“Not unless Draven stops you first.”
“Sorry, but your mate won’t be able to do a damn thing. You see that rope we’ve trussed him up with, and the net? It has silver threads mixed in it. That metal, when in contact with us in any way, hampers our ability to shift and hold whatever form we try to take on. Since Draven is in his wolf one, he’s stuck like that until we take the ropes off, which won’t be anytime soon. I’m going to make him pay for getting me kicked out of our pack. He could have turned a blind eye to my drug-dealing ways, but he had to play the hero.”
“What are you going to do to him?”
“First, take him far away from you.”
“What do you expect that will do?”
Rick shook his head. “You haven’t a clue about anything, do you? Draven has claimed you as his, which means you two won’t be able to stand to be apart from each other. We call it separation anxiety. It won’t take long before you feel as if you’re going to lose your mind, same with Draven. All the two of you will be able to think about is returning to each other. The longer apart, the worse it’ll get. I couldn’t have asked for a better means to torture Draven.” Rick turned his head and said to the man who held Draven, “Get him out of here.”
Draven howled, struggling against his captor. Having a good feeling that everything Rick had said would happen, Wyatt threw his head back, knocking the man who held him in the nose. A loud wolflike growl sounded before a thick arm caught him around his throat and applied enough pressure so Wyatt could barely get enough air to fill his lungs.
“Nice try,” Rick snarled. “One other thing you should know about werewolves—we’re faster and stronger than mortals.”
Wyatt found himself dragged away in the opposite direction with Rick in tow as the other man hefted Draven onto his shoulders and took off, moving faster than a normal person could. Right about now, Wyatt figured Draven and he were fucked.
Draven had no idea how much time had passed since he’d been carted away trussed up like a Christmas turkey. All he knew was it was long enough and far enough for him to already feel the separation anxiety. He had to somehow escape his bonds and get back to save Wyatt from Rick. How he was going to accomplish getting out of ropes threaded with silver, he had no idea. Being basically stuck in his wolf form had its disadvantages, like not having opposable thumbs.
The werewolf who carried him, and the one who had jumped Wyatt, were lone wolves like Rick. They had at one time been in his pack as well. If he remembered correctly, they had been kicked out for the same reason and around the same time Rick had been.
Finally his captor emerged from the trees at the edge of the water. A small boat had been pulled halfway out of the water and secured to one of the nearby trees. There was no dock, but Draven recognized the area as being on the opposite end of the lake, close to where Wyatt’s rental was. And it was far enough away to have him really feeling the separation anxiety.
The other werewolf none too gently put Draven down at his feet. He pulled the rope net off Draven and threw it into the boat, leaving only his four legs bound. His captor gave him a kick in the ribs. “Don’t go anywhere. I have to take a leak.”
The other man walked a little ways into the trees and turned his back to him. Draven moved, hoping there was something he could use to cut the ropes. As he did this, he felt one of his bonds loosen. Looking at it, Draven would have smiled if he were in human form. The dumb bastard didn’t know how to tie a proper knot. He rolled around, dragging the ropes along the ground, feeling them becoming looser until he had enough space to pull his legs out.
Gaining his paws, Draven silently snuck up behind the other werewolf, who was too busy pissing into the trees to notice he was being stalked. Once he was close enough, with his scent carried downwind by the breeze, Draven bunched his back legs under him and pounced. After bringing the man down, he quickly shifted to his human form and beat him with his fists until he knocked him out.
Hefting the other werewolf over his shoulder, Draven carried him over to the boat and threw him into the bottom of it. He then proceeded to tie his wrists and ankles with the silver-threaded ropes. The knots he used wouldn’t slip loose.
Draven took off at a run into the bush, shifting on the fly. He could move faster through the trees in his wolf form. He didn’t stop running until he’d reached his lake house. Stealthily, he worked his way around to the front and inside the open door. On silent paws, he followed the scent of his mate to the living room. Wanting to get the jump on Rick, he launched himself into the room, hitting the other werewolf before he knew what happened.
Rick shifted to his wolf form, using his sharp teeth and claws to fight Draven off. Draven didn’t even try to look for Wyatt to see how he was. He had to stay focused on defeating Rick. As he’d expected, the fight didn’t last long. Draven had superior fighting skills and was stronger than his opponent. He brought Rick down on his back and took hold of his throat in his jaws. Draven bit down hard enough until he tasted blood in his mouth.
“Let Rick go, or else your mate is going to have a new hole to breathe from,” the other man in the room yelled.
Draven didn’t release his jaws. He lifted his gaze to meet the other lone wolf’s and growled loudly. He bit down harder, causing more blood to fill his mouth as Rick whimpered, his tail coming between his legs in surrender.
“Fuck this,” the other werewolf said. “It’s not worth it.” He then shoved Wyatt to the floor and ran out of the room. The sound of his footsteps could be heard outside the house shortly after.
Draven shifted to human form and held onto Rick’s throat as he shifted as well. “Now we know who the better wolf is. If you ever come back here again, or come near me or my mate, I’ll be contacting my pack leader. I’m sure Grant would love to hear about a bunch of lone wolves attacking members of his pack.”
Draven released the other man and stood. Rick held his throat as he slowly gained his feet. He ducked his head and stumbled out of the room. Draven followed him to make sure he left the house and closed and locked the door behind him. He then returned to the living room.
Wyatt had propped himself into a sitting position with his back against the front of the couch. He turned and lifted his hands as Draven undid the ropes that bound them. Once he had him free, Draven pulled him into his arms and held him tight.
“Are you okay? The bastard didn’t hurt you, did he?”
Wyatt shook his head. “Not really. I can handle a slug to the jaw. It was what I felt after that other werewolf took you away that I had a hard time handling.”
Draven kissed Wyatt, needing the taste of him in his mouth to reassure him he was still his. He pulled back after a few seconds. “I’m sorry you had to find out about werewolves this way. We’re not all like Rick and those lone wolves.”
Wyatt cupped Draven’s cheek in his hand. “I figured that out for myself. Rick wasn’t kicked out of your pack for being a nice guy. So what he said about us being mates is true?”
“Yes. I claimed you the first time we fully made love yesterday. Our souls joined. There’s no undoing it. I should have let you have a choice, but I was afraid you’d want to leave me. The instant I smelled your scent, I knew you were mine.”
Wyatt shook his head. “I have to say werewolves have an easier time of finding their mates than mortals do.” He breathed a sigh. “Right now, this is all a bit confusing and new to me. I’m not going to lie—I’m feeling a little freaked out right now, but I would never run from you. You’ve never given me a reason to fear you. Rick and werewolves like him, I can’t say the same thing.”