling like my balls are on fire.”
Anger burned in her, probably equal to his discomfort, she decided. “Fine.” She closed the distance between them. “It’s always about you, right? It’s about what you want and what you need.” She grabbed the sheet and tugged it off him, dropping it to the floor. “I don’t want you to go nuts since your father said he’ll kill me but when your father lets us the hell out of here, I’m leaving. I’ll help you through mating heat but afterward I want your word you’ll let me leave.” She looked into his eyes. “That’s the new deal, Grady. Your choice. Agree to my terms or I’m going to go back to my corner over there and you can just suffer.”
He sniffed, annoying the shit out of her, after she’d told him to not do that. He frowned. “Come a little closer.”
“I’m pissed off. That’s what you smell.”
“That’s not it. My scent isn’t strong enough on you.” He looked confused. “How many hours have I been asleep?”
She glanced down at her watch. “Nearly two hours.”
“How long since I bit you?”
“It was over nine hours ago.”
“Son of a bitch,” he rasped, his eyes going wide. “It didn’t take.”
It took her a second to understand what he was saying but then she did. “We’re not mated?”